 First edition | |
| Author | Victor Headley |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | London, UK: X Press |
Publication date | 1992 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | |
Yardie was the debut novel of Jamaican-born British writer Victor Headley, being described as "the publishing story of 1992" [1] when it became the first title produced by Dotun Adebayo's newly established X Press. [2]
The novel achieved impressive sales, initially through outlets other than traditional bookshops; according to Goodreads: "Yardie is, quite simply, a literary sensation in England. Originally published by X Press, a two-man operation, the book was produced on a desktop computer and distributed through unusual channels: it was sold at clothing shops, hairdressers, and even on top of over-turned dumpsters outside of nightclubs. On word of mouth alone, Yardie has sold over twelve thousand copies." [3] [4] It went on to sell some 30,000 copies. [2] Interviewed by Vastiana Belfon for the New Statesman , X Press co-founder Steve Pope said: "It was the first populist black title aimed at a black audience, and its sales success prompted W H Smith to set up black writing sections in its stores. Other booksellers soon followed." [5]
Set largely in 1980s Hackney, the novel borrows its title from yardie, a term stemming from the slang name originally given to occupants of "government yards" — social housing projects with very basic amenities, and is based on the fictional story a young Jamaican's rise from the streets of London to the top of the drug-dealing underworld. Publishers Weekly (reviewing the Atlantic Monthly Press edition) called Yardie a "well-crafted crime story", saying: "A planned sequel may perhaps provide insight into the gangster at the center of the intriguing world Headley has created." [6]
In 2016 it was revealed that Idris Elba was to make his directorial debut with an adaptation of Yardie. [7] [8] Elba confirmed: "It's actually a smaller capsule story within the story of Yardie. It's about a boy who comes from Jamaica and finds himself in London, being a naughty boy. You're going to see a muscular, dynamic and heartfelt film that means something to people. I want people to come out of the film and say 'Hmm, I feel like going to Jamaica now!' That's the idea." [9] The film stars Aml Ameen, with Stephen Graham in a supporting role, [10] and was released in 2018.
Rude boy is a subculture that originated from 1960s Jamaican street culture. In the late 1970s, there was a revival in England of the terms rude boy and rude girl, among other variations like rudeboy and rudebwoy, being used to describe fans of two-tone and ska. This revival of the subculture and term was partially the result of Jamaican immigration to the UK and the so-called "Windrush" generation. The use of these terms moved into the more contemporary ska punk movement as well. In the UK and especially Jamaica, the terms rude boy and rude girl are used in a way similar to gangsta, yardie, or badman.
Yardie is a term often used, particularly within the Caribbean expatriate and Jamaican diaspora, to refer to people of Jamaican origin, though its exact meaning changes depending on context. The term is derived from the Jamaican patois for “home” or "yard". The term may have specifically originated from the crowded "government yards" of two-storey government-funded concrete homes found in Kingston and inhabited by poorer Jamaican residents, though "yard" can also refer to "home" or "turf" in general in Jamaican patois.
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Oludiran "Diran" Adebayo FRSL is a British novelist, cultural critic and academic best known for his 1996 novel Some Kind of Black.
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Oludotun Davey Moore "Dotun" Adebayo is a British radio presenter, writer, and publisher. He is best known for his work on Up All Night on BBC Radio 5 Live, as well as the former obituary programme Brief Lives.
Victor Headley is a Jamaican-born British author. He is the author of the bestselling novel Yardie (1992), which gained cult status upon publication and "heralded a new wave of black British pulp fiction". Other books by Headley include Excess (1993) Yush (1994), Fetish (1995), Here Comes the Bride (1997), Off Duty (2001) and Seven Seals (2003).
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Yardie is a 2018 British crime drama film directed by Idris Elba, in his feature directorial debut, and starring Aml Ameen, Shantol Jackson, Stephen Graham, Fraser James, Sheldon Shepherd, and Everaldo Creary. It is based on the novel of the same name by Jamaican-born writer Victor Headley. It was screened in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
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Yardie is a term used in specific contexts for people of Jamaican origin.
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