Denmark Street

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Denmark Street is a short narrow road in central London, notable for its connections with British popular music, and is known as the British Tin Pan Alley. The road connects Charing Cross Road at its western end with St Giles High Street at its eastern end. Denmark Street is in the London Borough of Camden.

Denmark Street appears on surveys from the 1730s. The area around it was known as 'the Rookery' a part of London that had developed in the 18th century as an unplanned slum to the west of the City. Though much of the area was cleared by the end of the 19th century, Denmark Street is one of the few roads in London to retain 17th century terraced facades on both sides and a small court connected by passages runs along the back of the north side of the street.

Venues on Denmark Street have strong connections with the histories of British jazz, rhythm and blues and punk music. The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix recorded in basements in the street. Elton John wrote his classic early song Your Song here. Later, the Sex Pistols punk band recorded their first demo in a small recording studio in the street. The street contains London's largest cluster of music shops.