Piccadilly Circus in popular culture

Last updated

The following list is of artistic works and film where Piccadilly Circus is either the central theme or a principal theme.

Contents

Context in general culture

The phrase it's like Piccadilly Circus is commonly used in the UK to refer to a place or situation which is extremely busy with people. It has been said that a person who stays long enough at Piccadilly Circus will eventually bump into everyone they know. Probably because of this connection, during World War II, "Piccadilly Circus" was the code name given to the Allies' D-Day invasion fleet's assembly location in the English Channel. [1]

Piccadilly Circus has inspired artists and musicians. Piccadilly Circus (1912) is the name and subject of a painting by British artist Charles Ginner, part of the Tate Britain collection. Sculptor Paul McCarthy also has a 320-page two-volume edition of video stills by the name of Piccadilly Circus.

List

Related Research Articles

A circus is a traveling company of performers that may include acrobats, clowns, trained animals, and other novelty acts.

Pop art Art movement

Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the United Kingdom and the United States during the mid- to late-1950s. The movement presented a challenge to traditions of fine art by including imagery from popular and mass culture, such as advertising, comic books and mundane mass-produced objects. One of its aims is to use images of popular culture in art, emphasizing the banal or kitschy elements of any culture, most often through the use of irony. It is also associated with the artists' use of mechanical means of reproduction or rendering techniques. In pop art, material is sometimes visually removed from its known context, isolated, or combined with unrelated material.

Kyuss American rock band

Kyuss was an American rock band, formed in Palm Desert, California, in 1987. The band disbanded in 1995, and since then, members of Kyuss have gone on to form or play in several notable bands including Queens of the Stone Age, