London Music Landmarks
Those special places where music and musicians were an important part of life for many of us.
Battersea Power Station – Pink Floyd Animals
Is that a flying pig above Battersea Power station? Yes - but not a real one, obviously....
Rainbow Theatre Finsbury Park
Somewhere Over The Rainbow - There's A Church! - A Sad Farewell To The Rainbow Theatre. After having first been used as a cinema, which was, after all, what it was originally designed and built for, the building that many a concert goer from the 70s attended in order...
Mildmay Tavern Balls Pond Road London
The Mildmay Tavern - Simply A Mod's Pub Or Was It More Than That - Enter The Honeycombs Described as a "Mods pub" at one stage of its long history, and one which staged concerts by many bands, most of which were never to become famous or well known, the Mildmay...
Hammersmith Odeon – Iconic London Venue Where Ziggy Stardust Died
The Hammersmith Odeon, also known as the Hammersmith Apollo, has a long history and has been known by several different names since it opened in 1932 as the Gaumont Palace.Over the years, in addition to serving as a cinema, it has played host to many musical legends...
Eel Pie Island and the Eel Pie Hotel
Eel Pie Island is a small island in the Thames, approximately 8 acres in size, and is the home to many artists, scuptors and the like. There are also a number of private houses on the island and a few businesses are based there. Not that interesting really, or is it?...
Railway Hotel Harrow & Wealdstone – Genesis of the Who
Railway Hotel Harrow - From Music Venue To A Pile Of Ashes Hotels which were given the name "Railway Hotel" were almost always located next, or close to, railway stations, fairly obvious really. Of course, when stations were closed the need for the hotel often...
Ziggy Stardust Album Cover Location
Bowie's Ziggy Stardust Album Cover Location The iconic photograph for David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust album cover was shot on Heddon Street in London. The photo shoot took place during January of 1972 and the photographer was Brian Ward. The sign "K West" was the trade...
The Marquee Club London
The Marquee Club was one of London's best known rock venues. Though no longer in operation, The Marquee Club was a true prestigious musical institution that was known throughout the world and is still recognised today. Read through the following to learn more about...
Hope & Anchor Islington
The Hope & Anchor Islington - No Stranger to the Stranglers The Hope and Anchor Islington is a grade II listed building, currently owned by Greene King and still operated as a pub with great food and live music. Before this, however, and especially in the 1970s, it...
Musician Commemorative Plaques In London
Freddy Mercury (Fred Bulsara) 1946 – 1991 Blue Plaque
Location of plaque: 22 Gladstone Avenue, Feltham, London...
Marc Bolan Commemorative Brown Plaque Hackney London
Location: 25 Stoke Newington Common, Hackney Inscription: Musician Mark Feld, later known as Marc Bolan, lived here 1947 -...
Plaque Erected At Site Of Ziggy Stardust Album Cover Photo Location
Link to BBC report: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/entertainment-arts-17521244/site-of-ziggy-stardust-album-cover-shoot-marked-with-plaque Ziggy Stardust Album...
We Still Rock You
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Cinema Show – Rock Video Showcase
Fond Memories
Those we have loved to listen to but who we have now lost. Let’s remember the good times.
Jack Bruce
Jack Bruce - Much More Than Just A Bass Player. On paper, the combination of Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker in a trio which also featured the prodigiously talented Eric Clapton, was never going to work - but it did, big style! Cream became the biggest selling band in the...
Ginger Baker
Ginger Baker Made Me Skip School! I didn't skip school very often but there was one reason for doing so that I simply could not resist - my mate had an older brother who had a fantastic collection of LPs and one of those albums was Cream's "Wheels of Fire" which was a...
Dimebag Darrell Shot dead On Stage 2004
Darrell Lance Abbott was a guitarist with Pantera, a groove metal band he formed in 1981 with his brother Vinnie Paul. In addition to his work with Pantera, Abbott also played with his brother in another band, Damageplan and it was during a Damageplan concert that he...
Keith Moon
Born and raised in post war London, Keith Moon came from humble beginnings and carved out a career that defined the way in which rock stars were expected to live - even if most of them actually didn't. Keith Moon, The Who’s celebrated drummer, was born in Wembley on...
