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32听听|听Top 100
'Streets Of London'
Ralph McTell
The tag 鈥榦ne-hit-wonder鈥 can be a heavy burden to carry 鈥 but not for Ralph McTell. His song 鈥淪treets Of London鈥 rocketed to number two in 1974, selling 90,000 copies a day at one point, and is generally regarded as a classic. McTell wrote the song after |
 Song facts |
| Composer |
Ralph McTell |
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| Genre |
Folk
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| Album |
Spiral Staircase |
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| Year of release |
1969 |
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| UK Chart Position |
2 |
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busking around Europe in his early twenties and witnessing extreme poverty in Paris. Not wishing to offend Parisians, he changed the setting to London, but felt the song was too depressing and left it off his debut album.听 However, when a fellow folk star began playing it live with great success, McTell included the song on his second album, 1969鈥檚 Spiral Staircase. 鈥淪treets Of London鈥 soon became a firm favourite in UK folk circles and when McTell signed to a major label in 1974, they convinced him to re-record it with a backing band. McTell produced the re-recording himself then watched in amazement as it soared up the charts, peaking at number two that Christmas. Since then it鈥檚 never really gone away. At one point there were four versions of it in the German charts and it earned him an Ivor Novello Award for songwriting.听But although McTell never again tasted that level of success, he refuses to consider it an albatross and instead says he鈥檚 just happy to have recorded such a perennial favourite.
Ralph McTell on how he wrote Streets Of London |
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I could have so easily been the Streets Of Paris! Ralph McTell reveals to Brian Matthew his observations on the homeless situation while living in Paris - "I couldn't help but notice the many destitute people on the streets there".
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 听 |
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Other versions |
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听Sinead O'Connor recorded Ralph McTell's big song as an additional track on her Thank You听For Hearing Me single in 1994.
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Songwriting tips Hook - it's this that a prospective publisher or record company will be looking for when you play them your songs. More in Writing A SongDoes Streets Of London inspire you lyrically?
More in Writing Lyrics |
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Test your knowledgeWhat was the title of Ralph McTell鈥檚 only other UK top 40 hit? Try our quiz.TAKE THE CHALLENGE! |
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