Sun is in the sky, oh why, oh why, Would I wanna be anywhere else?
Few cities have shaped modern music in the way that London has. For generations, the capital has been a musical petri dish, where different cultures, communities and sounds grow together, their roots and identities interweaving.
From the reggae and soundsystem culture brought to Britain by the Windrush generation, led by the likes of Sir Coxsone Outernational, Dr Alimantado, Jah Shaka and Dennis Bovell, through the punk explosion of the 1970s (Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Damned, The Slits, X-Ray Spex, Siouxsie and the Banshees) the guitar bands and club cultures that followed, to the grime, garage, jungle and electronic scenes, the city's musical DNA has always been constantly evolving. Record stores, pirate radio stations, clubs and independent venues have provided essential infrastructure for countless scenes to flourish.
It was in this musical landscape that Rough Trade first opened its doors in West London in 1976, in the heart of the punk era. What began as an independent record shop on Kensington Park Road became a huge network of artists, labels and listeners, forming a community of music-lovers that would spread across not just the country, but the globe.
And what street better demonstrates the city's relationship with music than Soho's historic Denmark Street, nicknamed 'Tin Pan Alley' and home to generations of guitar shops, studios and prolific musicians. In 2024, Rough Trade also opened its doors there, joining an iconic street whose musical history stretches from rock to pop to punk and beyond.
100 songs about London, in chronological order...
From wartime anthems, to reggae, punk, garage and grime, the likes of Lily Allen, The Clash, Little Simz, Pulp, M.I.A., Marianne Faithfull and more. Spanning 1924 to 2026, this chronological list brings together 100 songs about London, selected by Rough Trade staff.
Decades of music in one London playlist: Wander through the best songs about London in one playlist, the capital’s culture captured in 100 tracks over on Qobuz and Spotify.
Stanley Holloway – London Town (You Haunt Me) (1924)
Stanley Holloway, born 1890, had an extraordinary career; a music hall performer before the First World War, he lived long enough to perform on the same Royal Variety bill as Sheena Easton and Rowan Atkinson in 1980. This evocative record from 1924 was sampled by The Caretaker in 2008.
Huw, Rough Trade Warehouse
Vera Lynn – A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (1940)
A beautiful song that chronicles a love affair set in Mayfair.
Sammy, Rough Trade Office
Lord Kitchener – London Is the Place for Me (1948)
Sums up exactly why London is the greatest city in the world.
Nige, Rough Trade Office
Flanders and Swann – A Transport of Delight (1956)
From At the Drop of a Hat
In Britain, you are never more than a few miles away from a Flanders and Swann record lying prostrate in a charity shop. A Transport of Delight, the first song from their hit revue At the Drop of a Hat, is a breathless tribute to the great London bus. Hold very tight please - ting ting!
Huw, Rough Trade Warehouse
Max Bygraves – Fings Ain't Wot They Used t'Be (1960)
From Fings Ain't Wot They Used t'Be
Once our beer was froffy / But now it's froffy coffee
From Lionel Bart's groundbreaking Cockney musical of the same name, this satirical rock & roll number bemoans the London of 1960.
Huw, Rough Trade Warehouse
Petula Clark – A Foggy Day (1965)
From I Know a Place
Set at the British Museum, this standard has been recorded by everyone from Ella & Louis to Willie Nelson, but my favourite is the swinging, moddish version from our Pet circa 1965; ominous and brooding right up until the clouds part for the joyful final chorus.
Jono, Rough Trade Nottingham
Donovan – Sunny Goodge Street (1965)
From Fairytale
For something relatively early in the decade, or indeed the century, these lyrics vividly capture the simultaneous beauty and violence of urban life.
Jono, Rough Trade Nottingham
The Kinks – Waterloo Sunset (1967)
From Something Else by the Kinks
Possibly the most quintessentially London track. Ray Davies spent a lot of his childhood in St Thomas' hospital overlooking Waterloo, hence the birth of 'one of the most beautiful songs in the English language'.
