Electric Avenue, Brixton

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Brixton Market in Electric Avenue, 2007 Electric Avenue Market 01.JPG
Brixton Market in Electric Avenue, 2007

Electric Avenue is a street in Brixton, London built in 1888. [1] It was the first market street to be lit by electric lights. [2] [3] Today, Electric Avenue contains national retail chains (Boots, Greggs, and Iceland), as well as various local food and housewares retailers. It also hosts a part of Brixton Market, which specialises in selling African, Caribbean, South American, and South Asian [4] products. It is located just around the corner from Brixton Underground station (1972). The street originally had cast iron Victorian canopies [5] over the pavement, which were damaged in World War II and removed in the 1980s.

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Electric Avenue, after Baron Corvo, 1895 Electric Avenue by Baron Corvo, The Sketch, 1895.jpg
Electric Avenue, after Baron Corvo, 1895

History

The road is referenced in Eddy Grant's 1983 single "Electric Avenue", which reached No. 2 on both the UK and US singles charts. [6] The song itself was inspired by the 1981 Brixton riot. [7]

On 17 April 1999, the neo-Nazi bomber David Copeland planted a nail bomb outside a supermarket in Brixton Road with the intention of igniting a race war across Britain. [8] A market trader became suspicious and moved the device to a less crowded area of Electric Avenue, where 39 people were injured in its explosion.

In 2016, Eddy Grant was invited to switch on a new illuminated street sign installed as part of a £1 million refurbishment. [9] Afterwards, Grant was given one of the previous signs as a keepsake. [7]

References

  1. ↑ "History". Brixton BID. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  2. ↑ Craig, Zoe (7 October 2016). "Eddy Grant To Switch on Brixton's Electric Avenue Lights". Londonist. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  3. ↑ Cheal, David (20 September 2023). "Electric Avenue — Eddy Grant's response to riots in London made waves around the world". Financial Times . Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  4. ↑ Mayne, Marcia (8 February 2016). "Rocking Down Electric Avenue, Brixton". InsideJourneys. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  5. ↑ "The History of Brixton's Most Diverse Market". Brixton Village. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  6. ↑ "Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue" Lyrics Meaning". Song Meanings and Facts. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  7. 1 2 Simpson, Dave (3 September 2018). "How We Made: Eddy Grant's Electric Avenue". The Guardian . Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  8. ↑ "Profile: Copeland the killer". BBC News . 30 June 2000. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
  9. ↑ Urban, Mike (17 October 2016). "Eddy Grant to switch on illuminated Electric Avenue sign in Brixton tonight, 17th Oct". Brixton Buzz. Retrieved 7 July 2025.

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