Does Stroud Green feature in literature or song?

kreuzkav · November 2010

I'm just wondering if Stroud Green ( not finsubry park, crouch end, archway or anywhere else) features in books, song, poems.

krappyrubsnif · November 2010

Yes.

kreuzkav · November 2010

I must do some more research. Thanks Krappy for the insight.

ADGS · November 2010

Bill Drummond of the KLF and Mark Manning aka Zodiac Mindwarp released a series of faux-import singles after their attempt to take an icon of Elvis to the North Pole. Of these, 'Gimpo' has a spoken word piece by their sidekick and tour manager, set to music, which mentions SGR.

WillM · November 2010

I maintain my previous comments, ADGS, about you knowing more about music than almost any other person in the world.

andy · November 2010

The Drummond/Manning book was both hilarious and disturbing.

ADGS · November 2010

I take it from the use of the singular that you never read the sequel, The Wild Highway? Turns out that Bad Wisdom had to be toned down, what with coming out via a mainstream publisher. In the follow-up they really cut loose. There's meant to be a third one at some point, too.
The Gimpo track and other goodies can be had here, btw: http://roomswithbrittleviews.blogspot.com/2008/10/kalevala.html

andy · November 2010

It was Bad Wisdom. I'm a bit scared by the idea that there's an unedited sequel.

ADGS · November 2010

I did rapidly come to regret reading it on public transport.

kreuzkav · November 2010

I'm so happy that Drummond mentioned SGR. I once saw Gilbert and George on the road at the cafe at the junction of SGR and Tollington. The one where the old geezer drinks wine at 10 am most mornings, beside the mini-cab office.

I turned up for a KLF event over ten years ago on Bethnal Green Road hoping to be whisked away to Juro, just to see Gimpo showing a film of their burning and then trying to sell bits of the film. Kinda interesting.

Zodiac Mindworp is a local who used to shop at the old Sainsburys, now Tesco on Holloway Road. What's he doing now?

ADGS · November 2010

He just had a new album out, We Are Volsung. Not the best thing he's ever done, but the title track is great. It's about being a Viking.

gardener-joe · November 2010

Not quite on topic but ...

I could not find previous mention of this cool track anywhere on stroudgreen.org, so post it here now ...

<object width="400" height="226"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=13830501&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=13830501&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="226"></embed></object><a href="">Owen Duff - Morning Finsbury Park</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/clothmother">clothmother records</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.

Any more local-inspired stuff like this?

ADGS · November 2010

That's rather lovely.

If we're deviating from the original request and ranging a little further afield, I always assumed the Seven Sisters in Suede's 'By The Sea' was the road rather than the area, given Brett used to live on Wilberforce Road. And Jack's '3 O'clock In The Morning' has a great spoken word bit about Holloway Road.

[Deleted User] · November 2010

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kreuzkav · November 2010

I forgot about that reference in the Suede song. He lived with Justine Frischmann there I think. I always have this vision of him going into the newsagent across from the World's End with his foppy hair and striding down to FP tube. A bit after that (mid 90s) Kenckie lived around there too. I only used to visit SG then to see my girlfriend and some friends. They used to go into the Faltering Fallback. Always had a soft spot for Maria from the band.

What musicians live around here now?

checkski · November 2010

Me! Not that I'm famous or anything, but I used to teach music, until I retired. I met Brett Anderson of Suede. Have I got his name right? His agent rang my then school. in search of some young recorder players. About 6 of us spent a day at their recording studio with the band, but it didn't go very well, and I'm not aware that our rather feeble efforts were ever used. I'd never heard of them, and didn't find them very friendly, but the kids seemed pleased to arrive home with CD's, T-shirts, autographs, etc, although I don't think any of them had heard of Suede either.

ADGS · November 2010

Katie Jane from Daisy Chainsaw/Queen Adreena used to be seen in the Noble a year or so ago. There are a few other local indie stars, but they're mates so I hesitate to out them online. Although some can be seen, as can I (with a big stick), in <a href="

">this Parkland Walk zombiefest</a>.