Ken Hensley
Only a few months after the death of former Uriah Heep drummer, Lee Kerslake, we are devastated to hear that his bandmate and founder member of Uriah Heep, keyboard player, singer and multi-instrumentalist Ken Hensley has also passed away. Ken joined Uriah Heep in...
Jimmy McCulloch – Died Age 26 in 1979.
Founder Member of Thunderclap Newman; Scottish Musician Jimmy McCulloch Died Aged 26 in London Jimmy McCulloch was a prolific and hugely talented musician who, in his short lifetime, managed to play alongside such industry giants as Pete Townsend, Paul McCartney, John...
Marc Bolan Death Aged 29
Tragic Marc Bolan Death Crash Marc Bolan, born in September 1947, was killed in a car crash in London on 16th September 1977 just a few days before his 30th birthday. y. Glam rock icon, guitarist and poet Marc Bolan died on 27th September 1977. He had been a passenger...
End of the Road for Randy Rhoads
Aged just 25, Randy Rhoads, guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne, died in an aircraft accident in 1982. The teaming up of Ozzy with Randy Rhoads was a marriage made in heaven. Rhoads' virtuosity as a guitarist was the perfect compliment to Osbourne's extraordinary voice and...
Looking Back
Travelling back in time with the bands and musicians we love
Monterey Memories – Monterey Pop
The Monterey Festival - Three Days In June 1967 That Changed The Face Of Music - Forever If you asked most people who were around during the latter half of the sixties to name the most important music event of that era it is likely that a majority of them would say...
RockBottoms
Things don’t always turn out the way we want.
End of the Road for Randy Rhoads
Aged just 25, Randy Rhoads, guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne, died in an aircraft accident in 1982. The teaming up of Ozzy with Randy Rhoads was a marriage made in heaven. Rhoads' virtuosity as a guitarist was the perfect compliment to Osbourne's extraordinary voice and...
Marc Bolan Death Aged 29
Tragic Marc Bolan Death Crash Marc Bolan, born in September 1947, was killed in a car crash in London on 16th September 1977 just a few days before his 30th birthday. y. Glam rock icon, guitarist and poet Marc Bolan died on 27th September 1977. He had been a passenger...
Bad Luck, Bad Management – Badfinger
Badfinger Badfinger were typical of many bands that have their origins in the sixties. After learning their trade, performing cover versions of popular tunes of the day, notably the Beatles in their case, songwriting and composing talent starts to surface and the...
Who Knows Where The Time Goes?
Artists and Bands we still love to listen to – after all this time
King Crimson Still Rules in the Court of the Crimson King
More Than 50 Years On - King Crimson Still Going Strong Formed some 50 years ago in London, King Crimson have been delivering the finest quality, innovative and hugely entertaining music that they are rightly famous for since 1968. Yes, the lineup has changed many...
Wishbone Ash
Wishbone Ash are a perennial rock band that, at the time of writing, (2019) were still going strong and gigging with the best of them, albeit with only one original member - the Flying V wielding Andy Powell. Famous for their impressive twin lead guitar approach,...
Memorable Music Events
Dimebag Darrell Shot dead On Stage 2004
Darrell Lance Abbott was a guitarist with Pantera, a groove metal band he formed in 1981 with his brother Vinnie Paul. In addition to his work with Pantera, Abbott also played with his brother in another band, Damageplan and it was during a Damageplan concert that he...
Ginger Baker
Ginger Baker Made Me Skip School! I didn't skip school very often but there was one reason for doing so that I simply could not resist - my mate had an older brother who had a fantastic collection of LPs and one of those albums was Cream's "Wheels of Fire" which was a...
End of the Road for Randy Rhoads
Aged just 25, Randy Rhoads, guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne, died in an aircraft accident in 1982. The teaming up of Ozzy with Randy Rhoads was a marriage made in heaven. Rhoads' virtuosity as a guitarist was the perfect compliment to Osbourne's extraordinary voice and...
Ken Hensley
Only a few months after the death of former Uriah Heep drummer, Lee Kerslake, we are devastated to hear that his bandmate and founder member of Uriah Heep, keyboard player, singer and multi-instrumentalist Ken Hensley has also passed away. Ken joined Uriah Heep in...
