Brian’s Mixtape | London

St Etienne Words and Music London Map album cover

Dear readers,

I feel we have already discussed the fact that I am not the sporting sort of owl. While at school I was far more likely to be found rifling through the rafters of the music cupboard than in the sock-scented realms of the sports hall. As a boy I found sport’s insistence that we form teams with, and even place trust in, others who are clearly of lesser intellect quite oppressive.

As a result, the fact that London has been celebrating sport all summer has been a bit of a challenge for my temper, so I have concentrated instead on enjoying the inspiration such a vibrant, filth-ridden city can draw out of even the most average artists. Here is a collection of songs that were inspired by our dear capital; in tribute to London 2012.

Yours wearily,

Brian

Listen to Brian’s London playlist on Spotify

Donovan – Sunny Goodge Street
Johnny Flynn – Eyeless In Holloway
Hayman, Watkins, Trout And Lee – Bethnal Green
Electric Penguins – Highgate Hill
The Kinks – Muswell Hillbilly
Kirsty MacColl – Soho Square
Nick Drake – Mayfair – Cambridge Version
Tracey Thorn – Kentish Town
Cat Stevens – Portobello Road
Loudon III Wainwright – Primrose Hill
Squeeze – Piccadilly
Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street
Patrick Wolf – Bermondsey Street
Belle & Sebastian – Mornington Crescent
Stornoway – The Coldharbour Road
Slow Club – Hackney Marsh
Nat King Cole – A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square
Fairport Convention – Breakfast In Mayfair
Blue Rose Code – Whitechapel
Butcher Boy – Parliament Hill
Bert Jansch – Soho
John Martyn – Primrose Hill
Bellowhead – London Town
Pet Shop Boys – West End girls
Lily Allen – LDN
The Kinks – Waterloo Sunset