Cammy, Rough Trade Office
Julie Driscoll – I Know You Love Me Not (1967)
From London 1964–1967
From the LP London 1964-1967. It is a bit like your relationship with London; you love the city unconditionally, even if it has a slight snarling lip when loving you back.
Emma, Rough Trade Office
Small Faces – Itchycoo Park (1967)
The "park" is widely believed to be Little Ilford Park (or nearby Wanstead Flats) in East London, where Steve Marriott grew up. The lyrics don't say "London" or "Ilford", but the inspiration is unmistakably London.
Jamie, Rough Trade Office
Blossom Dearie – I Like London in the Rain (1967)
From Sweet Blossom Dearie
Despite its perpetuating stereotypes about British weather, this charming, wholesome love letter to a rainy day in the capital has a break that goes hard.
Jono, Rough Trade Nottingham
Marianne Faithfull – In the Night Time (1967)
From Love in a Mist
Retitled from Donovan's original "Hampstead Incident", this groovy slice of sensual chamber psychedelia captures the hazy, baroque, paisley-covered vibe of a London in the 60s I never knew and that maybe never even existed... but it certainly is intoxicating.
Jono, Rough Trade Nottingham
Billy Nicholls – London Social Degree (1968)
From Would You Believe
Yes I went to school when I was a youngster / But you can keep your maths and GCEs / I have found a test that makes me think better / It's the London social degree
Nicholls was born in White City, London and his lost Baroque-pop masterpiece Would You Believe (released in 1968) was recorded at Olympic Studios in Barnes, West London. It was produced by fellow Londoner Andrew Loog Oldham with backing musicians including: Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane and Ian McLagan of the Small Faces, Nicky Hopkins, and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin.
Jamie, Rough Trade Office
Ram John Holder – Brixton Blues (1969)
From Black London Blues
Decades before he achieved sitcom immortality as Porkpie in Desmonds, Ram John Holder released a blues album detailing his experience as an immigrant in London.
Huw, Rough Trade Warehouse
The Rolling Stones – You Can't Always Get What You Want (1969)
From Let It Bleed
I went down to the Chelsea drugstore / To get your prescription filled
Opened in 1968 at 49 King's Road, the Chelsea Drugstore was a massive, three-story countercultural hub. It featured a pharmacy, record shops, clothing boutiques, a sci-fi themed soda fountain, and a bar. It was also used by Stanley Kubrick for the scene in A Clockwork Orange where Alex picks up some girls.
Jamie, Rough Trade Office
Mick Jagger – Memo from Turner (1970)
From Performance (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
The theme song from Performance, starring Mick Jagger, where London's swinging 60s collide with its underground crime.
Ethan, Rough Trade Bristol
Faces – Debris (1971)
From A Nod Is as Good as a Wink... to a Blind Horse
I left you on the debris, at the Sunday morning market / You were sorting through the odds and ends, you was looking for a bargain
Ronnie Lane grew up in Plaistow, East London and this is one of his many great songs... The market in question was on Club Row - the same street as our London office...
Jamie, Rough Trade Office
Caetano Veloso – London, London (1971)
From Caetano Veloso
Both songs were written/recorded whilst Caetano (and Gilberto Gil) were in exile in London for subverting the Brazilian dictatorship in the late '60s
Louie, Rough Trade Warehouse
Nick Drake – Parasite (1972)
From Pink Moon
Sailing downstairs to the Northern Line / Watching the shine of the shoes
Nick (around the time of Pink Moon) was residing in a large house on Haverstock Hill, near Chalk Farm tube (it's gone now, FYI), hence the lyrical reference.
Jamie, Rough Trade Office
Gavin Bryars – Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet (1975)
From The Sinking of the Titanic
Composed around a loop/sample of a rough sleeper singing a hymn which was recorded whilst gathering footage for a documentary about Elephant and Castle/ Waterloo.
