I read today in Motor Cycle News that the Hell’s Angels Motorcyle Corporation Inc. (yes, really!) is suing Disney for unauthorised use of the Hell’s Angels’ logo and “trademark”.
In an unrelated development, founder member of the bad-ass bike gang, Sonny Barger, has released his own beer brand, “Sonny’s Lean and Mean lager.”
Oh, and Sonny’s latest book is due out this summer.
Like, how bad ass, mean and nasty is that?
Even outlaws are a branded product in the land of the free.
yeah i heard about that disney thing a few weeks ago…its so dumb
thats kind of fuunny actuall:D y
Not just America though. Look at what happened to Jonny Rotten/Sid Vicious. (‘I’m a Celebrity get me out of here’)
Cathy
Disney is evil…Go Bikers!
You mean, “I’m a has-been, get me on telly”?
Johnny Rotten went back to his “real” name as John Lydon, and made music with Public Image Ltd. for a while, but eventually sold out. The one time “antichrist” and “anarchist” lived to join the establishment and tell the tale - and when I heard him on Radio IV, Kaleidoscope, explaining without apparent irony how the Sex Pistols had " captured the zeitgeist" he lost what little punk credibility he still had. The thing on I’m a Celebrity was just cynical. So hands up who was shocked when he swore on TV? 
The only person who sold out bigger than Johnny Rotten was Sir Michael Jagger, although Sir Paul, Sir Elton, Sir Bob, Brian May and Ozzy come close.
As for poor old Sid. He became a caricature of the caricature he sought to portray. He was a sad no-hoper who lived the life, died the death, and became an icon - but a meaningless icon: one of my workmates came into work in a Sid Vicious tee shirt, and when I remarked on it, she had no idea who the picture was. “I just thought it was some bloke,” she explained.
I confidently predict that there will never be a Sir Lemmy, and that he will be rocking for as long as he can stand up. Allegedly true story: Sid Vicious said to Lemmy, “Could you give me a bass lesson? I can’t really play bass guitar.” Lemmy’s reply: “I know.” (Exit Lemmy, smiling sardonically.)
I agree with the initial premiss, but don’t understand the conclusion you draw.
Disney is indeed evil - right up there with McDonalds as a symbol of all that can go wrong with western capitalism. But surely a group styling itself, “Hell’s Angels”, should be broadly in favour of evil?
Ding! Winner!
And, since I’m such a has-been, please feel bad for me. Or at least care about me. No, don’t change the channel, I’m trying to get a career back! Noooooo!
My wife watches that kind of stuff, and sometimes I’m guilty of watching it with her.
Uh…Mikefule and Johnfoss…I have no idea what you’re talking about…
But as far as the the original subject, where’d you read about this?
The very first words in the very first post in the thread were:
<<I read today in Motor Cycle News >>:p
…
Excuse me while I go jump off a bridge
There was a day when the Hell’s Angels would just rumble and stomp on Disney for stealing their logo.
They’ve become so dignified…
Disney is strangely exempted from usual copyright expiration like everyone else in the US, so despite the plaintif being very questionable in this circumstance, I’m all for ANYONE going after Disney for anything viable.
Disney, like pretty much all mega-corporations around the world, use their financial weight to bully pretty much everyone - legally or not.
Chapter Holland still does that, even in live TV show’s, regardless the million viewers, and before the show was over they just run into the studio and hit the tv-host a black eye for calling Hells Angels criminal.
I would’nt start an IQ topic on Hells Angels here.
the local Hell’s Angel’s type bikers (I have racked my brains and can’t for the life of me remember what they are called) have for years bought Easter eggs to the children’s ward at the local hospital. How rebellious is that!
Cathy
You’re probably thinking of the Motorcycle Action Group who fight for riders’ rights, and organise social events and charity events. They are by reputation the rough and ready end of the spectrum (compared to the “respectable” British Motorcyclists Federation) but they are “good ol’ boys (and gals).”
Foir real outlaws, there is the Hells Angels, and that’s it. The Hells Angels issued an edict against “backpatch clubs” end enforced it with extreme violence. A friend of mine was in the “Forgotten Few” and was warned in no uncertain terms about wearing his colours again.
A special dispensation was given to the Chopper Club, and I think that HOG (Harley Owners’ Group - Harley’s own in house bad-ass biker gang lifestyle option) is tolerated with barely suppressed mirth.
But you never see the other outlaw gangs anymore. They were either assimilated or anihilated or scared off.
In my short life, I’ve had two disturbing and near violent encounters with individual Hells Angels - and I was shown the tattoos as proof that the threats made would be enforced.
But far from their original carefree rebel biker gang, they are indeed now a major organisation, incorporated, Ltd., and with their own bank, massive property investments, and, it is whispered, their own informal pharmacy business. Not to be messed with at all.
Likewise regarding the Pagans.
Nice people. Perhaps (returning to post #1 on the thread, we now have a clue as to “Who killed Bambi…”?
These people are very strange. They’re locked in a 1950s/60s timewarp. When you see Hells Angels in the UK, they look like they’re the founder members, but 50 years older - like a bunch of leather ‘n’ denim Morris dancers. But I’m not going to tell them. Are you? 
Same in Holland. Though on other moments the Calafornian death-squadron is riding up and down the town with a totally different mission.
Or just translate this url
http://www.nu.nl/news/701078/15/Vijftien_jaar_ge�ist_tegen_Nomads_wegens_gruwelmoord.html
from Dutch to English at this translator
http://www.worldlingo.com/en/websites/url_translator.html
I in deed think “rebelious” is not the right word.
Would you dare to explain each color -and what you have to do to earn it- here?
Colours: in English we often refer to a nation’s flag or a ship’s battle ensign as “colours”. Hence the expression, “Nailing his colours to the mast.” (In a naval battle, a captain of a ship can surrender by lowering his flag (colours). So if you nail your colours to the mast, you are saying “no surrender” - committing yourself to somethingin a permanent way.
By extension, Hells Angels and other bike gangs refer to their gang “regalia” as colours. The tradition was to wear a “cut off” - a denim, leather or sheepskin jacket with the sleeves cut off - as a top garment. On the back of this is a backpatch - a large badge showing the log/emblem of the gang. Above this is usually a patch witht he name of the gang (“Hells Angels”, “Mofo”, etc.) and below is a patch with the name of your particular “chapter” (local “branch”) on it.
In the UK, I blieve that there is now only one HA chapter, called the All England chapter, which I think used to be th Windsor chapter at one time.
So, the “colours” are the sleeveless jacket with the back patch emblem. According to tradition, a Hells Angel should wear his colours at all times. However, I think this tradition is no longer rigorously followed, as the HA members have moved into other areas, owning property, doing business deals and so on, in addition to their core activities of riding bikes and shooting people.
To get your colours, you need to be a member of the gang. Each gang presumably has some form of initiation.
The Forgotten Few (my mate’s gang) were not on the same scale at all. As far as I can tell from his stories, they were a few mates who made up a name for their gang, had some colours made, and had a lot of fun playing at being bad ass until one day they were politely asked to choose between wearing colours or being able to walk and chew.