Gangs of Birmingham: All about the true events and historical background of the Peaky Blinders. We get to the bottom of the question of whether the ruthless gang of gangsters really existed.
The real story of the Peaky Blinders
Cold-blooded, merciless and with British charm: by now at the latest you should know which series we are talking about here. Peaky Blinders, which has been on the Netflix streaming platform since 2017, among others, seems unmistakable. Packed with drama and authenticity, the BBC- Two series from creator Steven Knight is set in 1920s England.
- The Peaky Blinders are a mafia-like gang of gangsters and petty criminals who run riot in early 20th century Birmingham. At the centre is the Shelby family, in particular their son Tommy, as well as his brothers Arthur and John
- The pivotal point of the story is Tommy’s attempts to get his family out of the illegal gambling business. The reason for his efforts is that he wants to improve his family’s reputation by making them wealthy people. But in the process, Tommy has to deal with adverse circumstances, including the consequences of the world wars.
That’s behind the Peaky Blinders
In fact, the basic idea of Peaky Blinders is based on a true incident. A street gang that is said to have been up to mischief in Birmingham in the late 19th century serves as the template for the British series, which has been shown in the United Kingdom since 2013.
- Although the real Peaky Blinders was probably more a group of juvenile petty thugs, there are nevertheless some parallels to the series criminals. In addition, the Blinders also have similarities with the Billy Boys. This was a feared Protestant street gang that operated in Scotland in the 1920s. Named after their founder Billy Fullerton, this gangster group belonged to the razor gangs in Glasgow, which caused a lot of trouble due to their rivalries.
- But apart from the time, roughly around the 20th century, the series characters don’t have much in common with the historical Peaky Blinders. Just like in many historical series, the suspense factor was placed above the historical truth.
- However, even if there seem to be some deviations from the real Peaky Blinders and some historical untruths are presented, this does not make the series seem any less authentic.
