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50 best London songs
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By Time Out editors
Posted: Mon Sep 25 2006 
34 The Who 31 A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square Judy Campbell [download]
Swoonsome London-based romance made famous by Vera Lynn. The song’s most memorable performance took place during the air raids of 1940
‘It was the beginning of the air raids, but we went out, because we wanted to go out. The Shepherds Bush Empire had such nice shows, and you could see people like Margot Fontayne dancing. Judy Campbell was a successful young starlet then. I suppose “A Nightingale Sang…” just hit the right note for the time. Oh, it was so divinely escapist: “There was magic abroad in the air/There were angels dining at the Ritz…” It was nothing to do with air-raids. It was a popular song. Well, Judy Campbell came on in a satin evening frock, looking glamorous – and when she got to the point where she sang, “a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square”, she held up her hand and sang, “Hark!” you know, for the nightingale. And then “Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!” the air raid siren wailed! So instead of the nightingale, we got the siren! And the theatre just fell about they laughed so much, and Judy Campbell just died laughing on stage. It was just a yelp of laughter from the audience, they quite forgot the air raid!.’ Sylvia Harris
Available on The Best Of Vera Lynn compilation (1999) Feature continuesAdvertisement
32 London Dungeon The Misfits
US punks’ ode to a night in London’s cells
‘During our early years we tried to do an English tour with The Damned. When we completed our first three shows we walked off the tour after not being paid. We went to London and after that I went to Canterbury with Sid Vicious’s mom Anne. Our singer Glenn Danzig and guitarist Bobby Steele went to see The Jam at the Rainbow. A bunch of skinheads started a fight with Glenn who turned to watch Bobby run down the block! To protect himself, Glenn pulled a piece of glass from the Rainbow’s broken window and got arrested. In Brixton jail he put the lyrics together for “London Dungeon”. We worked on the song to audition for The Clash’s second world tour. When our drummer Joey Image fled to the USA for drugs, we aborted that tour and left our clean-faced rotting corpses in your London Dungeon.’
Jerry Only, The Misfits
Available on ‘The Misfits’ (1979)
33 A13, Trunk Road To The Sea Billy Bragg [download]
Bobby Troupe’s iconic ‘(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66’ is transplanted to Essex
‘I was sick of hearing people sing songs about America. How did we know that Amarillo, New Mexico wasn’t as dreary as Dagenham? There was a punk perversity about it, but also a pride in singing about my manor. “Starts down in Wapping/ Girl there’s no stopping/By-pass Barking and straight through Dagenham down/ To Grays Thurrock/Romney and Basildon…” And the dual carriageway to Southend does have a mythic weight for boy racers that’s part of that rock ’n’ roll dream. If Springsteen could romanticise New Jersey, I didn’t see why I couldn’t do the same for estuarine Essex.’ Billy Bragg
Available on ‘Life’s A Riot With Spy Vs Spy’ album, bonus disc (1987)
34 I Can See For Miles The Who [download]
Pete Townshend’s psych-pop masterpiece
This song may namecheck the Taj Mahal and Eiffel Tower, but was allegedly inspired by a hazy night spent gazing across London from Highgate. The cover of the album it appears on - 'Meaty Beaty Big & Bouncy' - shows seminal mod hangout The Railway Hotel, now the site of four blocks of flats, each named after a band member.
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83 comments
No
Surely The Clash's song is "London CALLING" !!!!!!!
Given that Mike Skinner grew up in Birmingham, you can hardly call "Has It Come To This?" a London song!
No "Electric Avenue" by Eddy Grant? Shame on you
Where the hell are "werewolves of london", "london calling" and "electric avenue"?????
This list SUCKS
What about Let's Snog by The Popsocks?
London Loves by Blur is missing from your list. In some circumstances, this is an imprisonable offence...!
wheres "werewolves of London"? Did I miss it?
Wheres London Lady or Dagenham Dave by the Stranglers?
why do i need to use o tunes to get this song and their size are very large to start wit
what about-BILLY BENTLEY(parades himself in London) by Kilburn and the highroads
derek brimstone
we both had a very good time
fantastic words to great guitar plaing
"West End Girls" should have appeared higher in the list, I think....
LOVE the description of Neil Tennant's "young-ish" voice! That's one way to describe it... considering I have been noticing the higher frequency of Neil's voice during the past six years than it ever was in the mid-to-late 1908s.
Of course, those who know the Neil and Chris know exactly that Neil was 31 when West End Girls was released. He was "young-ish" compared to now, alright! But sure was not that "young" compared to other first-time chart-toppers of the 1980s. ;-)
cool songs
Oranges & Lemons
For Tomorrow is excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!