Louie, Rough Trade Warehouse
Junior Murvin – Police and Thieves (1976)
From Police and Thieves
Covered by The Clash, written about the Notting Hill Carnival 1976, so 50 years ago now!
Nige, Rough Trade Office
Ian Dury – My Old Man (1977)
Cigarettes, double-deckers and Ian Dury's comforting cockney twang.
Cammy, Rough Trade Office
Dire Straits – Sultans of Swing (1978)
From Dire Straits
Deptford's Dire Straits are responsible for one of the best solos in guitar music's history. Wild West End is another big London marker on that record.
Cammy, Rough Trade Office
Television Personalities – Part-Time Punks (1978)
From Where's Bill Grundy Now? EP
The TVPs’ witty parody of the London punk scene of the late '70’s featuring a visit to Rough Trade. A classic.
Heloise, Rough Trade Office
The Clash – (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais (1978)
The Clash have done a lot of songs about London. This is the best one. "If Adolf Hitler flew in today, they'd send a limousine anyway!!" Chef's kiss!
Jamie, Rough Trade Office
The Jam – Down in the Tube Station at Midnight (1978)
From All Mod Cons
Set around a journey on the underground, Down in the Tube Station at Midnight is more than a song about the tube. Paul Weller’s vivid storytelling reflects the city’s social tensions at the time, transforming an everyday London experience into something cinematic and claustrophobic.
Paddy, Rough Trade Office
Warren Zevon – Werewolves of London (1978)
From Excitable Boy
Armed with a copy of Time Out and a piano riff Chas and Dave would be proud of, this Chicagoan takes us on a surrealist tour around the City of Westminster, trying to avoid the werewolves' gazes. Cheeky, groovy with a chorus that will stalk you for days.
Paddy, Rough Trade Office
Electric Light Orchestra – Last Train to London (1979)
From Discovery
Never has the experience of catching the last train to London sounded so FUN-KEH!!
Jamie, Rough Trade Office
Squeeze – Up the Junction (1979)
From Cool for Cats
It may not be the happiest picture painted, but it is a picture nonetheless. Swapping the telly for nights in with the baby, the song defines a troubled life searching for meaning, within the bounds of the English capital.
Lizzie, Rough Trade Office
The Jam – Strange Town (1979)
Paul Weller wrote this when he first moved to London in 1978, and I suppose in a way I kind of found a resonance in it when I moved here too. He's brought this back into his live sets now for the first time since probably 1979.
Matt, Rough Trade East
The Clash – The Guns of Brixton (1979)
From London Calling
The Clash always were one of my favourite punk bands; they were more musically proficient than most, and their later careers demonstrate it too.
Matt, Rough Trade East
The Clash – London Calling (1979)
From London Calling
A seminal tune that simply couldn't be excluded from this list. Apart from the fact that the word London is said 14 times, the lyrics are quintessential to the city.
Sammy, Rough Trade Office
Janet Kay – Silly Games (1979)
Born in Willesden, Janet Kay was discovered by legend Alton Ellis. In 1979 she made history by becoming the first British-born Black female reggae artist to have a top ten (reaching no.2) in the British pop charts. Silly Games, also produced by Dennis Bovell, stands as a classic, record-breaking hit, and foundational anthem of Lovers Rock. Props to anyone who can hit the high note on this.
Zak H, Rough Trade East
Eddy Grant – Electric Avenue (1982)
From Killer on the Rampage
Hugely upbeat protest hit from 1982, focused on the working-class survival of the people of London. Iconic.
Bruce, Rough Trade East
Madness – Our House (1982)
From The Rise & Fall
The nutty boys' ode to a working-class London upbringing and one of their most enduring songs.
Huw, Rough Trade Warehouse
The The – This Is the Day (1983)
From Soul Mining
As a Dutch girl who had quite the obsession with London growing up, this song is the best soundtrack to listen to while walking around this city.
