My interview with Airdrie S.
(Airdrie supporter and Section B member)
Date: Wednesday, 13 November
2019.
Place: The Staging Post, Airdrie, Scotland.
Time: 2:00 hours.
KJ:
Please take us through the history of Section B…
Airdrie S.: It started in 1977. There was
football violence in Airdrie before then. They came together under one banner
in 1977 named after a local punk band Section B. I believe it was named after
the section in Motherwell’s ground where the Airdrie boys used to meet up.
Section B was begun by Tiddles and one other guy. It was an amalgamation of
neighbourhood gangs formed so as to prevent mobs from bigger clubs from taking
over the town of Airdrie on match-days. It became a more organized thing across
the country.
Airdrie S.: Airdrie were not even casuals in
the 1980s – they were skinheads, punks, local fellas. Airdrie became casuals in
the 1990s. It was not 100% casual until 2000s. There were still people going with
Doc Marten boots in 2003 when I started. Airdrie were like a throwback to the
earlier days of football violence.
It kicked off regularly,
people going into ends. It happened at Thistle, Maryhill. The motivation to get
together was people coming here, including drunken mobs of Celtic and Rangers
fans. It was a big rivalry as it was local. There were gangs such as Tamla
Hill, Broomfield, Boot Boys, Tiny Mob, and Reos.
KJ:
Tell me about the town of Airdrie.
Airdrie S.: It is a small town, only 33,000
people, something like that. It’s not big enough to have different gangs. The
older fellas got together as mid- to late-teenagers and started to get people
together under one banner. Hibs and Hearts had big mobs, Hearts were a very big
mob by 1977 – Gorgie Aggro – it used to kick off all the time down there.
KJ: So continue on with the
history…
Airdrie S.: Airdrie is the oldest continuing
firm under the same name in Scotland. Younger ones join and older ones leave
but there has always been a continuing core.
In January 2007, at Motherwell,
there were geezers there in their sixties. That was on the main street there in
the Cup.
In 77 or 78, there would
have been a core of 50 geezers, 200 tops. We still have 140 now. In the 90s we
took away 100 to Hibs. The biggest I have seen was 140 to Celtic in January
last year [i.e. January 2018].
I have seen 110 at
Motherwell, 2007 (Cup game, January 2007). I had stitches in my back. I was
stabbed in December [2006]. I had the stitches still in my back, fighting in
the main street. [Note: According to
Wikipedia, since the original Airdrieonians were dissolved in 2002 and reborn
as Airdrie United (now again referred to as Airdrieonians), Motherwell and
Airdrie have only met once in a competitive match, the Scottish Cup Third Round
tie on 7 January 2007 at New Broomfield, with Motherwell winning 1–0 and Richie Foran the scorer.]
In Airdrie, in my class at
primary, 30, out of 16-17 guys, 2 supported Airdrie. The others were “Old Firm”
– there were more Rangers fans than Celtic fans and more Celtic fans than
Airdrie. I know of one or two people who like Aberdeen – it is Rangers, Celtic,
and Airdrie [in order of the number of supporters]. There are some people that
support Rangers as their team but sometimes go to Airdrie games.
KJ: Was the firm involved in other criminal
activities back in the day like Hibs’ Capital City Service?
Airdrie S.: I think they were involved in
other things as well but I couldn’t say.
In the 1980s, there was
another mob which started – Red Army Firm. It was started by some geezers who
were casuals. They were trying to differentiate themselves from the others. It
was late-80s – but it never took off.
We are the only mob that
predates the casuals’ movement in Scotland that is still going now. There has
been continuity. I have had people from other mobs say the same. In Airdrie it
is just pride in the town, it was not about the fashion so much. In Airdrie you
want some beat-up old shit next to you than someone in trendy gear who will
f***ing run. Guys my age it’s all pretty much casuals. But we are not
fashion-oriented. Fashion is not the most important thing for us.
The fashions never spread to
Airdrie so much. It was about being Airdrie – we say “your mates, your town,
your team” – these are the three most important things.
KJ:
So what is Airdrie, the town, like?
Airdrie S.: Airdrie is an industrial town, a
lot of steelworks, old mill, and market town. The ass fell out of the industry,
like everywhere else. You proved your manliness in other ways. In
primary-school, we were changing the words of the hymns to “Section B”. With
LSD [Love Street Division, St Mirren casuals], every four years it is manned by
different people; the mob changes completely. Now it is the same fellas [in
Section B] as were going in the mid-80s, 90s, 2000s. We don’t have a big
turnover. With Falkirk and LSD, you don’t hear about them for four years, they
reform as a group of kids. We are always the same; we are the same fellas all
the time. LSD played here in a cup game, 2005, at Airdrie’s ground. We were
staying around, 30 or 40, in the rain on the phone to St Mirren. They would not
get off the bus. We were in the rain. They were in a cup final; the game was
played at Airdrie’s stadium. They might have played someone like Hamilton. We
got together as they said they were coming out. [Note: According to Wikipedia, the 2005 Scottish Challenge Cup
Final, also known as the Bell’s Cup Final for sponsorship reasons, was an
association football match between St Mirren and Hamilton Academical played on 6 November 2005 at Excelsior Stadium in Airdrie.]
