Notes for Jimmy's second and probably final book 'The Boys Are Back In Town' (Image: Manchester Evening News)īefore Spinningfields and the Northern Quarter, the city centre was still dominated by industry, a skyline of cotton mills and factories rather than glitzy apartments and hotels. The core cast of characters Jimmy associates with the QSG were men, like him, who grew up in the post-war era when Manchester was a very different place. "If somebody threatened us we'd be there, the whole lot of us." "We weren't all into the same thing, but there was one thing we were sure of, if there was ever any trouble, we were all in it together.
"Some of them were armed robbers, safe blowers, some were conmen and some were doing fraud, we were all into crime in a different way. "The Quality Street Gang was people that knew each other intimately and trusted each other," said Jimmy.
'If there was ever any trouble, we were all in it together' Now living in sheltered accommodation in the same Victorian block of flats in Ancoats where his late wife Rita was born, Jimmy spoke to the Manchester Evening News about the ups and downs of his life in the criminal underworld. Later this year, he plans to release a second installment entitled 'The Boys Are Back In Town', a reference to the 1976 Thin Lizzy song inspired by Jimmy and his pals. He was among the first of the QSG - said to be responsible for much of Manchester's crime spanning the 60s, 70s and 80s - to break his silence when he published an autobiography in 2011. Jimmy isn't feeling sorry for himself though - considering the life he's led and the scrapes he's been through, it's not a bad innings.Īnd the prospect of dying has spurred him on to share as many of his stories as possible. It's in his kidneys and doctors say it's unlikely Jimmy would survive a major surgical operation to remove it. Jimmy 'The Weed' Donnelly is nearly 80-years-old and fears he may not have long left.ĭespite standing just 5ft 4in tall, the infamous Quality Street Gang member has never walked away from a fight in his life and isn't about to start now.īut the truth is, this final opponent is one he can't take a swing at.