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"We were in a part of London that was a dangerous area" - apparently that incident occurred in Notting Hill Gate; that's hardly a rough neighbourhood. Parts of

"We were in a part of London that was a dangerous area" - apparently that incident occurred in Notting Hill Gate; that's hardly a rough neighbourhood. Parts of Notting Hill are definitely seedy, but I wouldn't be nervous waiting for a bus there at night.

robotresearcher 5y ago
And forty years ago, when this album was made? London is considerably less violent all over than it was in those days. Casual violence was a part of my youth that I’m very happy my teenage kids would not recognize. I think NYC and some other US cities are similarly less scary these days. Not all places, and not for all people, of course.
laumars 5y ago
I’m not as familiar with that particular area of London but I do know the city has changed massively since that album was recorded and a lot of areas that you simply wouldn’t walk alone at night have undergone gentrification. Brixton is a great example of that.
zh3 5y ago
London was a lot more, ah, interesting, back then. There were certainly a lot more areas where it wasn't wise to walk around by yourself (that is, in areas where you didn't fit in). Still are, but it's nothing like as exciting as it used to be. Soho in particular used to feel so alive; the vibe there sort of died around the time they licenced the sex shops/cleaned up the area.
jlarcombe 5y ago
totally different back then, I suspect (just like Islington)
- denton-scratch 5y ago
  Well, I lived in the rougher parts of Notting Hill in the early 70's. I don't need to "suspect" anything. I lived around Westbourne Grove and Ladbroke Grove. Yes, that was very different from how it is now; then, it was hippie/druggie land. But it wasn't dangerous. There were a lot of burglaries; people in poor neighbourhoods tend to rob their neighbours, for some reason. But I don't recall any shootings or stabbings. I didn't even know anyone who had been beaten up on the street. There was no racial tension, that I was aware of; black and white people lived as neighbours, all jumbled-up, and got on fine. I also spent 15 years living in Islington; that was only rough on football nights, when racist supporters from out-of-town took over the streets and pubs. Gentrification of Islington amounted to not much more than rising house prices (I moved out of London forever in about 1996). Islington had rough estates that I would keep my kids away from; but I didn't have to helicopter them to school. They walked or took the public bus. Islington's much more dangerous now. There are regular reports of rapes and murders, in parks and corners where I used to hang out with my kids. "Gentrification" is not synonymous with "crime reduction".

robotresearcher 5y ago

And forty years ago, when this album was made? London is considerably less violent all over than it was in those days. Casual violence was a part of my youth that I’m very happy my teenage kids would not recognize. I think NYC and some other US cities are similarly less scary these days. Not all places, and not for all people, of course.

laumars 5y ago

I’m not as familiar with that particular area of London but I do know the city has changed massively since that album was recorded and a lot of areas that you simply wouldn’t walk alone at night have undergone gentrification. Brixton is a great example of that.

zh3 5y ago

London was a lot more, ah, interesting, back then. There were certainly a lot more areas where it wasn't wise to walk around by yourself (that is, in areas where you didn't fit in). Still are, but it's nothing like as exciting as it used to be. Soho in particular used to feel so alive; the vibe there sort of died around the time they licenced the sex shops/cleaned up the area.

jlarcombe 5y ago

totally different back then, I suspect (just like Islington)

denton-scratch 5y ago
Well, I lived in the rougher parts of Notting Hill in the early 70's. I don't need to "suspect" anything. I lived around Westbourne Grove and Ladbroke Grove. Yes, that was very different from how it is now; then, it was hippie/druggie land. But it wasn't dangerous. There were a lot of burglaries; people in poor neighbourhoods tend to rob their neighbours, for some reason. But I don't recall any shootings or stabbings. I didn't even know anyone who had been beaten up on the street. There was no racial tension, that I was aware of; black and white people lived as neighbours, all jumbled-up, and got on fine. I also spent 15 years living in Islington; that was only rough on football nights, when racist supporters from out-of-town took over the streets and pubs. Gentrification of Islington amounted to not much more than rising house prices (I moved out of London forever in about 1996). Islington had rough estates that I would keep my kids away from; but I didn't have to helicopter them to school. They walked or took the public bus. Islington's much more dangerous now. There are regular reports of rapes and murders, in parks and corners where I used to hang out with my kids. "Gentrification" is not synonymous with "crime reduction".