KJ:
What do Airdrie fans think of Old Firm fans?
Airdrie S.: Most hate them including me. Some
of the fans support both [i.e. Airdrie and an Old Firm team]; they have a
leaning towards one or the other. Most don’t like the Old Firm but, if
anything, they choose Rangers. Many f***ing hate them, I f***ing hate them.
I don’t understand that
people leave this town to support someone else. Someone from England or
Scotland wouldn’t support France in the World Cup. A lot of money leaves the
town to go elsewhere.
KJ:
Why do you like to fight?
Airdrie S.: Adrenaline rush – best thing in
the f***ing world – there is no feeling like it, the mixture of fear and
adrenaline; you are living on the edge; it’s like a working man’s extreme-sport,
you feel like you are fighting for something, the buzz of it is second to none.
I have had many fights not at the football but none of them feel like they do
at the football, living on the edge, you’re alive.
There was a guy, Justin
Fashanu, you sang: “he’s black, he’s gay / he plays for Airdrie.” That was in
the 90s, 1993. [Note: Justin Fashanu (19 February 1961 - 2 May 1998) played 16 games for Airdrie in 1993 and
scored 5 goals.] He was aware [of the song], he never complained; he would have
loved it. It’s still sung now.
When I started in 2003 there was a bit of a lull. Airdrieonians had
folded; the new club had started. By 2004-05, a lot of people my age had come
through [into Section B]. We were 20-25 lads, teenagers and early-20s (15-24-years-old).
We went to Dundee, Perth, Paisley, we took it to every place, including Hampden;
we had it with Rangers in the Gorbals; that’s where I got stabbed. The name has
never changed at any time. We resumed it. In 2000-01, we were at a peak.
Airdrie was taking 90 boys to f***ing Thistle - they did Thistle in Maryhill,
and 2002, before I started going, and at Falkirk.
End of 2003, beginning 2004 - we weren’t taking big numbers. I started
getting a few Airdrie fellas going. There was a big influx of people my age who
got involved, Airdrie has a reputation; the lower-league teams are not
interested. They don’t want to fight you, e.g. Clyde, Greenock Morton. 2005-06 -
people were coming back who hadn’t been involved for a while. Three guys with
famous names turned up at Perth versus St Johnstone, 2005-06 season.
Love Street Division (St Mirren)
 |
| Fountain Gardens, Paisley |
Airdrie S.: We
went to St Mirren that year [in the old Scottish First Division, now
Championship]. At Fountain Park [i.e. Fountain Gardens on Love Street in
Paisley], we caused mayhem. We were in a boozer in the scheme of Ferguslie
Park. We didn’t go to the game; we had 55 to start with; the police called the
bus company and cancelled it. I would book the bus under a different name. If
the police find out, they would call and cancel, so only 35 came. We were from
the Love Street side. The Old Bill drove the van into the gate, but blocked the
gate with the doors. There was fighting in the road-side of the park. A few of
us got nicked then and at their houses afterwards. There were banning orders.
There was fighting all the way to the station [distance 0.4 miles, walking-time
7 minutes]. Love Street Division was not very good that day. They joined firms
with Thistle after that when we played them.
Motherwell Saturday Service
Airdrie S.: Not
many come here. Motherwell has come twice – 2005, they had the better of us,
and 2004, we done them and we won the league [Scottish Second Division, now League
One].
2005 - Motherwell came here; they had a good mob that day. We had about
15-16 guys, they had about 80, this was 2005. In 2004 we done them.
In January 2007 they came here in the Cup [Third Round, 6 January 2007,
at New Broomland Stadium; Motherwell 1 defeated Airdrie United 0, Ritchie Foran
scored in the 31st minute, attendance 5,924]. I still had my stitches on from
Rangers. It went on in the main street. I saw a geezer get hit by a turnip! One
Airdrie guy got hit by a potato. There was a fruit-and-veg store. It was 2:00
p.m. in the afternoon. A Motherwell boy got hit by a turnip right on the nose,
man. It kicked off for a bit. A big geezer hit me two or three times. The Old
Bill broke it off. It kicked off in the car park between Motherwell and Airdrie
guys who never had tickets for the game. I had tickets for the game. There were
110 of us, 90 of them. Nobody won, it was back and forth. Only so many guys can
stand in a street. If you got 30 good guys, you can stand your own against 100.
