A manifesto for the London Irish of the 80's ... drinking and making mayhem all across the capital. This song folllowed hard on the heels of the more reflective, but similarly themed Dark Streets of London .. two takes on Irish London. A few non-politically correct references but funny all the same. In case anyone doesn't know ....
ICA - as said above, the Institute of Contemporary Arts on the Mall.
Brixton's lovely boulevards .... irony ... in the 80s Brixton (south London) was seen as a no-go area by many and most famous for the black riots.
Hammersmith's sightly shores .... Hammersmith was a big Irish are in West London with pubs along the river. Again, nothing "sightly" to most people and no "shores" you'd recognize as such.
Camden Palace poofs ... "poofs" is an English pejorative slang for gays that you would never hear now. The Camden Palace nightclub at the time was the mecca of the new romantics, Spandau, Culture Club, Steve Strange etc.... it's clear what Shane thought of them!
Whitehall is the boulevard in Westminster where the main government offices are and the term "whitehall" covers government and civil service in general.
Queers in the GLC ... as someone said, that was the Greater London Council which at the time had a pretty far left-wing administration which supported what at the time was a controversial (!) equal rights for gays agenda.
Somers Town ... was a big Irish area just between Camden and Euston Road
Pentonville Road on a sunset eve .. again sounds poetic but ironic ... a big drinking area for Irish in north London but not somewhere you'd even see the sunset.
The beauty that's mill lane ... not conventional beauty!
It's hard to imagine that Shane's Irish London is pretty much gone.... many went back or faded into the background. The genuine Irish pubs are almost gone and the themed "Irish" pubs are ... well you know what they are.
A manifesto for the London Irish of the 80's ... drinking and making mayhem all across the capital. This song folllowed hard on the heels of the more reflective, but similarly themed Dark Streets of London .. two takes on Irish London. A few non-politically correct references but funny all the same. In case anyone doesn't know ....
ICA - as said above, the Institute of Contemporary Arts on the Mall.
Brixton's lovely boulevards .... irony ... in the 80s Brixton (south London) was seen as a no-go area by many and most famous for the black riots. Hammersmith's sightly shores .... Hammersmith was a big Irish are in West London with pubs along the river. Again, nothing "sightly" to most people and no "shores" you'd recognize as such. Camden Palace poofs ... "poofs" is an English pejorative slang for gays that you would never hear now. The Camden Palace nightclub at the time was the mecca of the new romantics, Spandau, Culture Club, Steve Strange etc.... it's clear what Shane thought of them! Whitehall is the boulevard in Westminster where the main government offices are and the term "whitehall" covers government and civil service in general. Queers in the GLC ... as someone said, that was the Greater London Council which at the time had a pretty far left-wing administration which supported what at the time was a controversial (!) equal rights for gays agenda. Somers Town ... was a big Irish area just between Camden and Euston Road Pentonville Road on a sunset eve .. again sounds poetic but ironic ... a big drinking area for Irish in north London but not somewhere you'd even see the sunset. The beauty that's mill lane ... not conventional beauty!
It's hard to imagine that Shane's Irish London is pretty much gone.... many went back or faded into the background. The genuine Irish pubs are almost gone and the themed "Irish" pubs are ... well you know what they are.