Oh, and Kenickie were excellent.

miss annie · November 2010

Is that you with the umbrella ADGS? I didn't know of that band but I like the song so will do some more investigating.

ADGS · November 2010

That is indeed me with my heirloom umbrella. They're launching their second album sometime early next month, but in the meantime there are a couple of other (arguably better, if less SG) vids on Youtube. I especially like their cover of Springsteen's 'Because the Night'.

Speaking of Springsteen, one of the zombies is Sami from Dirty Fingernails, whose debut album referenced the Boss in being called 'Greetings From Finsbury Park, N4'.

ADGS · November 2010

I just remembered the existence of the excellent London locality/music connector that is The London Nobody Sings. Cursory investigations, alas, give me only one Finsbury Park result, <a href="http://thelondonnobodysings.blogspot.com/2010/02/council-estate-of-mind.html">the execrable Skinnyman</a>, and none for Stroud Green.

ADGS · November 2010

Oh, but of course Alan Moore's 'Highbury Working' (spoken word with musical backing) comes up at least as far as Tollington - which turns out, like Highbury, to mean 'the high place'.

Marquis · November 2010

Rain of Crystal Spires by Felt mentions seven brothers and seven sisters. I have no idea what the words of the song are about but I always took this as a local reference.

ADGS · November 2010

And if Neil Gaiman ever gets round to doing a sequel to Neverwhere (in which many London locations are incarnated, but nothing in this direction past the Angel Islington), he says it's going to be called The Seven Sisters.

kreuzkav · November 2010

Thanks ADGS for all the interesting information. I must read Alan Moore's 'Highbury Working'. I have a big interest in psychogeographical books and have Iain Sinclair's 'Hackney, that rose-red empire' on the go at the moment.

Like your zombie video too! Shaun of the dead meets the 'eighties matchbox b-line disaster'.

ADGS · November 2010

I sometimes feel that Iain Sinclair is sailing a little close to self-parody lately - increasingly, when I read pieces by him about lost London authors, I suspect he's making them up - but the Hackney book saw him very much back to his best.

kreuzkav · November 2010

I agree about Sinclair. He is a bit of a one trick pony. I suspect being a man of a certain age it's a bit of a career trip for him. I haven't read anything by him since London Orbital and that was a bit difficult to wade through. I'm enjoying dipping into the Hackney book every evening before bedtime though.

ADGS · November 2010

Checkski: bumped into a friend last night who quite literally wrote the book on Suede, and asked whether he knew of any school recorder groups being used, and if so for what song. It seems like your pupils' work was used on the version of the already fairly obscure track 'Simon' which appeared on the score to the film 'Far From China'.

kreuzkav · November 2010

Regarding something that was mentioned earlier in this thread, I had a dream last night that I was sharing a chalet with Alan Moore. The type of chalet arrangement you get at the music festival All Tomorrow's Parties. I spoke to him about his book 'Highbury Working' and he offered to give it to me, but I insisted I buy it off him. Then I woke up. I think this dream was prompted by a talk I went to yesterday evening in Bethnal Green. The talk included writers Iain Sinclair, Stewart Home and some Icelandic poets.

checkski · November 2010

@ADGS.

Well, I never! Thanks for that. I wonder if Danielle, Leon, Moonthaha, Cindy - I've forgotten who else - realise they've made it into a tiny corner of the contemporary music scene. It was about 10 years ago, so they're grown up now. I'd quite like to hear their solo moment, if that's what it was. Any suggestions as to how a non-computer-literate senior could access it?

andy · November 2010

"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="450" height="360"></embed></object>

This is the track, but I'm not picking out any significant recorder bits...?

checkski · November 2010

Thanks a lot Andy, but as the last person in the world still to be on Dial-Up I'm afraid I can't do things like You Tube. Told you I wasn't tekky!

And from what you say I'm not missing anything anyway. Perhaps ADGS's friend made a mistake? Shame, if so. I'm really quite curious now.

Howdy, Stranger!

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Does Stroud Green feature in literature or song?

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