It Was London

Album: Listen (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This gritty tune finds Luke Pritchard recounting the 2011 London Riots, which left England's capital city in a state of mayhem. The Kooks vocalist explained to Sound Of Boston how the song tried to capture the band's feelings at the time: "A big city like that, London, Paris, you have this illusion that everything's safe, and that sort of thing happens and the walls come crashing down," he said. "The police brutality that happened around that time… we wrote a song about that."
  • Thousands of mostly young males rioted in several London boroughs for several days during early August 2011 as well as in other places in England. The resulting chaos generated looting and arson as well as the deaths of five people. The riots inspired a number of songs including:

    "Kids" by Mikky Ekko

    "Uptight Downtown" by La Roux

    In addition the video for Plan B's single "Ill Manors" features footage of the riots.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers

Bill Medley of The Righteous BrothersSongwriter Interviews

Medley looks back on "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" - his huge hits from the '60s that were later revived in movies.

Mark Arm of Mudhoney

Mark Arm of MudhoneySongwriter Interviews

When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.

Christopher Cross

Christopher CrossSongwriter Interviews

The man who created Yacht Rock with "Sailing" wrote one of his biggest hits while on acid.

Howard Jones

Howard JonesSongwriter Interviews

Howard explains his positive songwriting method and how uplifting songs can carry a deeper message.

Def Leppard Quiz

Def Leppard QuizMusic Quiz

Can you name Def Leppard's only #1 hit in America? Get rocked with this adrenalized quiz.

Trucking Songs That Were #1 Hits

Trucking Songs That Were #1 HitsSong Writing

The stories behind the biggest hit songs about trucking.