South London

South London
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Ministry of Sound (103 Gaunt Street, Elephant and Castle)

The multi-national dance music corporation is located near the tube station

The Fridge (Town Hall Parade), Brixton

The Fridge achieved minor international fame for the Soul II Soul dance nights in the late 80s. For many years it remained a very hip dance club. It is owned by Andy Czezowski, founder of punk's legendary Roxy and Vortex clubs. 

David Bowie’s Birthplace (40 Stanfield Road, Brixton)

David Bowie was born in this house, and lived here until he was 5 yrs old.

The Bolan Tree (Queens Ride), Putney

Marc Bolan died when his girlfriend's Mini Cooper S crashed into a tree in the early hours, returning from a night of clubbing. The car crashed after it crossed a hump- back bridge. The tree is often garlanded with flowers by Bolan fans. Late in 1997, a black marker was erected at the crash site, donated by the Performing Rights Society.

David Bowid’s House (4 Plaistow Grove, Bromley)

David Bowie lived here with his parents from 1959 until the late 60s, when he began to have some success as a pop performer.

In the mid 70s, Berlin from the punk "Bromley Contingent" (which also included Billy Idol, Siouxsie Sioux and Steve Severin) lived a couple of doors down at #8.

Other famous Bromley residents have included Hanif Kureshi (who set “The Buddha of Suburbia” in Bromley), Peter Frampton and H.G. Wells.

Olympic Studios (117 Church Rd, Barnes)

Towards the end of the decade, as the embers of the summer of love grew dim, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Cream (together with Birmingham’s own Black Sabbath) created the blue print for heavy metal music for the next 30 years.

Jimi Hendrix recorded many of the tracks for his second album in October 1967 (and All Along The Watchtower in January 1968). Led Zeppelin recorded their entire first album here in 30 hours, at a cost of £1,782 (the record went on to earn the band £3.5 million).

The band Queen lived together in a flat in nearby Ferry Road.

Battersea Power Station (Battersea Park Rd)

This grand industrial relic was the scene of Pink Floyd's flying pig fiasco in early 1977. The 40 ft inflatable pig, which was featured on the cover of the LP Animals, broke its moorings, drifted to 30,000 feet, and eventually landed in a farmers field in Kent.

The Power Station also earned a minor place in punk history when Steve Jones was arrested for stealing lead off the roof.

One of Morrissey’s solo albums (“Bona Drag”) features him leaning against a lamp-post (which has become covered in graffiti by Morrissey fans) with the Power station in the background.

The Half Moon (93 Lower Richmond Rd, Putney)

This pub was the venue for U2's London debut, for which nine people turned up; today it is a (rather more) popular venue for guitar bands

Beatles Film Locations, Twickenham

Both A Hard Days Night and Help were filmed at Twickenham film studios. Several outdoor scenes were shot nearby, including: the Thames Tow Path (which Ringo wanders along after he has run away from the rest of the band in “Hard Days Night”), Alisa Avenue (from “Help”, where the Beatles live inside what looks - from the outside - like adjacent working class terrace houses, but inside has been converted into a huge mansion), and the Turks Head pub (where Ringo creates a small riot in “Hard Days Night”). The Turks Head was also used by Morrissey as a location for the video for "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful".

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