Legacy
Roberts' murder of the police officers made him a hero to anarchists and football hooligans. His name has been used for many years to antagonise the police, with chants like "Harry Roberts is our friend, is our friend, is our friend. Harry Roberts is our friend, he kills coppers. Let him out to kill some more, kill some more, kill some more, let him out to kill some more, Harry Roberts" as well as "He shot three down in Shepherd's Bush, Shepherd's Bush, Shepherd's Bush. He shot three down in Shepherd's Bush, our mate Harry" (to the tune of "London Bridge Is Falling Down"), which originated with groups of young people outside Shepherd's Bush police station after Roberts had been arrested.
His folk-hero status among these sub-cultures has led to various artistic representations of Roberts. The character of Billy Porter in the 2001 novel He Kills Coppers by Jake Arnott, and the 2008 TV adaptation, is based on Harry Roberts, and he features in the lyrics of several songs by the band Chumbawamba, including one in which his name is chanted repeatedly ("Harry Roberts, Harry Roberts, Roberts Roberts, Harry Harry") in parody of the Hare Krishna mantra "Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare".
Read more about this topic: Harry Roberts (criminal)
Famous quotes containing the word legacy:
“What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)