London’s Iconic Blue Plaques
The blue plaque system first was set up in 1866 to mark the homes of famous people in the greater London area and is now run by English Heritage. We take a look at where you can see blue plaques for some of the world’s best-known musician’s and composers……
Bob Marley
Bob Marley’s plaque is at 42 Oakley Street in Chelsea where he lived with his band The Wailers in 1977. They recorded the end of the Exodus album there and often played football in nearby Battersea Park. Marley’s plaque was only unveiled in 2019 after a struggle to find records showing him as resident, due to him being neither on the electoral register nor in the phone book! Instead researchers came across a court record detailing his arrest for cannabis possession alongside band mate Aston Barrett who gave his address as 42 Oakley Street. Marley gave a different address which was found to be false, and other anecdotal evidence confirmed that the band, including Marley, lived together at Oakley Street.
George Handel
George Frideric Handel lived at 25 Brook Street, Mayfair for most of his life, eventually dying there in 1759, aged 74. Born in Germany, he settled in London during his 20’s and it was at Brook Street that he composed his legendary Messiah oratorio. The house was conveniently situated for walking to the theatre where his works were performed and to St James’ Palace where he worked as Composer of Music for the Chapel Royal. In 2001 number 25 opened as the Handel House Museum showing rooms as they would have looked in the 18th Century. His plaque was the first to be erected in honour of a musician.
Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix’s plaque is at number 23 Brook Street, right next door to Handel’s house. Sadly, the pair never met, as Hendrix was not born until almost 200 years after Handel’s death. When asked about his famous neighbour Hendrix famously said “I haven’t heard much of the fella’s stuff. First moving to London in 1966, Hendrix – together with Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell – formed the Jim Hendrix Experience. Hendrix moved into the top two floors of 23 Brook Street with his girlfriend and stayed there from 1968 to 1969, helping to decorate the rooms to his taste. He left to go on a tour of America and sadly died in 1970 aged just 27. He is still regularly voted the best guitarist of all time. In 2016 the Handel House Museum expanded to include 25 Brook Street, becoming the Handel & Hendrix Museum.
John Lennon
John Lennon lived at 34 Montagu Square, Marylebone with his new wife Yoko Ono for a few months after they married. The house had its share of press coverage in the short space of time that the pair spent there. It was the scene of the now infamous nude photo taken of the couple that was meant to appear of the cover of their album Two Virgins. During Lennon’s time at Montagu Street he was also arrested and charged with drugs offences after a small amount of cannabis was found during a police raid. His arrest caused controversy in the UK, so the couple moved to America. John Lennon was shot dead in New York City in 1980. Yoko Ono described 34 Montagu street as the scene of some of his best work and art.
Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott ran his jazz club from the basement of 39 Gerard Street, Soho from 1959-1965. Scott was an accomplished jazz artist himself having played saxophone with several jazz bands as well as running his own nine-piece orchestra The Ronnie Scott Orchestra. Visits to American jazz clubs inspired him to set up his own and with the help of a loan from his step-father Ronnie Scott’s was born. The club attracted A list regulars including the Beatles and Harold Pinter. His blend of musical talent, storytelling and humour attracted visitors and performers from all over the world. The club moved to Frith Street in 1965 and is still open today, seen by many as the “spiritual home of British jazz”.
Thomas Arne
Thomas Arne was a British composer best known for patriotic song Rule Britannia! He resided at 31 King Street, Covent Garden for most of his life and worked as a composer in the theatres of Drury Lane and Covent Garden. His English language opera (the only one to be written in in English) Artaxerxes was the most popular opera prior to the 20th Century and reportedly influenced other great composers including Mozart and Haydn. Arne’s plaque is unusual in that it is not round, it has the sides of the circle cut off possibly to fit the narrow space where it is displayed.
Dame Clara Butt
Classical singer Dame Clara lived at 7 Harley Road, Swiss Cottage from 1901 to 1929. Her vocal talents were obvious as a child and she won a scholarship to the Royal College of music in 1890. She also studied for several months in Paris, sponsored by Queen Victoria. Her 6 feet 2 inch stature made her a striking figure on stage and she was much in demand to perform works of the top composers of the day. Edward Elgar composed Sea Pictures with Clara in mind as his soloist. She was made a Dame in 1920 due to her charity work during the First World War during which time she organised numerous performances for Services charities. She appeared at the Royal Albert Hall over 110 times in her career.
Freddie Mercury
22 Gladstone Avenue, Feltham was Freddie’s first home in England when he arrived from Zanzibar with his family in 1964. He studied Art and Graphic Design at Ealing College of Art and it was here that he met Brian May and Roger Taylor who would go on to become his Queen bandmates along with John Deakin. Born Farrokh Buslara but known as Fred, he officially changed his surname to Mercury in 1970 around the time Queen formed. Freddie’s flamboyant stage persona and spectacular vocal range rocketed the band to worldwide fame. Their performance at Live Aid in 1985 is regularly voted as one of the greatest live performances in history. Since Freddie’s tragic death in 1991 Queen have often toured with guest vocalists including Paul Rodgers and Adam Lambert.
Benjamin Britten
Britten lived at 173 Cromwell Road, Kensington with his sister from 1931-1933 when the property was run as a boarding house. At the time he was studying at the Royal College of Music and spent many hours practising the piano in his room, which no doubt made him quite an unpopular housemate! He would go on to become one of Britain’s most notable composers, best known for his opera Peter Grimes and compositions The War Requiem and The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. In 1948Britten founded the Aldeburgh Music & Arts Festival in his home county of Suffolk with his music partner Peter Pears. The festival dedicated mainly to classical music still takes place every year at the beginning of June.
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