Best of the Boroughs: Brixton
Today we’re continuing our musical tour of London’s boroughs with a trip through Brixton. And yes, before you scold us for our lack of London knowledge, we know that Brixton isn’t a borough, but this small pocket of London is so jammed with musical heritage, we think you’ll forgive us for giving Brixton a blog post all of its own.
So here are just a few of the songs, people and places that shaped Brixton’s musical history.
EDDY GRANT — ELECTRIC AVENUE
You’d be hard pressed to come up with a song more synonymous with Brixton than Eddy Grant’s 1982 hit Electric Avenue. The track takes its name from the UK’s first market street to have electricity and comments on the racism, unemployment and poverty of the era, as well as the Brixton Riots which took place just a few years before. In fact, Grant left the UK for Barbados shortly after the riots, but lost most of his recent recordings when British Airways misplaced his luggage. Electric Avenue was one of the songs Grant wrote in an effort to replace his lost songs. You can read more about the making of the song in this piece from the Guardian. These days, Electric Avenue (and the adjacent Brixton Market) is a hotbed of food stalls, restaurants and cocktail bars.
GUNS OF BRIXTON — THE BRIXTON RIOTS OF 1981
The 1981 Brixton Riots loom large over any musical history of Brixton, inspiring a number of songs including — perhaps most famously — The Clash’s Guns of Brixton. Written by the band’s bassist, Paul Simonon, the song deals with racial tensions and police violence, with the music featuring strong reggae influences to reflect the area’s cultural heritage. The track proved hugely influential, its instantly recognisable bass-line showing up in Beats International’s No 1. Hit Dub Be Good to Me as well as Cypress Hill’s What’s Your Number.
STAR MAN — BOWIE MEMORIAL
While it may have often seemed like he really was “The Man Who Fell to Earth”, David Bowie (or David Robert Jones) was born in Brixton, planet Earth, on January 8, 1947. Not far from the tube station, you’ll find a memorial celebrating Brixton’s favourite son in all his Aladdin Sane-era glory. Following his death in January 2016, mourners flocked to the mural for weeks, singing songs and paying their respects to the chameleonic rock icon. The memorial still draws a healthy amount of tourists and Bowie fanatics after his death. If you’re eager to find out more about Bowie in Brixton, be sure to check out Bowie Tour London which guides visitors through his life from the house he was born in, to the venue of his 1992 homecoming gig and more. There’s even a Father’s Day Double walking tour taking place on June 16.
DESMOND’S HIP CITY
Though it’s no longer in operation, Brixton was home to Desmond’s Hip City, the UK’s first black-owned record shop. Decorated with album covers from leading black American and Caribbean artists, as well as posters of militant leaders and activists from Che Guevara to Angela Davis, the store became a hub for the British Civil Rights movement, surviving an attack from far-right group, the National Front. Famous for importing the latest soul, reggae, and soca records, Desmond’s Hip City was a paradise not only for the area’s Afro-Caribbean community, but for anyone interested in black music.
THE WINDMILL — ROOF DOG’S ROOF
This Brixton institution is regularly hailed as one of London’s best live venues by music lovers and musicians alike. Taking its name from the nearby Ashby’s Mill — the only lasting (and working) windmill in the London area — The Windmill hosts live bands, DJs and poetry readings on a regular basis. Massives names like Hot Chip, Metronomy, The War On Drugs and Florence and the Machine have all made appearances at the venue which has also seen recent performances from Fat White Family, Black Midi, Shame, Goat Girl. The venue even boasted its own roof-dwelling rottweiler mascot, Roof Dog, who sadly passed away in 2015.
BRIXTON PRISON — THE “LONDON DUNGEON”
Following an altercation at a The Jam gig, Glenn Danzig and Jerry Only of Horror-Punk pioneers The Misfits spent an evening or two detained at Her Majesty’s pleasure in Brixton Prison which served as the inspiration for their song “London Dungeon”. The Misfits joined the prestigious list of other former inmates that includes Mick Jagger, rapper Giggs, philosopher Bertrand Russell and the Kray twins. And while it’s important to note that they weren’t all inmates at the same time, it’s still fun to imagine them all working out in the exercise yard together.
That’s all for today’s post but we’ll be back soon with more of our favourite live music venues and tips from London. Did we miss any of your favourite Brixton spots? If so, let us know in the comments. For more news and info on the latest live music events in the capital, be sure to follow HUM on Facebook and Instagram.