Ayr Service Crew
Airdrie S.: Ayr came here
twice I know. First time they went into the Albert [64 Clark Street, Airdrie
ML6 6DW] – they had 40, we had 5, and we got stuck into them. Out of the blue,
one of our boys (an older fella) drove his car right into them and they were
scattering from all sides. There were 40 boys, 35-40 boys. Two of our boys came
out of the bookies, we had 7-8. They said “Airdrie surrounded us” – how did we
manage that, lying lengthwise? The f***ing idiots.
They came
with a good mob, 50. I was coming home from work, it was a Saturday; they
marched up the main street. We were 35-handed, it kicked off in the street; it
was pretty even. The Old Bill managed to stop it.
In [April] 2013
there was a re-match. We were playing in Airdrie that day; they were playing in
Coatbridge (Albion Rovers). We went in and it really kicked off. One of my mates
knocked this big guy over - he didn’t know what happened to him. My nose broke.
I didn’t notice it at the time. They turned around and faced us and they had
paving slabs. It was about five minutes; it goes so quickly due to the
adrenaline. You can’t remember any of it afterwards. Thirteen fellas got
nicked, just Airdrie people. At least a dozen from Ayr got nicked about a month
later. Overall, there were maybe 40 of us and the same number of them (April
2013).
Inter-City Firm (Rangers)
In 2006 we went to the
Gorbals. We were playing Clyde. We turned up in the Gorbals, December 2006. It
was like a little expedition; we had about 15 people. They [Rangers ICF] told
us: “We only have 10, can you wait?” We said “OK”. We shouldn’t have done that.
We should have got right into it. More and more were coming in with knives.
Airdrie backed off. I kept fighting; the c*** stabbed me in the back. I still
have the scar. I could put my finger in it. It was 6:30 p.m. It was bleeding
badly. I walked to High Street [station]. One of my contact lens got kicked out
of my face. I got the train back to Airdrie. All the normal punters were on the
train after day-shopping. You should have seen the looks I was getting. I got
off at Coatdyke, walked to the hospital, went in and said “have you got
anything for two assholes?” They sewed me up. It was only a flesh wound but you
could put your whole finger into it. I was the last one there [at the fight].
Rangers walked me back across the bridge. My mate took a bad one as well. This
was the ICF. I read bits of their books.
KJ: Favourite hangouts?
Airdrie S.: Here (the Staging Post); the Treasury; Cue Here.
KJ: What is the relationship like between casuals and
scarfers?
Airdrie S.: Good – in
general, massively favourable. You get the occasional one who opposes us. It is
an institution in Airdrie. This town is a bit insular, very few people leave. A
town councilor told me that Airdrie has the highest percentage of people in the
UK who were born and died in the town. There is a good community spirit. A lot
of people turn out for Airdrie’s mob who don’t like football or they support
Rangers or Celtic – it’s about town pride and fans will sing Section B songs. Most
of the male fans, a big percentage, will have had a stint in the Section B.
It’s a proper institution, I can’t stress this enough. It has been going 42
years; a lot of people here have never lived in the town when there was no
Section B. It is an established thing within the town.
KJ: How about relations with the club?
Airdrie S.: I don’t know how
they view it now but in previous years very favourable. The club shop sells
merch with a nod and a wink to Section B - Airdrie Rambling Club, which means
Section B. It is ingrained in the whole psyche of the club and the town.
North Glasgow Express (Partick Thistle)
Airdrie S.: [Section B] was
very active for a long time but, after 2013, people got nicked, one of our boys
got three years after the Ayr thing – then it got quiet, there was nothing
happening. A young group of Thistle came to Airdrie in 2015. It kicked off in
the main street. They were just young guys just testing their mettle. They were
about 18-years-old. One of our boys got nicked at Rangers, I was the witness;
the case got dismissed at Glasgow Sheriff Court.
Celtic Soccer Crew
Airdrie S.: This year
[January 2019], we took a good mob to Celtic, 140 there. They gave us the run
around, f***ing us about. We ended up going to the Gallowgate, nothing happened
at all. When we were at the Gallowgate, they were at the stadium attacking
normal fans and old men. They are good at throwing things and attacking people
who don’t want to fight.
KJ: How about the Old Bill?
The Old Bill (The government’s mob)
Airdrie S.: Historically the
[Old Bill] were quite hands-off generally, pretty disinterested. I saw Old Bill
drive past, a geezer lay in the middle of the road, bleeding; an ambulance was
there, the geezer who knocked the guy out was standing there. They backed away
[i.e. reversed] from the scene so they could get back to the police station. I
was a doorman here [The Staging Post].
