Any Major London Vol. 1
A couple of years ago I posted a series of CD-R mixes comprising songs set in or about New York. This is the first in a series of mixes of songs set in or about London. I think there are four or five mixes in it — your reaction will guide me. I’ll try not to pick the most obvious songs, and no artist should feature more than once (sorry, The Kinks!).
Here and there, songs will come from surprising sources. Hall & Oates, for example, are not immediate candidates for London songs, nor is Glen Campbell. For Jane Birkin, who made her name as an artist and actress in the French scene, her London song is a sort of homecoming, with lyrics by Rufus Wainwright (whose dad turns up eight songs layer) and guitar by Johnny Marr.
As always, the mix is timed to fit on a standard CD-R, and home-stewed covers are included. PW in comments.
1. Thames TV – Start-Up Sound (1968)
2. Glen Campbell – London (I’m Coming To See You) (1974)
3. Elvis Costello – London’s Brilliant Parade (1994)
4. Everything But The Girl – Oxford Street (1988)
5. Aztec Camera – Get Outta London (1990)
6. Josh Rouse – London Bridges (2007)
7. Michelle Featherstone – Camden Town (2009)
8. Jane Birkin – Waterloo Station (2006)
9. The Boo Radleys – Blue Room In Archway (1998)
10. Saint Etienne – London Belongs To Me (1991)
11. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Brompton Oratory (1997)
12. Hall & Oates – London Luck And Love (1976)
13. Linda Lewis – Hampstead Way (1971)
14. Ralph McTell – Kew Gardens (1969)
15. Nick Drake – Mayfair (1968)
16. Loudon Wainwright III – Primrose Hill (1997)
17. Jimmy MacCarthy – Missing You (1991)
18. The Pogues – Lullaby Of London (1988)
19. The Jam – Down In The Tube Station At Midnight (1978)
20. XTC – Towers Of London (1980)
21. Nick Heyward – Traffic In Fleet Street (1988)
22. Nouvelle Vague – Guns Of Brixton (2004)
23. David Arnold & Michael Price – Theme of Sherlock (2010)
GET IT!
or HERE or HERE or HERE or HERE
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PW = amdwhah
not what I expected, a big surprise, well done
nice mix dude
Great job, looking forward to the other volumes – if only to see which Kinks track is picked!
The not obvious picks is the secret of this successful mix. Cheers mate!
Great, great stuff. I love the mixes. Definitely keep this one going as long as you can. Thanks.
Excellent. I only miss Blossom Dearie’s brill I Like London in the Rain. Cheers.
Sky, that is very much on the list.
Nice. My home town, looking forward to this series even more than the other great stuff you put together. If you think the Kinks pick will be hard, I can’t imagine how you’re going to manage the Kilburns/Ian Dury/Blockheads one. Having one for each is probably the best bet – or is that cheating – and please consider the bus driver/cab driver prayer. I hope Squeeze and Up The Junction is also very much on the list.
I’ll have to stick to my one-artist-in-the-series rule, though I could (will) bend it a little here and there to allow overlap between band memberships and solo projects. I’m still undecided on which Squeeze song to choose; I tend to return to Up The Junction though. Dury’s contribution was fairly quickly settled (hint: “Number 18 down to Euston”).
Cor Blimey! All the best, mate.
I wonder if Joe Jackson`s “Down To London” will make it through to a future mix of the London`s series…
Wow, what a great idea. Thank you so much.
Went straight on & downloaded you pick of New York songs. Unfortunately the first one is not available. Any chance for a reup?
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