From June 2010 I began to showcase the Old East End of London in song. For a year I posted weekly videos telling factual tales and then wrote a song inspired by the same story. These instalments are all laid out below, songs are free to download.
In October 2011 I began a second series hosted at Londonist.com, entitled ‘Folk Olympics’ – stories from the Five London Olympic Boroughs. Some songs have been temporarily removed for inclusion in that project.
‘The Howling Sea’
52 songs over 52 weeks culminating in this last song, ‘The Howling Sea’. From The Tower of London to the banks of the River Lea, from Victoria Park to the tides of the Thames. East London life. Songs From The Howling Sea. I hope you have enjoyed the content as much as I have enjoyed creating it. Play song above, view video for story.
Lyrics available here
‘Sunshine From The East’
Now for something tricky. I found a great old story set in London’s East End and thought, why not write a trilogy! This week it’s the first instalment of three songs based on a 100 year old short story written by Thomas Burke incredibly entitled ‘The Chink And The Child’ and set in London’s East End. This is called ‘Sunshine From The East’.
Play/download song above, view video for story. Lyrics available here