They are
less friendly now since the alleged assault on one of their colleagues 2013.
They pretty much tried to make my life difficult after that. They got a
landlord of another pub to make up a story about me which wasn’t true. I was quoted
in the Daily Record; it was a
travesty, the three-year sentence [for Airdrieonians fan Gary Russo]. My name
was in the frame after that. He [Russo] didn’t do f***ing anything. He got out
after a year or so.
Kirkcaldy Soccer Casuals / Kirkcaldy Baby Crew (Raith Rovers)
Airdrie S.: 2015 – The worst
excuse not to turn up for a fight was with Raith. It was a cold night like
this. We were in a park calling up. We eventually called this lap-dancer – she
said he fell in the park, he got his jeans dirty, and so everyone went home”,
it’s ridiculous. We were like “f*** this, man” and went back to Airdrie.
One day me
and two fellas went up to Raith in a car. More people won’t turn up as they get
disappointed. This was a match-day. We heard that two guys were troubling the
scarfers, one had a white jacket. We saw then, this was after the game. I
punched one, my mate kicked them; my mate ripped off his hood; it came off at
the seams; they ran up the street, my mate was chasing them saying “do you want
your hood back?”
Falkirk Fear
Airdrie S.: [Raith Rovers]
and Falkirk are the only ones in League One with a firm. We took a bus up to
Falkirk, November 2012, by memory [2012-13 Scottish First Division, now
Championship]. We went up on a bus; there were 35 of us. We got off the bus; it
was 12:30-1:00 p.m.; they were in their pub called the Mill Inn.
Two of us
walked in, me and my pal. Falkirk was sitting in a comer. The barmaid said:
“who is this?” My mate said: “Section f***ing B.” We chased them out the back
door, up the street; the place was f***ing wrecked; everybody came in although
not everyone managed to get in. The build-up to this was that they were all
over the internet. We had been up during the week; we did a bit of a recon. We
were trying to get away from the police [after the event]; we sat in the
bowling club for 45 minutes. We gave the postcode to the bus-driver; he picked
us up at the bowling-club; we were back in the pub [in Airdrie] by 3:15 p.m. We
had done Falkirk, a nice day out. From that day up until this year they never
turned out against us. The next time, they said, they are going to get revenge.
The guys drove through Airdrie. We told them the name of the pub but they never
showed up.
Two months
ago they got chased from the Coup (dump) to the other end of Airdrie, about a
mile-and-a-half. I have never seen a football mob get chased that far. I gave
up after 300 yards; I’m not here for a cross-country. We went there last
Saturday. They weren’t there. They were all young guys; we were a mix – teens,
twenties, and mostly guys in their thirties.
Before my
time, in the 90s, Airdrie and Falkirk kicked off at Falkirk. The judge said: “sounds
more like the Falkirk Fearties” - everybody is pissing their pants. They never
got over that. Most of the mobs in our division are not worth much.
KJ: What are your comments about the new Airdrie stadium?
Airdrie S.: There’s nobody
in it, it’s f***ing pointless. After that old ground became a Morrisons [supermarket],
we lost 2,000 fans just like that. The capacity is 10,100 – that was the
stadium requirement of the time. Then you need it to get in [the Scottish
Premiership]. Airdrie bankrupted themselves to get there.
Celtic fans from Airdrie
Airdrie S.: 2018 - Section B attacking the Harp & Shamrock Irish bar after an Old Firm game. We were on our way back from an Airdrie game in East Fife. We were attacking the Celtic fans from Airdrie.
KJ: Which some might say they deserve for following a team from outside of here.
Airdrie S.: Wholeheartedly. There was a build-up for a couple of months. This place shut down and became the Staging Post again. The incident didn’t help. They put individual shutters on each of the windows to close up at night. When it was the Irish bar, the windows got put in all the f***ing time.
Dundee
Utility
KJ: Any confrontation with Dundee Utility?
Airdrie S.: I can’t understand how they can go together.
KJ: So that they could get the numbers.
Airdrie S.: it’s just a f***ing excuse if we can get the numbers in a town this size.
Cowdenbeath Bastard Squad
Airdrie S.: Cowdenbeath
Bastard Squad – they exist more on paper than anything else. I have never
f***ing seen them. They have a rivalry with Dunfermline so they will turn out
for that.
Online Articles:
Airdrie
Section B versus Ayr Service Crew, 13 April 2013
http://thefirms.co.uk/hooligans-clash-in-coatbridge-airdrie/
***THE
END***
