Michael Biggs Launches Brit-Brazilian London Club (40 Degrees)

Michael Biggs, the son of Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs, chatted to Skrufff this week about his upcoming Brazilian/ European club night 40 Degrees, which launches at Club Colosseum on August 22.

"The main problem with South American events in London is that they get too concentrated on the South American side of things and don't have enough space for the Brits to move in. We're trying to reach the point where British people feel comfortable being at a Latin night so we can blend in more electronic music with organic music." said Michael.

As well as launching the new club, Michael continues to campaign to improve prison conditions for his infamous father Ronnie Biggs, who remains locked up In Britain's toughest prison Belmarsh.

"We're trying to get the judges to take a look at him because while he's locked behind Belmarsh's 'Iron Curtain' and nobody can actually see him or what state his health is in, they just have to go along with what the medical reports say," he continued.

"Belmarsh is very strict, it's the strictest nick (prison) in the country, it's designed for terrorists, killers, paedophiles etc and it's clearly not suitable for my father. He's kept inside a cell sometimes for 23 hours a day. As he cannot walk properly, speak read or write he can't really communicate or associate with other prisoners. For two years he didn't have a television or radio in his cell, he was in solitary confinement basically. I agree that if you commit a crime you've got to do some time but you don't have to be treated in an inhumane way, which is what's happening at the moment. My father is a political prisoner."

Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): What makes you describe him as a political prisoner-

Michael Biggs: "My father is a political prisoner. Just look at the sentences being handed out these days; manslaughter carries 8 years, if you get pissed out of your mind, drive a car and run over an entire family you might get away with a £2,500 (A$6,500) fine. I think were sick and tired of opening the newspapers in Britain and seeing that paedophiles are getting five or six years, you get all these school teachers who used to molest kids in the 60s or 70s, getting away with a couple of years because they're too old to go to prison. I call my father a political prisoner because had the train robbery been politically motivated, such as (to raise funds for) for the IRA, then my father would have been pardoned by now. We see terrorists being pardoned and freed all the time but because my father committed a crime against British property it's somehow different."

Skrufff: Belmarsh is notorious, what aspects of the prison particularly concern you-

Michael Biggs: "It's not as clean as they say it is, my father has contracted the MSRA bug three times so far. He's kept inside a cell sometimes for 23 hours a day. As he cannot walk properly, speak read or write he can't really communicate or associate with other prisoners. For two years he didn't have a television or radio in his cell, he was in solitary
confinement basically. I agree that if you commit a crime you've got to do some time but you don't have to be treated in an inhumane way, which is what's happening at the moment."

Skrufff: How did you get involved in the 40 Degrees project-

Michael Biggs: "I had the boy band in Brazil in the 80s and I always worked with musicians and artists, I sold over 12 million albums as a kid with a boy band. After that I had various discos and restaurants and I promoted a lot of parties in Brazil. Then some months ago I got together with the owner of the Colosseum and we started discussing doing a Brazilian night that would be different than most Brazilian nights that you'd see in London.

"The main problem with South American events in London is that they tend to get too concentrated on the South American side of things and don't have enough space for the Brits to move in. What I'm getting at is that situation wher Tags

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