Marieke, Rough Trade East
Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls (1984)
From Please
Famously dark and layered with synths. Through hazy eyes, it tells the story of the contrast between the working class and the other side. This track is full of optimism and wanderlust.
Bruce, Rough Trade East
Smiley Culture – Cockney Translator (1984)
Smiley Culture mixes Jamaican patois with cockney dialect on this dancehall classic. "Cockney have names like Terry, Arthur and Del Boy / We have name like Winston, Lloyd and Leroy."
Huw, Rough Trade Warehouse
London Posse – How's Life in London (1990)
From Gangster Chronicle
Legends in the game.
Chris, Rough Trade West
Sinéad O'Connor – Black Boys on Mopeds (1990)
From I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
A story told by an Irish woman set in London’s streets. Sinead O’Connor’s Black Boys on Mopeds is a beautiful lament of protest and honesty. Released in 1990, just a few years before Cool Britannia, she denies England of the image it projects to the rest of the world, and tells listeners of the sobering truth of England’s relationship with police brutality. Covered in 2026 by Fontaines D.C. for HELP (2) by War Child Records, O’Connor’s legacy and the message of the song remain.
Dulcie, Rough Trade West
Saint Etienne – London Belongs to Me (1991)
From Foxbase Alpha
No other song made London seem as lovely and sunny as this ode to romance in the capital.
Jono, Rough Trade Nottingham
Ian Dury – Bus Driver's Prayer (1992)
From The Bus Driver's Prayer & Other Stories
59-second banger!! "Our Father, Who art in Hendon Harrow Road be Thy name Thy Kingston come Thy Wimbledon In Erith as it is in Hendon. Give us this day our Berkhamstead And forgive us our Westminsters As we forgive those who Westminster against us. Lead us not into Temple Station And deliver us from Ealing, For thine is the Kingston The Purley and the Crawley, For Iver and Iver Crouch End."
Jamie, Rough Trade Office
Flowered Up – Weekender (1992)
Flowered Up formed in Camden Town and give us this absolute behemoth crossover dance banger. It's the soundtrack to putting your hard-earned dosh towards the largest of weekends and not giving two fucks. It's the soundtrack to simply getting on it. Best enjoyed watching the (superb) official video on YouTube, all 17+ mins of it!
Jamie, Rough Trade Office
Kirsty MacColl – Soho Square (1993)
From Titanic Days
A bittersweet love song. Visit the bench in Soho Square on October 10th or December 24th to find a community of memory sharers.
Bruce, Rough Trade East
Blur – For Tomorrow (1993)
Let's take a drive to Primrose Hill, it's windy there, and the view's so nice / London ice can freeze your toes, like anyone I suppose you're holding on for tomorrow
Carrie, Rough Trade Office
X-Press 2 – London Xpress (1993)
Evergreen House classic from Rocky Diesel and Ashley, on Boys Own. Affectionately known as Typewriter due to the sample in the breakdown, this tune was blasting from every Vauxhall Nova I passed in East London in 1993
Paulo, Rough Trade Warehouse
Ice MC – Think About the Way (1994)
From Ice'n'Green
This gibberish classic plays during the montage in Trainspotting when Renton (who's trying to "get awf the skag") first moves to London... This is the sound of hedonistic London in the early '90s, full of clubbers getting mashed up and throwing shapes to an irresistible banger. It's all there; Euro-pop four-to-the-floor beat, bubbling synths and the bit where it goes "Boom diggy-diggy-diggy, boom diggy bang."
Jamie, Rough Trade Office
Pulp – Mile End (1996)
From Trainspotting: Music from the Motion Picture
This kitchen sink drama-banger from the Trainspotting soundtrack plays when Begbie tracks down Renton in London... "Doncaster, 4:40, £5 to win, Bad Boy" Classic.
