"I saw Elvis washing clothes in the lauderette by the Grove. Washing powder on his nose. Down the Harrow Road ..." What a way to start a song. Mick Jones, of course, has his own chapter in the London songbook, and this is one of his finest moments. Harrow Road appears on Big Audio's Higher Power set which is cruelly overlooked when the great man's work is mentioned. I'm sure Clashologists will be able to talk at length about the significance of the Harrow Road in the group's myth. But it's a mighty long road and a very old road and Mick knows there's a lot of stories there to be told. Higher Power also contains a number called Over The Rise which makes me think immediately of Kensal Rise or Kensal Green. And I don't want to. So, to keep ghosts at bay this is for me. "Sing Michael sing ..."A site dedicated to songs about London. As simple as that. The only rules are that the songs must be brilliant and that the blindingly obvious numbers are excluded. The songs may be explicitly about London or obliquely about the city in some way. This is a project that was deliberately designed to last for one year. It will remain live for people to explore. So please enjoy discovering the lost and found songs of London, and do please spread the word.
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
Harrow Road
"I saw Elvis washing clothes in the lauderette by the Grove. Washing powder on his nose. Down the Harrow Road ..." What a way to start a song. Mick Jones, of course, has his own chapter in the London songbook, and this is one of his finest moments. Harrow Road appears on Big Audio's Higher Power set which is cruelly overlooked when the great man's work is mentioned. I'm sure Clashologists will be able to talk at length about the significance of the Harrow Road in the group's myth. But it's a mighty long road and a very old road and Mick knows there's a lot of stories there to be told. Higher Power also contains a number called Over The Rise which makes me think immediately of Kensal Rise or Kensal Green. And I don't want to. So, to keep ghosts at bay this is for me. "Sing Michael sing ..."
There are two versions of Harrow Road. The "best" (ska) version is found on "Planet Bad Greatest Hits".
ReplyDelete