Places a prog fan should visit in London.
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Forum Description: General progressive music discussions
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=104091
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Topic: Places a prog fan should visit in London.
Posted By: pedrinho
Subject: Places a prog fan should visit in London.
Date Posted: September 19 2015 at 06:25
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Hey guys! Next week I'm traveling to London to assist to the Seteven Wilson's show on the Royal Albert Hall. I'm travelling from Spain and I don't know any specific place to visit (besides what every tourist visits there), can you tell me some places that every prog fan should visit in London? Any vinyl store? Pub? You know what I mean. I'm looking forward to reading your answers!
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Replies:
Posted By: Neu!mann
Date Posted: September 19 2015 at 16:30
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Gotta admit I was thrilled to see the Battersea Power Station on my first visit to London, two years ago...definitely off the tourist trail, but very cool, even without the inflatable pigs..! ------------- "we can change the world without anyone noticing the difference" - Franco Falsini |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: September 19 2015 at 18:48
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..except they are currently rebuilding it so some of the chimneys are missing ------------- What? |
Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: September 21 2015 at 07:25
| Fopp in Shaftesbury Avenue is quite good for cheap prog CDs. |
Posted By: Flight123
Date Posted: September 22 2015 at 05:56
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Apart from the live concert venues (that are still left), you might want to be a 'Baker Street' muse or go to Leicester Square. If you are an ELP fan, you might want to walk by the Serpentine. |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: September 22 2015 at 07:58
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Disappointingly London has a paucity of Prog heritage sites. Certainly Ladbroke Grove bears no mention of the Underground Scene that flourished there forty years ago (then you'll not find anything about the the Canterbury Movement in Canterbury either), Carnaby Street has nothing of the Psychedelic hippy flea markets that made it famous, Tin Pan Alley left Denmark Street nearly a quarter century ago and Heddon Street looks nothing like the cover of Ziggy Stardust. Fortunately, Abbey Road still has a zebra crossing if you find yourself in Regents Park and want to recreate an iconic album cover - just remember to park a VW beetle in the appropriate place. ------------- What? |
Posted By: someone_else
Date Posted: September 22 2015 at 08:13
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The Elfin Tree in Kensington Gardens. The picture of David Gilmour inside the Ummagumma album cover was taken there.
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Posted By: Flight123
Date Posted: September 22 2015 at 08:26
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Camberwell - now? |
Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: September 22 2015 at 10:16
Talking of Abbey Road, you can get a good minibus tour of Beatle-related places from a place in Leicester Square. It goes down Baker Street, past Macca's place (he was out) and on to Abbey Road where you can get run over on the zebra crossing if you're not careful. Definitely worth it if you're a fan.
There's also the Coal Hole in the Strand where I've had a few beers with Blacksword and Simon Godfrey of Tinyfish fame, whilst having an in-depth discussion on Hawkwind albums. That's prog-related.
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Dean wrote:Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: September 22 2015 at 10:41
I presume it goes past 3 Savile Row, the site of Apple Corps and the Beatles's last live performance. ------------- What? |
Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: September 22 2015 at 12:37
Indeed it does. And the Bag O'Nails where Hendrix played. |
Posted By: emigre80
Date Posted: September 22 2015 at 12:38
so it's worth getting run over only if you are a real fan? I'm not going to bother otherwise.
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Posted By: Rednight
Date Posted: September 22 2015 at 12:48
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Bournemouth, England - boyhood home to both Fripp and Wetton. ------------- "It just has none of the qualities of your work that I find interesting. Abandon [?] it." - Eno |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: September 22 2015 at 13:45
 I take it you've never actually been to Bournemouth...  I'm not sure Fripp every lived in Bournemouth as such, he haled from Wimborne 30 miles to the north¹. I believe he did have (and later give) guitar lessons at Don Strike's music shop in Westbourne (a suburb of Bournemouth). ¹For those of you that live on a large land-mass where you have to travel twice that distance to buy a carton of milk from your "local" convenience store this may appear to be practically the same place, but for the average Brit a town 30 miles away would be a foreign land (hell, some of them aren't aware we live on an island, while many have seen the coast few have seen more than two of the four available).
