Places in London

[BirdStrike]

Hello all knopfler fans!!

This year I'm going to London, I will see mark knopfler concert  ! I want to enjoy this city I want go to all mark knopfler related places.
Can you help me identify some of the most important places where mark knopfler and dire straits had?
For exemple where is the music store where mark knopfler saw his first guitar, this store appeared in the documentary "guitar stories", for exemple the places where he gave concerts in dire straits time, for  exemple the streets that inspiration knopfler for the lyrics...............

Thank you
greetings

[dmg]

The guitar store is in Newcastle, not London unfortunately.  You can visit the Crossfield Estate in Deptford where DS were formed and held their first gig:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deptford

Go to visit The Cutty Sark as per Single Handed Sailor:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutty_sark

Go to Portobello market as per Portobello Belle:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portobello_market

I don't know if British Grove is worth going to see since it's just a building.  Personally, I haven't bothered.

Maybe some London members will know more than me, but there're a few to keep you going!

[Mona Dee]

British Grove is not a beautiful building, but maybe you will have the chance to see MK when he is going to leave the studio  ....British Grove would be a MUST for me, if I travel to London...
http://www.britishgrovestudios.co.uk/contact.html
Have a great time there
Mona

[nababo]

Well, you can:

- walk around the West End. Maybe a picture of a duck in a chinese restaurant
- take Shaftesbury Av. down to the Piccadilly Circus
- see the lions made of stone on Trafalgar Square
- according to Mike Oldfield, MK saw the woman on Eastbound Train when he was at New Cross station
- Canning Town and Silvertown are a little bit away from the main London attractions, but if you have time you can see a billboard high...
- Further away is Turnpike Lane. Does not worth the effort
- see the plaque on Deptford in honor of DS's first gig, on Farrer House, just around Creekside St.

[dmg]

Well, you can:

- walk around the West End. Maybe a picture of a duck in a chinese restaurant
- take Shaftesbury Av. down to the Piccadilly Circus
- see the lions made of stone on Trafalgar Square
- according to Mike Oldfield, MK saw the woman on Eastbound Train when he was at New Cross station
- Canning Town and Silvertown are a little bit away from the main London attractions, but if you have time you can see a billboard high...
- Further away is Turnpike Lane. Does not worth the effort
- see the plaque on Deptford in honor of DS's first gig, on Farrer House, just around Creekside St.

New Cross Station is the underground at or next to Deptford I think.  "It was New Cross station, I was going on home..."

Silvertown Blues was written about the Millennium Dome, now redeveloped into the O2 Arena.

Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park too.

[Banjo99uk]

Well, you can:

- walk around the West End. Maybe a picture of a duck in a chinese restaurant
- take Shaftesbury Av. down to the Piccadilly Circus
- see the lions made of stone on Trafalgar Square
- according to Mike Oldfield, MK saw the woman on Eastbound Train when he was at New Cross station
- Canning Town and Silvertown are a little bit away from the main London attractions, but if you have time you can see a billboard high...
- Further away is Turnpike Lane. Does not worth the effort
- see the plaque on Deptford in honor of DS's first gig, on Farrer House, just around Creekside St.

Definitely avoid Turnpike Lane.

[Pottel]

why avoid turnpike lane?

[Banjo99uk]

why avoid turnpike lane?

Its not the nicest of areas and their is nothing of interest either, its just part of the urban sprawl.  Turnhan Green is nicer (also part of Junkie Doll lyrics) plus its very close to British Grove, which itself is very near to Hammersmith and The Apollo where Alchemy was filmed.  You could also go to the Mawson Arms on the A4 which the band seem to frequent. If it was me I would get on the Tube to Turnham Green, then walk down to the Mawson Arms, have a pint and walk back up to Stamford Park tube station via British Grove.  Hammersmith is then a few stops eastbound.  4 places in a couple of hours.

[Jules]

Well, you can:

- walk around the West End. Maybe a picture of a duck in a chinese restaurant
- take Shaftesbury Av. down to the Piccadilly Circus
- see the lions made of stone on Trafalgar Square
- according to Mike Oldfield, MK saw the woman on Eastbound Train when he was at New Cross station
- Canning Town and Silvertown are a little bit away from the main London attractions, but if you have time you can see a billboard high...
- Further away is Turnpike Lane. Does not worth the effort
- see the plaque on Deptford in honor of DS's first gig, on Farrer House, just around Creekside St.

New Cross Station is the underground at or next to Deptford I think.  "It was New Cross station, I was going on home..."

Silvertown Blues was written about the Millennium Dome, now redeveloped into the O2 Arena.

Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park too.

New Cross Station is the underground station, but not under :-P Its like a train station

When you go out you go left, then the next one at right, which is a long street full of houses and gardens, in that street you have the Albany Theater, where the first DS cocert happened (under that name), if you follow straight that street you will arrive to the area where the Farrer House is (you have a map of the buildings there)

Its worth the visit, from the Love over gold wall you can go walking (15 minutes walk) to where the Woodwharf Studio were just next to the Cutty Sark in Greenwich.

[CarrionSpy]

Nice post!!! I will travel for a RAH show like BirdStrike! Thank you for the information! I will stay a week and I will have the chance to visit some places!

[stratmad]

If you have that long in London (lucky you!), you could take a walk around Notting Hill, and you might get lucky with a few old vinyls or rare stuff (badges, posters, stickers t-shirts) at the music and video exchange shop at Notting Hill Gate if that still exists - don't forget to take your truffle dog along.    As far guitar stores go, Denmark Street is probably the place.

[CarrionSpy]

If you have that long in London (lucky you!), you could take a walk around Notting Hill, and you might get lucky with a few old vinyls or rare stuff (badges, posters, stickers t-shirts) at the music and video exchange shop at Notting Hill Gate if that still exists - don't forget to take your truffle dog along.    As far guitar stores go, Denmark Street is probably the place.

Thank you Stratmad!! I will follow your advice! I will post here if I find something interesting! Can't wait till May! 

[Mona Dee]

Hi CarrionSpy and BirdStrike,

I would love to see some photos of the mentioned places in London. So if you have the chance to take some.... . I`ve been there three times, but all before my MK-fan-time . London is a great city, I enjoyed it all three times !

Have a nice weekend

Mona

[Ironshaw]

G'day all,

I too am heading over to London on my own this May purely for a Knopfler concert at the RAH, as some form of pilgrimage. Many say it's a bit obscene to travel a 34,000km round trip from Australia, but hey, if I don't get to see Knopfler play live before either of us leave this world, I'll be devastated! I did see Dire Straits play in Sydney 1986 when I was 11, been hooked ever since. 

I'll have three days in London either side of the gig so the info in this post is awesome. I am thinking of actually jumping on a train or hiring a car and heading up to Newcastle, Whitley Bay, Tow Law...that whole Durham/Northumberland area is just iconic Knopfler in my opinion.

So if anyone has any other local info or advice on places to see, that would be great!

Cheers

[Rkd]

We just booked our flight to London today too. Looks like there will be lots of us foreigners wandering around London visiting MK's haunts whilst we wait for our concerts at the RAH. Maybe we should have shirts that say "Hopelessly lost and in love with MK's music!"