Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh has partnered with Svengali writer Dean Cavanagh to dramatise the rise of the Donnelly brothers from gangland Manchester to Europe’s catwalks.
The series will tell the story of Anthony and Christopher Donnelly, the sons of a member of the infamous Quality Street Gang who were raised on a notorious council estate in Wythenshawe. It tells the story of how the brothers started out at ticket touts at Old Trafford and Maine Road before immersing themselves in the city’s nightclub scene and ending up at catwalk shows in London, Paris and Milan, with famous musicians including Pete Doherty modelling for them.
It will track the growth of the Gio-Goi fashion label they launch into an international multimillion pound business and the attempts of the police’s Operation Bluebell to link the brothers to criminal activity.
Based on the Donnelly’s autobiography Still Breathing, the drama will follow the business as it folds due to a combination of police investigations, gang violence, drugs and mismanagement and the subsequent imprisonment of Anthony and his father Arthur.
In a joint statement, Welsh and Cavanagh said they aimed to capture the Donnelly’s “won’t take no for an answer” attitude. The pair, who have previously collaborated on darts-themed comedy Good Arrows, said they related to the brothers.
“Anthony and Christopher are stand up lads and so are we. Hopefully this is the start of a long and creative partnership,” they said.
Keo Films and distributor Content Media are expected to start filming the six hour long episode series Too Much Rock ‘N’ Roll later this year.