Jamie, Rough Trade Office
Scott Garcia – A London Thing (1997)
You couldn't escape this on the pirates in 1997.
Paulo, Rough Trade Warehouse
Double 99 – Ripgroove (1997)
Produced in a kitchen in North London, this was an iconic track for the garage genre, which was the soundtrack to so much of London in the late '90s. Every souped-up Fiesta barrelling down a high street would have a garage track playing out of their installed boot stereo, and Ripgroove was the mother of those.
Ruby, Rough Trade Office
David Gray – Babylon (1999)
From White Ladder
Sunday, all the lights of London / Shining, sky is fading red to blue
Georgia, Rough Trade Office
Noonday Underground – London (2000)
From Self-Assembly
A certified lost classic here, sounding not too unlike a hidden gem from a Nuggets compilation...
Jamie, Rough Trade Office
The Streets – Has It Come to This? (2001)
My underground train runs from Mile End to Ealing / Fom Brixton to Bounds Green
Get me a tinnie now!
Jamie, Rough Trade East
The Libertines – Time for Heroes (2002)
From Up the Bracket
Romantic, gritty perspective view on the existence in London. Chaotic and volatile. An anthem for the youth.
Bruce, Rough Trade East
Cornershop – The London Radar (2002)
From Handcream for a Generation
This is taken from one of the most underrated albums to ever exist... Handcream For A Generation is cosmic bliss from front to back, and this track is all sorts of fun... Speaking of fun, here's a fun Cornershop fact; Wiiija Records is Cornershop's record label, and it was born in the basement of Rough Trade West, hence the name Wiija is a phonetic corruption of their postcode W11 1JA.... Everyday is a schoolday.
Jamie, Rough Trade Office
M.I.A. – Galang (2003)
From Arular
London calling, speak the slang now / Boys say wha, come on girls say what, what
West London 2005 in a nutshell.
Nige, Rough Trade Office
Dizzee Rascal – Sittin' Here (2003)
From Boy in da Corner
Frank and honest observations of experiences growing up in East London; if anything is the sound of a place and time, this is, and Dizzee Rascal is. It permeated all of East London.
Ruby, Rough Trade Office
The Rakes – 22 Grand Job (2005)
From Capture/Release
"Eat, sleep, rave, repeat". An anthem that wrote the script for the anxiety-ridden who are just getting by - still rings true today.
Bruce, Rough Trade East
Amy Winehouse – You Know I'm No Good (2006)
From Back to Black
It's hard to pick one Amy Winehouse song that sums up her legendary contribution to London's music. That being said, You Know I'm No Good is an anthem for a messy night out, ending with a kebab, a London classic.
Amelie, Rough Trade East
Belle and Sebastian – Mornington Crescent (2006)
From The Life Pursuit
This song captures the essence of a distinctive image of London. Exploring a collision of traditions, from the suited city workers to the rebellious spirit of the punk movement, and everything in between.
Carrie, Rough Trade Office
JME – Serious (2006)
From Serious
2009 - back of the bus - Nokia 3310 - full volume - JMEserious.mp3 - My brother sat next to me with a Nike swoosh shaved into his head - life is good!
Jamie, Rough Trade East
Man Like Me – London Town (2006)
"London town, are you ready to rinse it down? Down, down down down, all around...From south London, to Camden Town... London underground rinsing down... Where rinsin' down, where rinsin' down...With a bubblin' bassline sound." Two guys from Camden giving us London bangers, yeah boy!
Jamie, Rough Trade Office
The Maccabees – Latchmere (2006)
From Colour It In
"Latchmere's got a wave machine... Oh Ohh Oh Oh Oh Oh!!" Latchmere Leisure Centre currently holds a 3.8 Google review rating, but this tune is more a 4.9.
Jamie, Rough Trade Office
Lily Allen – LDN (2006)
From Alright, Still
Sun is in the sky, oh why, oh why / Would I wanna be anywhere else?
