Friday 22 January 2010

Kilburn Towers

"Little white jug, me and Kilburn Towers. As we sit on the hill, and we drink and we swill. Till the early hours and then I am everything. Little white jug and me and Kilburn Towers ..." Now there is a debate to be had about whether the Bee Gees' Kilburn Towers is a London song. But we're not going to entertain the idea that it's not one of ours. I mean, the hill could be Shoot Up Hill. The tower could even be the famous Gaumont State Cinema's. And if we need experts to speak in our defence we will wheel out Harvey Williams who wearing his Another Sunny Day hat set the Bee Gees on the road to fame and fortune by covering Kilburn Towers and helping us realise the Brothers' songwriting genius. And if there is anyone who objects too vigorously we'll resort to the Bee Gees' Trafalgar with its "I rolled into the smoke and there I lost my hope. I need someone to know me and to show me the square peg fits the hole. Why haven't I been told? I need someone to know me and to show me. Trafalgar, Trafalgar, Trafalgar, please don't let me down ..." The very idea ...

3 comments:

  1. I went looking for Kilburn Towers in London on my first trip there back in the summer of 2000. A group of us loved this song, along with many of the Beatles and Queen catalog. We found Abbey Road and we found Eaton Square, but we never did find Kilburn Towers. Did it ever exist or did they just make it up?

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  2. Kilburn Towers is on Sydney Harbour. I guess one or more of them stayed there for a while.

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  3. Thanks Anonymous, I've always wanted to know the story behind this song!

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