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Best Selling Singer Or Band From Each London Borough

July 16, 2015 31 Comments

london-music-act

Map created by redddit user wittybrits

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:

london-music-act-borough

Anything surprise you? Leave your comments below:

Filed Under: London Tagged With: music

Comments

  1. Clive Niall says

    July 18, 2015 at 6:19 am

    I think Siouxsie was from Bromley, not Southwark. We in Southwark had Tommy Steele:)

    Reply
    • dannysioux says

      November 11, 2016 at 11:49 pm

      Siouxsie was born in Southwark but lived in Chislehurst.

      Reply
    • PJ says

      November 7, 2019 at 10:25 pm

      I had to Google Kathy Kirby, Linda Lewis and Jay Sean. Very happy to share a borough with Bowie

      Reply
    • ian tannahill says

      June 4, 2020 at 2:37 pm

      Certainly her contingent were.

      Reply
    • Neil says

      March 5, 2022 at 9:22 am

      T-Rex? Marc Bolan is from Hackney no? Well S Newington. So, formed in Merton?

      Reply
  2. oliver4 says

    January 15, 2016 at 9:16 am

    This 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?).

    Reply
  3. William says

    July 15, 2016 at 6:47 pm

    The 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.

    Reply
    • skin2win says

      November 4, 2018 at 1:33 pm

      You poor fella . That is a lot of weight for one retard .

      Reply
  4. simon says

    November 11, 2016 at 4:50 pm

    Kirby 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]

    Reply
  5. nicola branch says

    November 15, 2016 at 2:55 pm

    Bowie was LB Bromley – born, bred, educated, married, first ever concerts. etc etc etc.

    Reply
  6. nicola branch says

    November 15, 2016 at 3:00 pm

    and 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.

    Reply
  7. Medusa Jordan says

    July 24, 2017 at 5:43 pm

    I 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?

    Reply
    • hedgemagnet says

      November 17, 2017 at 1:45 pm

      Half 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!

      Reply
      • Wreckerman says

        November 18, 2017 at 7:02 pm

        Mark 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.

        Reply
        • hedgemagnet says

          November 18, 2017 at 9:39 pm

          Ta!

          Reply
          • Wreckerman says

            November 18, 2017 at 9:46 pm

            Apparently 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 pm

          Summerstown is where I was born and bread (good times)!

          Reply
      • karl says

        October 29, 2018 at 5:17 pm

        Dartford is not shown because it is outside (London)!

        Reply
  8. hedgemagnet says

    November 17, 2017 at 1:47 pm

    Half 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!

    Reply
  9. Winks says

    July 16, 2018 at 3:51 pm

    Amazing that there is no Madness on here. I appreciate that the reason behind that is that Rod Stewart has Camden.

    Reply
  10. nick says

    August 13, 2018 at 6:23 pm

    Rod Stewart was north of Archway- at 507 Archway rd -Probably in Haringey

    Reply
  11. Ian Beetlestone says

    October 18, 2018 at 9:54 am

    UCL’s in Camden

    Reply
  12. B says

    November 16, 2018 at 11:57 am

    How is Dusty Springfield bigger than the Who?

    Reply
  13. John Lewis says

    January 11, 2019 at 1:51 pm

    Freddie 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.

    Reply
  14. Citizen64 says

    June 11, 2019 at 1:50 pm

    Surely, 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.

    Reply
  15. Walter Sampson says

    May 27, 2020 at 10:25 am

    Phil Collins lived round the corner from me in Hounslow Great guy.

    Reply
  16. Udo says

    December 20, 2020 at 12:55 am

    What???? No Beatles?

    Reply
    • East17 says

      December 3, 2021 at 8:50 pm

      Are you serious???

      Reply
  17. Paul says

    December 22, 2020 at 6:09 am

    Who is Ian Drury?

    Reply
  18. John Scrafano says

    December 23, 2020 at 2:51 am

    What about the Beatles , did you forget them. One of the greatest bands around which lead the way to the USA FOR THE REST !

    Reply
    • East17 says

      December 3, 2021 at 8:51 pm

      This is about London.

      Reply

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