Legendary Londoner: David Bowie

David Bowie was born in Brixton and grew up in Bromley. He found himself in the alleys of Soho. He found his mentors, bandmates, rivals, partners in crime in London. Has been and always will be an inspiration and an influence on everything around us. He changed music and fashion obviously...but he also changed nightlife...The Blitz started off as a Bowie tribute night, it was one of the first club nights to happen on a week day. Without Bowie and the Blitz there would've been no Trash, a club night that I worked at, which would finish every night with Rock n Roll Suicide.

Besides Londonphilia Tours, I also do tours under the name Rock n Roll Camden Walking Tour...through that I have been doing a Bowie themed tour of Soho, Sound & Vision: David Bowie's Soho, since 2014 when the V&A was doing their Bowie exhibition. I will now be doing it the first Sunday of each month starting on February 7th. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to a cancer charity.

Powered by Eventbrite

London A to Z: My favorite things in London in Alphabetical order

A is for Angel
I used to work in Angel, or The Angel, or Angel Islington (even though there's no other area of London called Angel). I worked at Borders bookstore for 18 months before it went bankrupt and closed on Christmas Eve. So, I've spent a lot of time in the area. There are a lot of good bars and pubs around Angel:

The Lexington - American style food, beer and whiskey. A pub quiz every Monday, but make sure you go when my friends aren't playing cuz they win...a lot. Gigs and club nights upstairs.

The Mucky Pub - A cozy little pub on a back street. Great jukebox. Weekly pub quizzes and DJs. A pool table out the back. Great selection of real ale.

The King's Head - Theatre pub on Upper Street. It has a small theatre up stairs that puts on plays. There's live music downstairs sometimes. Great place for one last drink is you're out and about in Angel.

Slim Jim's - American style bar with a great selection of cocktails, music and bras hanging from the
ceiling. Right next to the King's Head.

There's also an amzing amout of restaurants in Angel, basically from Angel station all the way along Upper Street to Highbury/Islington station there are restaurants of every type; from greasy cafes to fancy French bistros.

London Calling w/ Music Heritage UK & Rock n Roll Camden Walking Tour

Besides Londonphilia, I do a popular tour about Camden Town's music history, Rock n Roll Camden Walking Tour...a lot of which is about Britpop.
Several months ago, I was approached by Music Heritage UK to be interviewed about the Britpop scene in Camden. I took them around to some of the local venues and pubs...and basically did what I always do at the pub, I talked about Britpop.
Here's the finished product, which I'm very proud of and quite excited about.

London Calling Ep 2.3 - Camden Town: Birthplace of Britpop by Music Heritage Uk on Mixcloud

Disappearing Soho Tour

Soho has always been an ever-changing area of London since the 17th century...but since the 1980's it has been changing at a faster rate then most people like.
Last year I did a tour of Soho based around David Bowie, as I did the tour I realised that most of the venues I was talking about had disappeared. Many of the  historic venues had been closed or are being demolished and replaced with luxury flats or chain restaurants.
This tour will help celebrate and memorialise these legendary venues...including: Madame Jojo's, The Marquee, The 12 Bar, The Intrepid Fox, The Astoria, Billy's...and Denmark Street.
One pound from every ticket will be donated to Save Soho.

Powered by Eventbrite

Disappearing Soho

Soho in London is one of the most interesting, creative, bohemian parts of the city. It started off as a
hunting ground and then became the Red Light District and is now the home of the UK film industry.
Everyone from Oscar Wilde to Dylan Thomas to David Bowie to Elton John have lived, worked and played here.
Sadly, some of the venues that these influential people used have been lost to regeneration.
This tour will take you around Soho pointing out and telling the history of these lost venues...including:
Madame Jojo's
The Intrepid Fox
The Marquee (all three located in Soho)
The Astoria
Central Saint Martins
The 12 Bar and soon to be lost Denmark Street.
Also included is a brief history of Soho.

This tour will be on the third Saturday of each month starting on July 18th until November 21st, 2015.
Please meet me in Soho Square at the Tudor style building in the center of the square.
The price is £10 per person. £1 from the ticket price will be donated to Save Soho.

If you are interested in coming on this tour please email me, Alison, at djalicat@gmail.com.

http://savesoho.com