It is an inspiring form of road
The Strand, or simply Strand to be official, is a exceptional London road, linking the Metropolis and the West Finish, its title derived from the Outdated English phrase for “seashore” or “shore”. The tidal Thames, after all, is close by. The three bits of well-liked tradition beneath are all impressed by it, immediately or in any other case. They span about 70 years of the twentieth Century and a bit earlier than.
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The music corridor track Let’s All Go Down The Strand was written by performer Harry Castling and composer Charles William and apparently sung by Castling within the Eighteen Nineties, although it wasn’t revealed till 1909. It was well-liked with British troopers throughout WW1 and it had endurance – the Stanley Holloway model beneath was recorded in 1958, by which era the world had Elvis and Lonnie Donegan.
A 12 months following Holloway’s rendition of the track, in 1959, the well-known TV business for Strand cigarettes was launched. It’s well-known for its look and placement and for its failure to steer folks to buy that model of smoke.
The advert’s attract lingered, although. Apparently, it was an inspiration for Roxy Music’s Do The Strand, carried out with nice assurance on the Outdated Gray Whistle Take a look at in 1973.
I’m looking for a option to insert Roxy Music into my subsequent novel. It passes the time whereas I’m failing to give you a plot. Maybe I’ll get the Strand into it too.
John Vane is a pen title utilized by Dave Hill, editor and writer of On London. Purchase his London novel Frightgeist: A Tall Story of Fearful Instances right here or right here. This text initially appeared on the John Vane Substack.
