The 100 best London songs
Time Out's team of experts celebrate the city's finest moments on record
Browse the full list below, click on each song to read more and tell us what you think in the comments.
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20
‘Peter the Painter’ – Ian Dury (1984)
Homage to one of our greatest talents -
19
Sarah Cracknell (center) with Saint Etienne - © Elaine Constantine
‘London Belongs To Me’ – Saint Etienne (1991)
All the joy of leaving home in less time than it takes the kettle to boil... -
18
‘Fake Plastic Trees’ - Radiohead (1995)
Oxford indie band contemplate London’s dreaming spires -
17
‘Soho’ – Bert Jansch & John Renbourn (1966)
The zenith of the 1960s London folk scene captured in song by two of its central practitioners -
16
‘Born Slippy’ – Underworld (1996)
A cry for help from the bottom of a bottle, assembled from snatches of conversation heard on a night out in Soho, becomes an anthem for the Stella generation -
15
‘Herculean’ – The Good, The Bad & The Queen (2006)
A conceptual eye on the city and its people -
14
‘London London' – Caetano Veloso (1971)
The capital through the eyes of an exile -
13
‘The Fool on the Hill’ - The Beatles (1967)
The mysterious fog men of Primrose Hill -
12
‘Galang’ - M.I.A. (2003)
‘London Calling, Speak the slang now...’ -
11
‘Maybe It's Because I'm a Londoner’ - Hubert Gregg (1947)
‘I love London town’
Buy Time Out's London anthology
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Get your copy of 'London - Songs to define the city', the guide to songs about the city, for just £6.99.
