English Chess Forum

What. in your opinion, was the best band that came from London?

The Kinks.

Between them and the Who one would have thought - especially if you assume Dartford doesn't count so the Stones are ruled out.

The Damned?

Top three obviously (to me, anyway) have to be the Stones, the Who and the Kinks. Hard to split them, but I put the Stones third, not having been quite as innovative or creative as the other two with their songwriting. Musically, the Who didn't progress quite as much as the Kinks, but Townsend's writing was as at least as good and ambitious in its way as Davies', and their live act was second to none.

On purely sentimental grounds, though, I have to put the Kinks at the top. Like them, I'm a north Londoner by birth and upbringing. Photos for the Muswell Hillbillies album, inside and out, were both taken near my mother's family home near the Archway - must have driven past both locations dozens of times. Same for Konk studios on Tottenham Lane in Hornsey.

John Clarke wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 07, 2025 10:23 am

Top three obviously (to me, anyway) have to be the Stones, the Who and the Kinks.

There was the short lived and now mostly forgotten Dave Clark Five who were briefly touted as Tottenham's answer to the Beatles.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dave_Clark_Five

I do recall a popular beat combo called

The Led Zeppelin or something like that.

Possibly largely forgotten.

John Upham wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 07, 2025 12:57 pm

I do recall a popular beat combo called

The Led Zeppelin or something like that.

Possibly largely forgotten.

Not at all, not by a long shot. Highly influential. Nowhere near as good as the east London band Iron Maiden though, a distant second at best.

London has always been the epicentre of British music and from it has sprung numerous genres and movements. Pub Rock, punk, new romantics even the majority of the most popular British bands are from outside London, and sometimes beyond England also. Given how rich our muscial history is, perhaps that's not so incredulous. Well, in my opinion. Not claiming to be correct or anyting like dat.

Really? Liverpool, Manchester & Sheffield would beg to differ, as would Glasgow

Best band in London is Hollow Bones

Hawkwind !

Matt Mackenzie wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 05, 2025 6:11 pm

if you assume Dartford doesn't count so the Stones are ruled out.

If that is the case there is no point me advocating a Crawley band.

This is a nostalgia thread because bands have largely dropped out of the hit parade.

Even on a generous definition, Crawley is not London

And as for Led Zep, half of them were Midlanders!

Great bands unmentioned - The Clash & Pink Floyd

Mick Norris wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 07, 2025 2:52 pm

Really? Liverpool, Manchester & Sheffield would beg to differ, as would Glasgow

Best band in London is Hollow Bones

They all had their own litte scenes but certainly in the 80s were considered outsiders by Londonders, generally speaking.