Brixton - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

Mythology

Sir Walter Raleigh is said to have had a house in Brixton and been visited there by Queen Elizabeth I, who travelled by barge up the (now underground) River Effra to meet him. However, the name of Raleigh Hall appears to have no direct links to Sir Walter, and the Effra is not known to have been navigable south of Kennington. Brixton is also mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes stories A Study in Scarlet, The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle (1892) and The Adventure of the Three Garridebs (1924).

Music

References to Brixton in song started with the release of "Whoppi King" by Laurel Aitken in 1968 and "Brixton Cat" by Dice the Boss in 1969. This was followed in August 1975 by a song written and sung by Geraint Hughes and Jeff Calvert (who billed themselves as "Typically Tropical"): two white men who told the story of a Brixton bus-driver "going to Barbados" with Coconut Airways to escape the rain in London.

• The 1979 song "The Guns of Brixton" by The Clash deals with law enforcement violence in Brixton. Written by Paul Simonon, who grew up in Brixton, it had a reggae influence and showed the reggae roots of both Brixton and Paul Simonon's musical background.
• Before a Jam gig, well-known punk band The Misfits were involved in a fight and thrown into Brixton Prison, which led them to write their song "London Dungeon".

• Ian Hunter's 1981 album Short Back 'n' Sides contains a track called "Theatre of the Absurd" which refers to the Brixton law enforcement problem. "Play me some, play me some, play me Brixton power", is the chorus line, and the issue of race is opened with the first lines, "My tea turns seven shades darker as I sit and write these words. And London's gettin' paler, in my Theatre of the Absurd." The production of the record was overseen by Mick Jones of the Clash.
• Eddy Grant's 1982 album Killer on the Rampage contains the smash "Electric Avenue", a reference to a shopping street in central Brixton, one of the first in the UK to have electric street lighting installed (when Brixton's character was very different). The song evokes images of poverty, violence and misery while also celebrating the vibe of the area.
• The song "Waiting for the Worms" from Pink Floyd's The Wall has a rally leader speaking into a megaphone to a racist rally mob, which acts as some of the lyrics to separate verses of the song. The very first lyrics heard from the megaphone are, "We're ordered to convene at 1.15 outside Brixton Town Hall..."
• The 1981 dub reggae song "Youth of Eglington" by the Black Uhuru makes reference in the opening chorus: "The youth of Brixton; They have their 45 Smith and Wesson pistol pistol" – in later choruses this changes to: "The youth of Brixton; They put down their force by Smith and Wesson; Pistol pistol".
• The town featured in the song "Svarta pärlan i London" (The black pearl in London) by Swedish artist Thomas Di Leva.
• The song "Reggae Fi Peach," most of the album Dread, Beat and Blood, and many other songs by reggae–dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson are set in Brixton.
• The town also featured in the songs "Has It Come To This?" and "Let's Push Things Forward" by UK rapper The Streets.
• The song "Journey to the Centre of Brixton" by R.O.C.
• The song "Brixton, Bronx ou Baixada" by Brazilian rock-reggae band O Rappa, tells about social differences.
• The song "And God Created Brixton" features on the Carter USM album A World Without Dave. It mentions many of the most famous landmarks in the community including The Ritzy cinema and the prison.
• Brixton has alo been mentioned in the lyrics of songs by many Jamaican Dancehall artists namely Assassin, Bounty Killer, Buju Banton, Mavado (singer), Ninja Man and Vybz Kartel.
• Kevin Coyne's 1975 song "House on the Hill" includes the lines "I wander around that Brixton Square, With the bottles strewn everywhere, Under tables and under chairs, And they're all broken."
• The song "Sister Rosetta" of the Brixton-based "acid-house-country-gospel" band Alabama 3 starts with a conversation between "Larry Love" (Rob Spragg) and "The Very Reverend Dr. D. Wayne Love" (Jake Black) and the district's name is included in the first sentence of the song:

"It's a rainy night in Brixton D. Wayne

Why are you taking me downtown?

I brought you down here for a reason, Larry

you've been a faithful little reverend

due in the mountain of dessiminating the dope music to people all over the world

but I haven't been wholly straightforward with you Larry

but tonight, I think you're about to move a stage further in my twelve step plan which you have fought so diligently..."

• UK hip hop collective The Illersapiens feature a track entitled "Brixton" on their debut EP, a tribute to the hometown of the group's lead rapper Mr. Man. Similarly, the Pop-Punk group Zebrahead make reference to a Brixton as a song title on their album Phoenix; whether this refers to the English city is debatable.
• The Thin Lizzy song "Half Caste", which was released in 1975 as the B-side of "Rosalie", refers to Brixton. It has a reggae inspired beat and sound.
• The song "Me and Mr Jones" by Amy Winehouse briefly refers to Brixton. "Rulers one thing, but come Brixton"
• In 2009 local beat combo the Dumbartons released modern day anthem, "Brixton (My Home)". Les 'Fruitbat' Carter of Carter USM is a fan and played the song on a local radio show he hosts.
• California punk band Rancid wrote a song called "Brixton" that appeared on the Rock Stars Kill compilation, and later on B Sides and C Sides.
• The song "Summer of '81" by punk band The Violators was about the Brixton riots of 1981.
• The electronic band Chase and Status collaborated with Cee-Lo Green on their record Brixton Briefcase, which features on the album No More Idols.

Film and television

• Director Richard Parry shot a film here (released in 2001) called South West Nine (SW9), referring to the postcode covering much of central Brixton. Confusingly, this postcode is officially that of Stockwell – although the northern part of Brixton falls within the boundary – whereas SW2 (the Brixton Hill sorting office) also covers Tulse Hill A204 road, Streatham Hill and Brixton Hill.
• "Reg Llama of Brixton" was mentioned in the (farcical) opening credits of the 1975 comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
• Brixton was also mentioned in the film V for Vendetta as being the location where the first riots against Chancellor Adam Sutler's authoritarian British government broke out, which resulted in Sutler calling out the army to try to stop growing public support for "V".
• The film Johnny Was, with the exception of a number of flashback sequences, is set entirely in Brixton.
• Ross Kemp filmed in Brixton on two occasions for his programme Ross Kemp on Gangs.
• In the 1957 film The Prince and the Showgirl, the character played by Marilyn Monroe is from "Brixton Water Lane, Brixton".
• In the 1980 film Scum, a borstal warden yells at a black inmate and tells him he is a "black Brixton slag".
• The 1980 film Babylon was set in Brixton.
• In the 1980 film The Long Good Friday the section where Harold Shand (Bob Hoskins) finds and questions Errol was filmed in Villa Road, off Brixton Road.
• Michael Caine could be seen under the Victor Value supermarket sign in Atlantic Road near the railway station in the film Alfie and a large fight scene was filmed in a soon-to-close pub in Brixton Road.
• In the long-running children's program The Sooty Show, the recurring character of bulldog Butch is referred to as residing in Brixton.
• Brixton used in a Norwegian teenage comedy film "Amors Baller" directed by Kristoffer Metcalfe, starring Kåre Hedebrant and Eira K. Stuedahl. The film was co-written by Metcalfe and producer Frederick Howard. It is slated for release in March 2011. Brixton City is the football team in the final of the Norway cup against the team "Grimsrud" in which the main characters play.
• Guitar amplifier model currently produced by Bogner Amplification. It is an amplifier model with a decidedly 'British' rock sound.