Popular Culture
Carnaby Street was an already well-enough established phenomenon to be satirised by the 1967 film Smashing Time. One of the songs, entitled 'Carnaby Street', features the lyric: You'll pay for the gear on display to appear on the scene/ It's no good being mean/ They'll have your every bean.
In 1966, Harry Fox and Henry Moss together opened the doors of Lady Jane, the first ladies' fashion boutique in the street, to the world. They soon parted company and Harry Fox went on to add Lady Jane Again, Lady Jane's Birdcage, a souvenir shop and a men's wear shop, Sir Harry, to his empire. Stars from around the world made Lady Jane a must see on their trips to London, including Jayne Mansfield who arrived in a blaze of publicity. Harry Fox, the president of the Carnaby Street Trading Association, lobbied local government to have the first sign, 'Carnaby Street Welcomes The World' hung high above the street, and later ensured the street was pedestrianised to make it easier to find and enjoy.
In 1969, Peggy March recorded an album called In der Carnaby Street, with a hit song of the same name.
There is a song by The Jam called "Carnaby Street", written by bassist Bruce Foxton. It was the B-side of single "All Around The World", released in the UK on 8 July 1977, reaching a chart position of number 13. It never appeared on any studio album, but can be found on the collected works of The Jam boxset Direction Reaction Creation.
In 1989, a 2 Tone band The Volecanoes recorded a song called "Carnaby Street" which contains this line : "On Carnaby Street, you'll see, everything is free, everything is free when you pay."
In The Kinks hit "Dedicated Follower of Fashion," there is a line "Everywhere the Carnabetian Army marches on, each one a Dedicated Follower of Fashion".
A season 15 episode of The Simpsons shows Bart and Lisa emerging from Carnaby Street in mod fashion garb.
Nails inc have released a yellow nail polish called Carnaby Street as part of their London collection.
In 1992, U2 shot the video for "Even Better Than The Real Thing" in Carnaby Street. It features a doppelganger version of the band in a shop window playing the song to a retail audience.
In his autobiography, Traveling Music, Rush drummer Neil Peart speaks of his time in London working at a couple of stores on Carnaby Street.
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Famous quotes containing the words popular and/or culture:
“But popular rage,
Hysterica passio dragged this quarry down.
None shared our guilt; nor did we play a part
Upon a painted stage when we devoured his heart.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“The future is built on brains, not prom court, as most people can tell you after attending their high school reunion. But you’d never know it by talking to kids or listening to the messages they get from the culture and even from their schools.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1953)