------------- What? |
Posted By: Svetonio
Date Posted: September 22 2015 at 14:17
As I'v been in London many times as a tourist, so I suggest The Ship pub at  http://shipsoho.co.uk/" rel="nofollow - http://shipsoho.co.uk/
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Posted By: lazland
Date Posted: September 22 2015 at 14:32
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^ although it might be best to try Wardour Street instead. You would have a far better chance of finding said watering hole. ------------- Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org |
Posted By: Svetonio
Date Posted: September 22 2015 at 14:40
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Posted By: Svetonio
Date Posted: September 22 2015 at 15:19
As a tourist to another tourist, I'd like to suggest to the OP also that Solusbury Pub, at Kilburn, for a dinner because of the great food and an unique atmosphere.  |
Posted By: Rednight
Date Posted: September 22 2015 at 15:22
------------- "It just has none of the qualities of your work that I find interesting. Abandon [?] it." - Eno |
Posted By: timothy leary
Date Posted: September 22 2015 at 16:47
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London Bridge, oh wait we bought that pile of rocks |
Posted By: emigre80
Date Posted: September 22 2015 at 18:10
Isn't Wardour Street where that great Chinese restaurant is? The one where the waiters yell at you? I can't remember the name - Wong Kee maybe?
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Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: September 22 2015 at 19:08
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Wong Kei... I've oft wondered if that was a deliberate pun or not, probably not but who knows. ------------- What? |
Posted By: emigre80
Date Posted: September 22 2015 at 19:10
| agreed, probably not, but great fun anyway. |
Posted By: fudgenuts64
Date Posted: September 22 2015 at 19:50
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Hammersmith Odeon. Well, I want to check it out anyway. Some of my favorite live concerts were recorded there. ------------- 
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Posted By: Svetonio
Date Posted: September 22 2015 at 23:26
Again as a tourist to another tourist, I'd like to suggest to the OP a club called Bag O' Nails at Soho. The place existed since 60s and so many musicians from the era were regurarly coming at Bag O' Nails; for while it was a gentlemen club, but now it's a "rock club" again. |
Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: September 23 2015 at 07:09
It's now the Eventim Apollo, having been the Hammersmith Apollo for a while before that. |
Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: September 23 2015 at 07:11
Yes obviously.  It does surprise me that people don't get knocked down there, or perhaps they do. |
Posted By: The Bearded Bard
Date Posted: October 15 2015 at 13:35
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Posted By: emigre80
Date Posted: October 24 2015 at 18:32
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a plaque commemorating Chris Squire https://www.teamrock.com/features/2015-10-22/chris-squire-honoured-with-plaque-at-london-hotel" rel="nofollow - https://www.teamrock.com/features/2015-10-22/chris-squire-honoured-with-plaque-at-london-hotel I'm going to be in London next week, I may stop by and pay my respects.
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Posted By: Sean Trane
Date Posted: October 25 2015 at 02:16
and I understand it will be a lot less visible from trains (this was breath taking when the Eurostar still ended on the South Bank) and other places, since the industrial wastelands grounds will be built-up around it, and the BPS could be somethered by high-rise buidings. |
Posted By: Mascodagama
Date Posted: October 25 2015 at 05:16
According to their own web site it's now a private members club with an emphasis on karaoke and only occasional live music. Anyone wanting to catch some interesting live bands whilst in London would do better to check out what's on at venues like Corsica Studios, the Lexington, the Underworld, the Boston Music Room, the Vortex and Cafe Oto. The latter two more on the improv / creative jazz side. |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: October 25 2015 at 05:30
You bought 'a' London Bridge, we built a new one (albeit an uninspiring one) as they have a habit of falling down.
Yup, that does appear to be the case, there is certainly a lot of construction happening around Nine Elms that will resemble a "mini-Manhattan" if it ever gets completed. 
I hope you enjoy your visit, and that the weather improves.
------------- What? |
Posted By: Svetonio
Date Posted: October 25 2015 at 06:35
I thought that the OP wants to see and to sniff the atmosphere of some "historic" pubs / clubs in London (e.g. The Beatles were hanging in the Bag O'Nails in '67/'68), not primarily to listen to great live music at those places, as the OP actually was in London to see Steven Wilson at the concert. And Bag O' Nails is damn good to be seen by the tourists. |
Posted By: Mascodagama
Date Posted: October 25 2015 at 08:45
| ^ Yes I think you are right about the OP and your post was more on-topic than mine. But felt some current venue suggestions where newer bands can be heard would also be of interest to general readers of the thread. |