1988
Bernard O’Mahoney takes over door security at Raquels nightclub in Basildon. The UK rave scene is in its infancy.
1989-1991
The rave scene explodes nationally. Ecstasy use surges. Tony Tucker partners with O’Mahoney at Raquels. Craig Rolfe joins the firm. Pat Tate, recently in prison for a robbery offence after famously escaping court, comes onto the scene.
1992-1994
The firm is at its peak. Drug supply, club security and informal protection rackets run through the same network. Tate is in and out of prison. Tucker is increasingly close to boxer Nigel Benn, providing his security.
November 1995
On 16 November 1995, 18-year-old Leah Betts takes an ecstasy tablet bought at Raquels. She dies five days later. The Betts family release the now-iconic anti-drug image. Bernard O’Mahoney walks out of Raquels.
6 December 1995
Tony Tucker, Pat Tate and Craig Rolfe are shot dead in a Range Rover on a farm track in Rettendon. Their bodies are found the next morning.
May 1996
Michael Steele and Jack Whomes are arrested and charged. Darren Nicholls agrees to testify.
20 January 1998
Steele and Whomes are convicted at the Old Bailey and sentenced to life imprisonment.
2000
The film Essex Boys, directed by Terry Winsor and starring Sean Bean, is released – the first feature film inspired by the case.
2002
Carlton Leach publishes Muscle.
2007
Rise of the Footsoldier, directed by Julian Gilbey and adapted from Leach’s book, is released. It becomes a sleeper hit on DVD.
2015-2023
The Rise of the Footsoldier franchise expands to six films, with a seventh (Ibiza) in production.
January 2021
Jack Whomes is granted parole and released after 23 years.
February 2025
Michael Steele, now in his 80s, is granted parole. The question of whether the right men were convicted remains, for many, open.