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The Underworld Podcast

Glasgow's Ice Cream Wars: Drugs, Police Framing, and Soft Serve

The Underworld Podcast

The Underworld Podcast

Documentary, True Crime, History, Society & Culture

4.6871 Ratings

🗓️ 31 January 2022

⏱️ 56 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

As badly-planned 1960s projects pushed Glasgow's poorest people to the city's fringes, ice cream vans became a lifeline, delivering food, drink and cigarettes. Before long, gangsters got in on the act, packing out vans with drugs, guns and stolen goods. A war between the city's hell-bent, crucifying 'Godfather' and pretenders to his throne ensued. But it was mostly beer-money "frighteners" and smashed windows. Until somebody committed mass murder, and sent the city into a tailspin. What Glasgow's underworld did next would define Scottish crime for decades. What the police did, might just be worse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

At Barclays, we're here for the land of football.

0:06.4

We're here for the Premier League.

0:09.0

And the Barclays Women's Super League.

0:12.1

We're here for the football chance for giving more girls a chance. We're

0:18.0

here for the grassroots and all the muddy boots. From schools to stadiums, we're here for it all.

0:25.0

Barclays, here for the land of football.

0:30.0

2 a.m. April 16th, 1984 in the run down Glasgow suburb of Rookasey.

0:36.2

Nine members of the Doyle family are asleep in their top floor apartment in one of the

0:41.4

Scottish city's roughest and toughest neighborhoods.

0:44.3

Tensions are sky high.

0:46.7

18-year-old Andrew Doyle, known by the unfortunate nickname Fat Boy,

0:51.0

has only been in his new job driving ice cream vans around town for a few months.

0:55.0

But in 1980s, Glasgow, ice cream vans aren't just selling Chaco Tocos and Bompops, both of which rule, and Andrew's been threatened, beaten and shot at for refusing the

1:06.4

overtures of some of the city's most violent men. Just a few weeks before, a

1:10.5

masked attacker had fired a shotgun through the windshield of Andrew's van.

1:14.6

But he escaped and carried on with his route, just selling toasted almonds and strawberry

1:18.9

short cakes like it was normal.

1:20.8

Tonight, though, will be tragically different.

1:23.0

Two men pour gas all over the Doyle's front door and light it on fire.

1:27.0

The whole building goes up in flames and poisonous black smoke fills the halls and other apartments.

1:33.0

Firefighters rushed to the inferno, but for six of the doils it's too late.

1:38.0

Andrew's father James, brothers Daniel and Anthony, his sister Christine, and her 18-month-old son Mark all died.

...

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