modest british place names in song

[isvicthere?]

Having seen "Thornton Heath" and "West Norwood" scrolled across the screen during Stormzy's set at Glasto, this got me thinking...

"Saturday gig" by Mott the Hoople mentions Croydon.

"The only living boy in New Cross" by Carter USM.

Any others?

 

[Pickman's model]

Loads in madness, driving in my car eg muswell hill

 

[Pickman's model]

Brixton in clash, guns of brixton

 

[Pickman's model]

Elvis Costello i don't wanna go to chelsea
Conflict, the ungovernable force - Handsworth, Toxteth, Tottenham, St Paul's, Brixton, Belfast

 

[isvicthere?]

Brixton in clash, guns of brixton

Not to mention, arguably more "modest", Streatham in "Stay free".

 

[Pickman's model]

.

 

[Steel Icarus]

Blur have loads. Walton, The Westway, Primrose Hill. Suede mention Worthing. Carter USM have a song called 24 minutes from Tulse Hill

 

[Steel Icarus]

Elton John's "Grimsby"

 

[mauvais]

Inevitably, "It's Grim Up North" by The KLF.

 

[Steel Icarus]

And "Panic"

 

[fishfinger]

Billericay Dickie and Plaistow Patricia by Ian Dury

 

[PursuedByBears]

Half Man Half Biscuit - For What is Chatteris, also mentions Ely and St Ives

 

[isvicthere?]

Billy Bragg's A13 mentions quite a lot of, frankly, crap places: Grays Thurrock and Shoeburyness, for example.

 

[belboid]

Pulp & Richard Hawley are reliable for Sheffield locations. Wickerman and Naked in Pitsmoor are definitely ‘modest’

Sadly, the fountain was pulled down in 1998, so no one could meet there in the year 2000

 

[PursuedByBears]

HMHB - Westward Ho! Massive Letdown
HMHB - Lord Hereford's Knob
HMHB - Uffington Wassail

 

[Steel Icarus]

Pulp & Richard Hawley are reliable for Sheffield locations. Wicker-man and Naked in Pitsmoor are definitely ‘modest’

Sadly, the fountain was pulled down in 1998, so no one could meet there in the year 2000

Richard Hawley wrote about "Coles Corner" in Sheff, a lovely song

 

[chilango]

HMHB - Westward Ho! Massive Letdown
HMHB - Lord Hereford's Knob
HMHB - Uffington Wassail

Bottleneck in Capel Curig

 

[Steel Icarus]

Behave yerself Granddad or you won't be cahmin dahhhn to Margate

 

[chilango]

Bombs away on Harpurhey by King of the Slums

 

[chilango]

Cymru, Lloegr a Llanwrst by Y Cyrff

 

[chilango]

Obvs the Wurzels have a few too

 

[Steel Icarus]

For years I thought the opening couplet of Straight to Hell mentioned a "British jig at Rhyl"

 

[chilango]

Ether", the opening track of the English post-punk band Gang of Four's 1979 debut album, Entertainment!, features the satirical line "There may be oil under Rockall".

The Irish folk group The Wolfe Tones made Rockall the subject of their 1976 song "Rock on, Rockall".[78][79]

 

[belboid]

Richard Hawley wrote about "Coles Corner" in Sheff, a lovely song

Hollow Meadows
Lady’s Bridge
Sky Edge
Lowedges

Virtually every hawley album is a sheffspot

 

[peterkro]

Stones, play with fire:
Now she gets her kicks in Stepney
Not in Knightsbridge anymore.

 

[Steel Icarus]

Hollow Meadows
Lady’s Bridge
Sky Edge
Lowedges

Virtually every hawley album is a sheffspot

Not familiar with him really, but I did once own a guitar that he'd played last but left in the shop. Sadly none of his talent was left on the fretboard.

 

[isvicthere?]

Stones, play with fire:
Now she gets her kicks in Stepney
Not in Knightsbridge anymore.

This song also mentions St. John's Wood.

 

[skyscraper101]

Born Slippy:

“...mega mega going back to Romford”

 

[Steel Icarus]

Born Slippy:

“...mega mega going back to Romford”

Romford also mentioned in my fave Underworld track "Dirty Epic", as is Farringdon Street tube station

 

[Steel Icarus]

Blur also used the shipping forecast in "This is a low", namechecking Dogger Bank, Tyne, Forth, Cromarty etc