Leila, Rough Trade Bristol
Fergie – London Bridge (2006)
From The Dutchess
We believe this song epitomises London. Great energy, a catchy hook and a gnarly beat. Fergie is one of the GOATS (on god) and it's great to hear her talking about 'The Big Smoke'. Kind of ironic her talking about London bridge going up in flames as this song is straight flames. Personally, I've never lived in London but I can imagine this song is what it feels like walking through the cobbled streets of Soho whilst the sun is setting.
Jacob and Alice, Rough Trade Liverpool
Bloc Party – Song For Clay (Disappear Here) (2007)
Living in a small town in Devon and listening to all the mid-noughties indie sleaze had me dreaming of being in a band, living in a squat in Dalston and never taking my winkle pickers off. The opener of Bloc Party's sophomore bathed the dream in late night neon lights and got me on the megabus.
Adrian, Rough Trade Bristol
Adele – Hometown Glory (2007)
From 19
A heartfelt tribute to London that gently pushes back against the city's critics, carrying an emotional weight that belies the artist's age - Adele was just 16 when she wrote it. Nearly two decades on, Hometown Glory's honesty and timeless craftsmanship (and that gorgeous intro) continue to resonate just as powerfully.
Emily, Rough Trade Office
The Horrors – Jack the Ripper (2007)
From Strange House
A fresh slice of East End noir, delivered with a frantic crackle.
Jamie, Rough Trade Office
Skepta – Postcode Wars (2007)
From Greatest Hits
An early mixtape track from the King of Grime, shining a spotlight on gang culture in mid-2000's London. A real snapshot in time, you could already tell he'd go on to be massive - his 2016 Mercury Prize win with Konnichiwa remains one of the most deserved in its history.
Matt, Rough Trade Denmark Street
Giggs – Talkin' the Hardest (2007)
From Walk in da Park
It wouldn't be this list without the national anthem! When the top 100 London songs list comes up, Giggs should pop up in your head as THE artist.
Jamie, Rough Trade East
Duffy – Warwick Avenue (2008)
From Rockferry
Duffy has woven Warwick Avenue tube station into a beautiful melancholic song about heartbreak. Waiting at the tube, waiting for the train and waiting for the conversation.
Locks, Rough Trade East
Gallows – London Is the Reason (2008)
From Grey Britain
Fronted by Frank Carter, this song presents a pitch-black, apocalyptic portrait of the capital. It dives deep into the alienation, violent underbelly, and suffocating atmosphere of living in modern London, declaring it a place that swallows people whole.
Sam, Rough Trade Office
Joy Orbison – Hyph Mngo (2009)
South Londonder Joy Orbison's first single. It was first played on a mix for Fabric by Ben UFO in May 2009, and was later included in a mix by Scuba on Rinse FM on 25 June 2009. A somersaulting, atmospheric bassy roller that feels like rainy, late-night London landscapes, people skateboarding or doing parkour. A seminal, seminal dubstep tune - changed the game.
Georgia, Rough Trade Office
Crystal Fighters – I Love London (2009)
From Star of Love
The lyrics, the glitchy digital sound, the repetitive throbbing siren drums. If this isn't the definition of the chaos and excitement of London, then I'm not sure what is.
Lizzie, Rough Trade Office
Jamie T – Sticks 'n' Stones (2009)
From Kings & Queens
An iconic indie anthem. From the get-go you can hear an entire generation screaming "Running with believers! No time for fever!!!" Sticks n Stones is so feel good, it's rooted in London iconography with a sprinkling of cheekiness. Jamie T on the road to becoming a national treasure.
Locks Geary-Griffin, Rough Trade East
Joshua Idehen & LV – Northern Line (2011)
From Routes
What do you know about bank? / I put my money in the bank.
Some artists just know how to capture the movement of a city. Joshua Idehen is one of them. Using the stops of the Northern Line as a jump-off for his witty, tongue-in-cheek spoken word and jazz-inflected rhythms. Everyone has a favourite tube line - we can take a guess what Joshua Idehen's is.
