The map above shows the best selling musical acts (band or singer) to come from each of London’s boroughs. The criteria used was as follows:
Information mostly comes from Wikipedia articles, some from intensive Google searching. Record sales in claimed sales. The origin of the act, not the later or current area was used. The origin was either where they were born (most of them) or where they formed, lived or practiced when they recorded first.
Two of the biggest surpises are that Amy Winehouse comes from Enfield and not Camden, the area she is most closely associated with, and that the Rolling Stones are from quiet and leafy Sutton. Also note that the City has no best selling artist or band.
Some of the best selling musical acts not to make to the top of any borough include: The Clash, Adele, Pet Shop Boys and Status Quo.
Reddit user OldClockMan explains a bit more about why some of the areas were picked:
Ronnie Wood – Hillingdon
Elton John – Harrow
George Michael – Barnet
Amy Winehouse – Enfield
Iron Maiden – Formed by Steve Harris in Waltham Forest, where Harris was born
Dire Straits – Formed in Lewisham
Led Zeppelin – Formed in Bexley where John Paul Jones was born
Coldplay – Formed at UCL in Islington
David Bowie – Lambeth
Jools Holland – Greenwich
Rod Stewart – Camden
Billy Bragg – Barking and Dagenham
Kathy Kirby – Redbridge
Ian Drury – Raised in Havering
Professor Green – Hackney
Dizzee Rascal – Tower Hamlets
Jay Sean – Brent
Dusty Springfield – Raised in Ealing
The Kinks – Formed in Haringey
Linda Lewis – Newham
Billy Idol – Raised in Bromley
Finally, for non-Londoners, reddit user Hates_ created the following map that includes borough names:
Anything surprise you? Leave your comments below:
Clive Niall says
July 18, 2015 at 6:19 amI think Siouxsie was from Bromley, not Southwark. We in Southwark had Tommy Steele:)
dannysioux says
November 11, 2016 at 11:49 pmSiouxsie was born in Southwark but lived in Chislehurst.
oliver4 says
January 15, 2016 at 9:16 amThis appears a little light. What about where artists died. At least in the Kookaburra we would have Hendrix instead of the starting out Pink Floyd(Sid Barrett not from round here shirley?).
William says
July 15, 2016 at 6:47 pmThe classification of David Bowie for Lambeth and Billy Idol for Bromley annoys me. Neither where born in Bromley (Bowie was born in Brixton, Lambeth and Idol in Stanmore, Harrow) but both grew up there. Bowie is by far the bigger star and throughout his career was always known as a Bromley-boy. It’s only since his death that Brixtons nouveau hipsters have claimed him.
skin2win says
November 4, 2018 at 1:33 pmYou poor fella . That is a lot of weight for one retard .
simon says
November 11, 2016 at 4:50 pmKirby was born in Ilford, Essex,[2] the eldest of three children of Irish parents. Her mother Eileen brought them up alone after their father left early in their childhood.[6] Kirby grew up in Tomswood Hill, Barkingside, near Ilford, and attended the Ursuline Convent School in Ilford where she sang in the choir.[7]
nicola branch says
November 15, 2016 at 2:55 pmBowie was LB Bromley – born, bred, educated, married, first ever concerts. etc etc etc.
nicola branch says
November 15, 2016 at 3:00 pmand as others below have said, Siouxsie and the Banshees were not LB Southwark, another LB Bromley person, significant part of the Bromley Contingent, along with Idol.
Medusa Jordan says
July 24, 2017 at 5:43 pmI see Brent has struggled to produce a class act – Jay Sean!
I am not seeing the Merton connection for T Rex – Bolan formed the band, was born in Stoke Newington and lived in the Ladbroke Grove area when he started out.
Rolling Stones AND Ronnie Wood get a borough each?
hedgemagnet says
November 17, 2017 at 1:45 pmHalf of the Stones (Jagger n Richards) grew up in Dartford – the next Borough along from Bexley but not shown – and went to school there. Mum was a year below Mick at Dartford Grammar, so I’m not sure where the Sutton connection comes in. Mum also ended up living in Plaistow Grove in Bromley – 4 doors away from Bowie, and my local chinese when I was growing up in New Eltham in the late seventies was a certain ‘Hong Kong Garden’ in Chislehurst Village. Get in!
Wreckerman says
November 18, 2017 at 7:02 pmMark Feld lived in Summerstown (border of Wandsworth/Merton) for a while, he went to secondary school in Tooting, Ernest Bevin, that’s where the Merton connection comes from.
hedgemagnet says
November 18, 2017 at 9:39 pmTa!
Wreckerman says
November 18, 2017 at 9:46 pmApparently he left Ernest Bevin, then known as Hillcroft School by mutual consent, which I gather meant You want to leave and we want you to leave, so you can leave..
karl says
October 29, 2018 at 5:22 pmSummerstown is where I was born and bread (good times)!
karl says
October 29, 2018 at 5:17 pmDartford is not shown because it is outside (London)!
hedgemagnet says
November 17, 2017 at 1:47 pmHalf of the Stones (Jagger n Richards) grew up in Dartford – the next borough along from Bexley but not shown – and went to school there. Mum was a year below Mick at Dartford Grammar, so I’m not sure where the Sutton connection comes in. Mum also ended up living in Plaistow Grove in Bromley – 4 doors away from Bowie’s old house, and my local chinese take-away when I was growing up in New Eltham in the late seventies was a certain ‘Hong Kong Garden’ in Chislehurst Village. Get in!
Winks says
July 16, 2018 at 3:51 pmAmazing that there is no Madness on here. I appreciate that the reason behind that is that Rod Stewart has Camden.
nick says
August 13, 2018 at 6:23 pmRod Stewart was north of Archway- at 507 Archway rd -Probably in Haringey
Ian Beetlestone says
October 18, 2018 at 9:54 amUCL’s in Camden
B says
November 16, 2018 at 11:57 amHow is Dusty Springfield bigger than the Who?
John Lewis says
January 11, 2019 at 1:51 pmFreddie Mercury and Brian May are both from Feltham, in the LB of Hounslow. I’m not sure anyone in Queen has any connection with Richmond. Also Jay Sean is from Southall, in the LB of Ealing, not Brent; T Rex should definitely be in Hackney; Merton should probably be represented by Mumford & Sons; and I can’t see any connection between The Police and Kingston — maybe John Martyn would be more appropriate for the London Borough of Kingston.
Citizen64 says
June 11, 2019 at 1:50 pmSurely, Boy George was the biggest thing to come out the Borough of Greenwich, much bigger than Jools Holland. – Boy George born in Woolwich and raised in Eltham.