"'Cos there ain't no love in Oxford Street ..." sing the Television Personalities on Oxford Street, W1 on the flip of their debut 45, which of course contains one of the greatest guitar solos in the history of pop. The TVPs were right. Who would want to go to Oxford Street now? But ... "When I was 17, London meant Oxford Street ..." sings Tracey Thorn on Everything But The Girl's Oxford Street. And I know what she means. At that time (the start of the '80s) the street had three branches of Virgin, and there was no need to head out west to Rough Trade or up to Camden. You could get all the independent and odd pop releases you needed in the Megastore, downstairs at The Pantheon, or up at Marble Arch where memorably I saw John Lydon and Feargal Sharkey in the shop at the same time (not together) and to a 15 kid that was a dream come true. I can remember buying the Marine Girls' Beach Party LP on Oxford Street (Tracey Thorn's first group's release on the TVPs' Dan Treacy's Whaam! label) and I guess I would have been 17 then. I certainly bought her A Distant Shore cassette on Oxford Street the following summer. And probably Ben Watt's Summer Into Winter 12". Possibly the first Everything But The Girl single too ...Thursday, 29 April 2010
Oxford Street, W1
"'Cos there ain't no love in Oxford Street ..." sing the Television Personalities on Oxford Street, W1 on the flip of their debut 45, which of course contains one of the greatest guitar solos in the history of pop. The TVPs were right. Who would want to go to Oxford Street now? But ... "When I was 17, London meant Oxford Street ..." sings Tracey Thorn on Everything But The Girl's Oxford Street. And I know what she means. At that time (the start of the '80s) the street had three branches of Virgin, and there was no need to head out west to Rough Trade or up to Camden. You could get all the independent and odd pop releases you needed in the Megastore, downstairs at The Pantheon, or up at Marble Arch where memorably I saw John Lydon and Feargal Sharkey in the shop at the same time (not together) and to a 15 kid that was a dream come true. I can remember buying the Marine Girls' Beach Party LP on Oxford Street (Tracey Thorn's first group's release on the TVPs' Dan Treacy's Whaam! label) and I guess I would have been 17 then. I certainly bought her A Distant Shore cassette on Oxford Street the following summer. And probably Ben Watt's Summer Into Winter 12". Possibly the first Everything But The Girl single too ...
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Video made on Barnes Bridge, London spotters.
ReplyDeleteYeah, still have fond memories of hours spent in the various Oxford Street megastores on London outings some 25-30 (cringe) years back. But as you say, a street to stay clear of these days...
ReplyDeleteNice one Kev. As a foreigner I can say I feel the same way as Oxford St was/is a central place that was easy to remember, and everything seemed to revolve around it in a way.
ReplyDeleteI've always thought about St Marks Place in NYC the same way. In fact I was there last night meeting up with Jackie from the 1990's who are in town. So much if whats important in NYC rock history has happened on & around St Marks, and it's always felt like home.
I always thought they should have run across it at the end Jules et Jim fashion ...
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