Keith Moon
Born and raised in post war London, Keith Moon came from humble beginnings and carved out a career that defined the way in which rock stars were expected to live - even if most of them actually didn't. Keith Moon, The Who’s celebrated drummer, was born in Wembley on...
Jack Bruce
Jack Bruce - Much More Than Just A Bass Player. On paper, the combination of Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker in a trio which also featured the prodigiously talented Eric Clapton, was never going to work - but it did, big style! Cream became the biggest selling band in the...
Jimmy McCulloch – Died Age 26 in 1979.
Founder Member of Thunderclap Newman; Scottish Musician Jimmy McCulloch Died Aged 26 in London Jimmy McCulloch was a prolific and hugely talented musician who, in his short lifetime, managed to play alongside such industry giants as Pete Townsend, Paul McCartney, John...
Marc Bolan Death Aged 29
Tragic Marc Bolan Death Crash Marc Bolan, born in September 1947, was killed in a car crash in London on 16th September 1977 just a few days before his 30th birthday. y. Glam rock icon, guitarist and poet Marc Bolan died on 27th September 1977. He had been a passenger...
Masterpieces
Oxford English dictionary definition: “a work of art of supreme quality, or the greatest work produced by a particular artist”
Sometimes, rarely, a musician or band will create a masterpiece; a song or musical piece that transcends time and musical genres. A work that is perfect, which raises your level of consciousness to a higher level – perhaps it makes you cry or transports you, in true Proustian fashion, to times past where things were better. Your experience will always be yours to enjoy – here are some of my suggestions.
Don Mclean – American Pie
Don McLean American Pie Don McLean had worldwide success with this epic song about the tragic death of Buddy Holly and the sense of loss that he and millions of others felt when the news broke - a feeling that continued to be felt for many decades. This song has also...
Pink Floyd – Delicate Sound Of Thunder
Why is Pink Floyd Delicate Sound Of Thunder a masterpiece? It's fairly certain now that we are never going to see Pink Floyd live again. Rick Wright has passed away and it just doesn't look like the surviving members of the band have any inclination to make it happen...
Joni Mitchell – Blue
Aged Just 28, she gave us Joni Mitchell Blue Joni Mitchell created Blue in 1971, in Hollywood, pretty much all by herself, except for an engineer (Henry Lewy) and musical contributions on a small number of tracks by James Taylor (guitar) Ross Kunkel (percussion),...
George Harrison – All Things Must Pass
When a former member of the Beatles releases an album, just after they had disbanded, people were bound to take notice. All Things Must Pass was released in 1970 and became both a commercial and a critical success. It attracted attention in many ways, apart from the...
Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon
A new album by Pink Floyd was always something to be savoured. Right from the early days I marvelled at the magical album titles that this band came up with, A Saucerful of Secrets and Piper at the Gates of Dawn both triggered images of far off lands populated by...
Meatloaf – Bat Out Of Hell
I'm often asked why I list Bat Out of Hell as a single track masterpiece rather than the whole album. When an album has such a standout title track which captures the imagination as this one does but which is on an album with other tracks which are good, but not in...
Brian Eno – Another Green World
Coming from a man who described himself as a "non musician," Another Green World is an extraordinary album. Whether or not you would describe him as a musician, (I do), isn't really the point here - he enlisted the help of some very powerful and talented musicians to...
King Crimson – In The Court of the Crimson King
In The Court of the Crimson King was a debut album by a brand new band, an album which was to become one of the most influential and memorable progressive rock album in the history of the genre. In The Court of the Crimson King was recorded and released in 1969 by a...
Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
Great Songs, Great Musicians - Fleetwood Mac Rumours Fleetwood Mac Rumours, a timeless epic of an album by one of the worlds most popular bands, was released in 1977 and received a Grammy Award for best album that same year. It comprised 11 tracks, several of which...
Mike Oldfield Tubular Bells
Including Mike Oldfield Tubular Bells in a list of "musical masterpieces" is not a particularly bold step. Few would argue that this timeless masterpiece was created by a hugely talented artist who was still a teenager at the time of its conception. Using Richard...