Paddy, Rough Trade Office
King Krule – Easy Easy (2013)
Is there anything more London than using a song to complain about a meal deal?
Lizzie, Rough Trade Office
Soft Play – Cheer Up London (2015)
From Are You Satisfied?
It targets the grinding corporate routine of the daily London commute. It brilliantly mocks the frantic race to buy expensive properties while keeping your head down on the Underground, featuring the iconic hook, "Dead already, dead already, dead dead already!"
Sam, Rough Trade Office
Kano – T-Shirt Weather in the Manor (2016)
From Made in the Manor
You've gotta love London in the sun, bro, ya dun know
One for a London heatwave summer with its references: Ayia Napa weather, quarter lengths, Screwball, 99 Flake and Newham Leisure Centre. Also notable are the references to the bubbling London music scene, Heartless Crew, The Streets and other music you will likely hear in Kano's London: "DJ got the Tina Moore and MJ Cole / The olders asking for some Dennis Brown". Prophetic or just reminding us we've known it for a long time, Kano laments global warming: "They say the globe's warm and it's getting hot in the ends, fame and loyalty, poetically surmising: The Gs come out when the sun goes in / There something 'bout T-shirt weather in the manor, my friend."
Georgia, Rough Trade Office
Moses Boyd – Rye Lane Shuffle (2016)
Moses' debut single that is a jazzy broken beat percussive work of genius.
Nige, Rough Trade Office
Dean Blunt – Trident 2 (2016)
A hypnotising and educational song including a spoken word excerpt from Guns, Gangs and the Implication For Social Workers by Claudine Duberry, addressing the important history of the gang rivalry between Hackney and Tottenham in the late '90s.
Teo, Rough Trade East
J Hus – Bouff Daddy (2017)
From Common Sense
I tour the city in an Addison Lee
Laurie, Rough Trade East
Little Simz – 101 FM (2018)
From GREY Area
A homage to the pirate radio era of grime as well as a look into Simz's early years in London and the legends that inspired her.
Annabel, Rough Trade Nottingham
Mall Grab – Liverpool Street in the Rain (2018)
From How the Dogs Chill, Vol. 1
A track that feels like the last hour of a night out. Perfectly capturing the melancholy of Liverpool Street in the rain, this is what petrichor would sound like.
Cammy, Rough Trade Office
Insecure Men – Tulse Hill Station (2018)
From Insecure Men
A gentle break-up ballad about running your head over with a train.
Jack, Rough Trade Denmark Street
Florence + the Machine – South London Forever (2018)
From High as Hope
Florence's ode to growing up in and around Camberwell, and growing apart from the area you grew up in. A beautiful love letter to youth in London.
Celeste, Rough Trade West
Nines – CR (2018)
From Crop Circle
I mean not much to say. Windows down, blasting Nines. You know summer is here!
Laurie, Rough Trade East
Flowdan – Welcome to London (2019)
From Welcome to London EP
So welcome to London, fam / Black cabs, red buses and the white van, man
Roll Deep MC Flowdan provides a cold, gritty, and fiercely honest critique of the UK capital, essential listening for anyone who appreciates that real noir side of grime and dubstep. There are many, many class remixes of this track for good reason.
Georgia, Rough Trade Office
Dave – Streatham (2019)
From Psychodrama
Dave and I are very similar in the way that we both grew up in Streatham and 'teachers was giving mans tests'. Dave gives us a glimpse into his childhood with this South London banger.
Jack, Rough Trade Denmark Street
Joy Crookes – Two Nights (2019)
From Reminiscence EP
We follow Joy around South London boroughs in search of love, drinking cherry wine and running from Brixton to K-Town to East street all in 48hrs.
