Bayswater and Notting Hill ¦ Love Your London ¦ (2/6) ¦ SEED, Stiff Records, Craig & Greg Sams...

Tristán White and Sharon Crawford continue their journey through Bayswater, diving into the area's countercultural past — most notably SEED, the iconic restaurant run by Craig and Greg Sams in the basement of the George Hotel during the late 1960s. Along the way, they explore other legendary hotels like The Columbia, a rockstars' favourite; the Royal Lancaster, once a party pad for The Beatles; and the Embassy (now the DoubleTree), tied to the mysterious disappearance of a famous Welshman. They delve into the tale of Claude Duval, the charming highwayman who had ‘one for the road’ en route to the gallows, and visit Lancaster Gate and Royal Oak tube stations—the latter sitting beside the often-criticised Westway. Music fans will enjoy a segment on the influential Stiff Records and its role in shaping musical history.

Also on the itinerary: how the Gravel Pits Estate got its name, the story behind the Diana Café, and a quick stop at the Music and Video Exchange for some last-minute vinyl bargains.

#LondonHistory #LondonWalks #Bayswater #counterculture #stiffrecords #punk #gregsams

CORRECTION:
THE ADDRESS FOR SEED WAS 136A WESTBOURNE TERRACE, AND NOT 36A. The building looks very similar but it's further up the road. A proper correction will go out in the next episode. Apologies for the inaccuracy.
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FURTHER VIEWING:

For amazing resources and PDFs of all the old SEED magazines, see Craig Sams' website: https://www.craigsams.com/

Also, see Greg Sams' website: https://gregorysams.com/

Music videos we'd like to share are:

Los Saicos, "Demolición" -    • Los Saicos - Demolicion 1964  
Noisey Special, "Was Punk Rock Born in Peru?" -    • Was Punk Rock Born in Peru? - Los Saicos -...  
Pulp, "Common People" -    • Pulp - Common People  
Ian Dury & The Blockheads, "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick" -    • Ian Dury and The Blockheads – Hit Me With ...  

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LOVE YOUR LONDON EPISODES MENTIONED:

The previous episode, mentioned on multiple occasions in this episode, is here:    • Bayswater and Notting Hill ¦ Love Your Lon...  
Our "End of Lockdown" special, which we celebrated with Sterling Roswell from Spacemen 3, is here:    • Lockdown Easing Special ¦ Love Your London...  
We visit the sauna in Alexandra Palace here:    • Ally Pally ¦ Love Your London ¦ (7/?) ¦ We...  
We visit Marc Bolan's shrine in Barnes here:    • Barnes to Mortlake ¦ Love Your London ¦ (1...  
We mention King Kurt and where he had his first food fight here:    • Battersea ¦ Love Your London ¦ (3/4) ¦ Bat...  
Our homage to The Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour", where we re-enact a scene, is here:    • Battersea ¦ Love Your London ¦ (4/4) ¦ Lav...  

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

The photo of Guy Ritchie with Madonna was adapted from a photo by Tony Shek (CC BY 2.0).

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AI images and videos are by AI BABA: https://www.aibaba.co.uk ‪ @AIBaba2000‬
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TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Intro and Kensington Gardens
02:51 The Columbia Hotel and the Royal Lancaster Hotel
05:44 The Swan pub, the Tyburn and Claude Duval
12:10 Lancaster Gate station
15:10 Greg and Craig Sams and SEED Restaurant/Magazine
22:09 Porchester Square, Hall and Spa
25:54 Ma Dame (formerly Cherry Jam)
27:42 Royal Oak station
31:35 The Westway controversy
34:35 Stiff Records
41:00 Damon Albarn, Guy Ritchie, David Beckham, Walmer Castle
43:32 The mysterious disappearance of Richey Edwards (Manics)
46:08 Café Diana
47:40 The Gravel Pits
48:46 Music and Video Exchange
54:32 Outro

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