Time Out has teamed up with emusic to offer our readers 40 free music downloads and a free audiobook
50 best London songs
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By Time Out editors
Posted: Mon Sep 25 2006 
36 Babyshambles 36 Albion Babyshambles [download]
Elegy for an England falling into disrepair
Pete Doherty’s adherence to a vision of an idealised England has underpinned his songwriting from his very first efforts in The Libertines. Creatives from William Blake to Enid Blyton and Michael Bracewell have all explored the idea of a lost Arcadian wonderland, but in ‘Albion’, Doherty dreams not of some bucolic idyll, but of grabbing his gal (‘I’ll be waiting in the photo booth at the underground station’) and escaping to places as oddly unglamorous as Deptford and Catford. The final destination is irrelevant, it seems; it’s the getting away (‘anywhere in Albion’) that matters.
Available on ‘Down In Albion’ album (2005)
37 Knocked ‘Em In The Old Kent Road Harry Champion [download]
A gem from the glory days of music hall
At the dawn of the twentieth century, London contained more than 300 music halls. Harry Champion’s ‘Knocked ’Em In The Old Kent Road’ was a genre classic. Thankfully many of music hall’s most beautiful venues are still open for business. The Hackney Empire has now returned to theatrical use. The Stratford Rex is a fully functional music venue once again. Perhaps most remarkable is Wilton’s Music Hall in Stepney.With its mirrored ballroom and vast chandelier, Wilton’s was known as ‘the handsomest room in town’. It’s rumoured to have been the scene of the first ever can-can and was the headquarters for the East Enders who gathered to fight Oswald Mosley’s fascists in 1936. Now, theatre has returned and, as befits its radical heritage, a number of ‘pay what you can’ seats are reserved for most shows.
Available on ‘A Little Bit Of What You Fancy’ compilation (2000) Feature continuesAdvertisement
38 A Rainy Night In Soho The Pogues [download]
Big-hearted, boozy ballad
Soho can be a difficult place to negotiate when you’re sober. But when you’re drunk, it’s even worse. The whole area turns into an emotional minefield, with every neon shopfront, clip joint, or twat on a rickshaw suddenly taking on a profound metaphorical significance. If you ever want to wallow in boozy heartbreak, Soho’s the place for you. Which is probably why this waltzing lament makes so much sense to so many people.
Available on ‘Rum Sodomy And The Lash’ reissue, bonus track (2005)
39 London The Smiths [download]
‘Billy Liar’ esqe relocation melodrama
‘Smoke lingers round your fingers/Train, heave on to Euston/Do you think you’ve made the right decision this time?’ Anyone who has ever relocated to The Smoke will recognise (albeit possibly in a less romanticised form) the excitement and anxiety implicit in the opening lines of this song.
Available on ‘Louder Than Bombs’ album (1987)
40 14 Hour Technicolour Dream The Syn [download]
Song performed at an all-nighter at Alexandra Palace starring Pink Floyd, as remembered by Time Out’s art editor
‘The bands were up on a platform in the middle of the room, so there wasn’t a separate stage area and audience area, it was all mixed up. I have in my mind a lot of noise, like the whirring of a projector. There was a lot of flickering light which was quite visually confusing. I can hardly remember the band – I just remember this atmosphere of confusion. Also everybody was pretty stoned, so that made it even more confusing.
In the main area people were hanging about but not dancing – I don’t remember any dancing at all, which was strange. It was a much more freaky, slightly alienated sort of atmosphere. In the side areas I remember a lot of people sitting around on the floor; it became a kind happening, and it just seemed to go on and on and on. I remember thinking: This is really weird, but I’m obviously in the right place.’ Sarah Kent
Available on ‘Original Syn’ (1967)- Add your comment to this feature
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80 comments
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
where's "Underneath the Arches" ?
Not a single Clash song!!!
London Calling!!!
Guns of Brixton!!!
White Man in the Hammersmith Palais!!!
What about Cat Stevens' 'Portobello Road'?