INTRODUCTION

Dave didn't see himself as famous, but rather, infamous, and while he didn't particularly engage well with the term 'gangster' from a personal perspective, that's nevertheless how he was solely viewed by many; an old-school gangster.

In truth he was way more than a gangster. It would be totally remiss to pigeon-hole him as such without bearing witness to his many other attributes. He was a highly creative entrepreneur who could calculate risk and awareness sufficiently to pursue his own ambition. A man with acute wit and ready repartee, with sharp verbal comebacks and retorts that could turn a conversation, else stop one in its tracks. Dave had that uncanny ability to deliver a line that could equal and often surpass a lively conversationalist's original remark, rather like those on brilliantly timed talk-shows. He mastered the art of fast thinking; enough to fully engage with the trickiest of conversations.

That in mind, and although he often fostered the persona of a self-confessed 'flash bastard' as he coined it, he had an exceptionally kind and generous side that would lend itself to understanding. He really could show humility and humbleness towards those who really knew him, and was often very helpful towards those who didn't really know him. However, he was nobody's fool and most certainly no soft touch.

In the space of a 39 year period between 1984 and 2023, Dave Courtney forged an incredible career and lifestyle out of nothing but ingenuity, calculation, risk, boldness and brevity. He amassed 7 books (1 best seller), 46 films (5 award winning), 27 TV series episodes, 41 primary documentaries, 1 radio series, multiple magazines, podcasts, 1 live TV audience, plus c.450 'An Audience With Dave Courtney' live shows between 2000 and 2023, with a mean average of c.20 per year, event openings, innumerous YouTube et al platform podcasts and documentaries, newspaper articles and reports, book citations, other articles and charity work.

Dave run many security doors in pubs and clubs, and was well known for either managing, owning or running them. He promoted his own raves, and promoted the legendary 'Crazy Mondays' that spread from Deptford Broadway to Ilford and beyond. Other renowned events that Dave promoted included 'One Nation' and 'Garage Nation' in collaboration with actor Terry Stone. Then of course he hosted his own BKB (Bare Knuckle Boxing) show in the grounds of 'Camelot Castle' where he lived at 18 Chestnut Rise, Plumstead, South London, in collaboration with Andy Topliff who promoted and refereed this event and fight card, with a World Championship and Trans-Atlantic belt on the line. He even had his own nightclub with its own erotic-fetish sex dungeon built below it in his back garden, where he entertained thousands of revellers over many years. All this while continuing to maintain the rigorous schedules of his other businesses and commitments, as well as inter-alia, his debt collecting business. Dave really did live up to his reputation as the 'Yellow Pages' of the underworld (crime)".

The shear number of platforms that Dave Courtney owned, shared, or in some capacity became part of, or developed was nothing short of astounding. His workload was absolutely relentless. From humble beginnings as a dustman, to stamping his own brand with an unbreakable watertight seal, such is the permanence of his unique life in what he achieved, should tell you most everything that Dave stood for. He was a one-off within the truest definition of the term.