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24/01/03 - Crime is a thing
of the past
Report by Gareth Morgan
THE NEWS
HE WAS jailed for attempted murder in his teens and was
friends with the notorious Kray family, but Dave Courtney
is far from mean, moody and unapproachable. In fact, the
former gangster is laid-back, funny and easy to get on
with - and keen to put the record straight He holds up
his hands and admits to his put crimes, but also promises
he is now on the straight and narrow.
So much so that he has recently become patron of Medway
charity Misunderstood, which aims to help parents of children
with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Youngsters with the condition are often labelled as naughty.
He said: "Naughty kids become naughty men. I feel
I can do something. I feel I can do something which money
can't. "You get bad goodies and good baddies.
I have always done my bit for charity but, of course,
the press is more interested in the bad things you do.
"I just try to drum it home to the children that
it's better being out of prison and skint, than in prison.
It's a lot worse in prison. "There are no more gangsters.
They have been and gone. If you try to be one you will
go to prison, Crime really doesn't pay any more."
Dave visits Medway about two or three times a week. His
ex-wife Tracey lives here, as do his children Levi (15),
Chelsea (14) and Bau (20). He relishes his new role with
Misunderstood after being asked to help out by founder
member Maria George.
So far be has been to several fund-raising functions including
an auction, will be a judge at a karaoke competition at
the end of the month and is even taking a group of children
away on holiday at his expense. Dave said: "It's
a real cause and something I can actively be involved
in. I can sit down with them and they might take more
notice of me than their teachers.
"I tell them to take any avenue they can to get out
of crime. They are taking pictures of you from the moon
these days. You can't get away with anything. "It
makes it worse to know that each year 35,000 people come
out of prison addicted to heroin who weren't before."
Dave (43), who lives in london, was jailed for three-and-a-half
years for attempted murder when he was just 18 and has
spent a similar amount of time behind bars awaiting trial
on charges of which he was later cleared. But he believes
he gets a raw deal from the press, which would rather
talk about his past instead of the life he is leading
now.
Last year, Dave was in a coma for five weeks after his
car overturned on the way home from Maidstone, an accident
from which be still has not completely recovered. He suffered
eight broken ribs, a fractured skull, two punctured lungs
and a broken ankle, among other injuries.
He said: "I had the pleasure of morphine for the
first time and was away with the fairies, I had a good
chat with Elvis. "It was said it was an underworld
'hit' and apparently I gave a bedside interview while
I was in hospital - but how could I if I was in a coma?
"You get close to God when you are fighting for your
life. Not that I am a believer. A coma is an experience
I wouldn't wish on anyone. "I was in trouble. They
even called in a priest to give me the last rites. My
body was in a state. "But I was aware of what was
going on around me. I could hear my mother crying and
felt my wife's tears on my arm.
"I thought my time was up. I owe the nurses and doctors
at Dartford's Darent Hospital a lot. They saved my life."
Despite having no convictions since his youth. Dave says
that organizing security at the funerals of Ronnie and
Reggie Kray left him a marked man with the police, who
were "worried about the small army he had arranged".
But now, with his books turning into bestsellers and his
stand-up show a huge success, Dave is set to make it big
in the entertainment industry. Medway will get a taste
of Hollywood glitz and glamour when his new film, in which
he stars, wrote and directed, is premiered at the Casino
Rooms, Rochester
Huge interest
Hell To Pay won the Best of Group award at the Cannes
Film Festival last year and has generated huge interest
in showbiz circles. And to prove that this larger-than-life
figure does not do things by half, a ticket to Dave's
premiere will also give fans the chance to catch his "An
Audience With ..." show which will take place after.
Channel Five will film the evening and tickets are expected
to be "like gold dust". Dave said: "It
will be the start of a world tour, basically, beginning
in Rochester and ending up in Hollywood. "The first
showings are at the Circus Tavern in Essex and then the
Casino Rooms, before going to Leicester Square. It will
then go around the world, ending up in Hollywood.
"It's for the people. You can't get more down-to-earth
people than those from Rochester, so where better to screen
the film?" Dave has put more than £1 million
of his own money into the film which also stars Bill Murray
(Don Beach in The Bill), Nigel Benn (ex-boxer and DJ),
Goldie (actor and DJ), John Altman (EastEnders Nick Cotton)
and a host of Dave's friends from his hell-raising days.
He has film, television and record projects in the pipeline
and hopes to be living in the United States by the end
of the year, believing the press in America to be more
amenable than in England. Quentin Tarantino, director
of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, has offered him £380,000
to star in a film, and has also bought the rights to one
of his books.
Dave added: "I'm a step away from making it big in
each area. I'm a far better entertainer than I ever was
a gangster." Dates are being finalized for the film
premiere at the beginning of April, and tickets will be
under £20.
For more information, contact the booking office on 01708
864241, or check out Dave's website at www.davecourtney.com
He will be one of the judges at the Karaoke King or Queen
of Medway, where wannabe singers have the chance to win
studio time and a CD of their songs.
It will be held at 7.30pm on 31 January, at the Royal
Function Rooms, Rochester. Contact 01634 314292 for an
entry form. Ring 01634 310471 for the Misunderstood helpline.
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