Locks, Rough Trade East
Taylor Swift - London Boy (2019)
From Lover
A whistle-stop tour of the capital through Tay Tay's eyes, romanticising its neighbourhoods, rituals and landmarks with the wide-eyed affection of someone discovering London on their own terms.
Dave, Rough Trade Office
The National – England (2019)
From I Am Easy to Find
Summer is best soundtracked by The National, stood in Victoria Park, with a lukewarm cider and all your friends realising you're lucky to live here.
Rachel, Rough Trade West
AJ Tracey – Ladbroke Grove (2019)
From AJ Tracey
Live and direct: we all remember the summer of 2019, when it seemed like the only song on the radio was Ladbroke Grove. AJ Tracey flexes on us relentlessly but as he reminds us - "I'm just a block boy sitting in a Rover". Nothing encapsulates that feeling of community more, though, than Jorja Smith singing to the city: "No one sees myself like you do".
Celeste, Rough Trade West
Skepta – Bullet from a Gun (2019)
From Ignorance Is Bliss
An album with so much UKness to it, especially this song. Deep winter walking-home song.
Laurie, Rough Trade East
Yussef Dayes – Crystal Palace Park (2023)
London seeps through born and bred Londoner Yuseff Dayes' music, and on this track from his latest Black Classical Music is no different. An intimate album pulling on influences both musical and familial, Crystal Palace Park is a mesmerising track of ambient synths, dubby effects and the cascading keys of Elijah Fox, paying homage to his South London roots. The jazz trailblazer continues to celebrate his hometown roots now with the annual Summer Dayes festival, which takes place at South London's Crystal Palace Bowl in August.
Georgia, Rough Trade Office
bassvictim – L-On-D-On (2023)
bassvictim are newcomers compared to the majority of the list, yet still perfectly capture what it is like to be young in today's London. The chorus repeats "The bleakness of the city is my weakness": an experience of London which is often excluded from the mainstream and an homage to the more grimy and messy parts that create powerful music scenes.
Amelie, Rough Trade East
The Rolling Stones – Whole Wide World (2023)
From Hackney Diamonds
Technically the album as a whole. Love that Hackney Diamonds is London slang for broken glass.
David, Rough Trade Nottingham
Ninajirachi – London Song (2025)
From I Love My Computer
Inspired by a life on the internet and the perception of London being a magical place where everyone one day will visit Australia's Ninajirachi applies her pumelling, nostalgic EDM sonics at an ode to the city. Her maximalist digital hyperpop sound goes down a treat with London's young electronic music fans today and the rising producer has been able to play the song to the crowds it was meant for with several sold-out London shows since the release of her buzzed-about debut I Love My Computer.
Georgia, Rough Trade Office
Wolf Alice – Gospel Oak (2026)
From The Clearing: B-Sides
A beautiful B-track of their latest album, only recently released. But a beautiful song!!!
Marieke, Rough Trade East
RAYE – Nightingale Lane (2026)
From THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE.
A recent iconic song about heartbreak, with a blue plaque commemorating the pub where Raye "experienced the greatest heartbreak she has ever known".
Marieke, Rough Trade East
Further Listening
London's inspiration is limitless. Here's a further selection of tracks for you to fill your boots with sounds of the capital city.
Put some more dub in your step and four-to-the-floor in your ears: So Solid Crew - 21 seconds to go, Basement Jaxx - Red Alert, Ms Dynamite - Wile Out, Coki - Tortured, James Blake - Big Hammer, The Bug - Poison Dart, Skream - Midnight Request Line, SBTRKT - Wildfire.
Expand your summer evening London jams with: Beverley and John Martyn - Primrose Hill, Tom Misch - South of the River, Flanagan & Allen - Maybe It's Because I'm a Londoner, Blur - Parklife, The Smiths - London
Abstract and experimental London: Klein - black star, Babyfather - 419/Nervous Freestyle, Burial - South London Borough's EP, black midi - Welcome To Hell, Godspeed You Black Emperor - East Hastings
Discover More
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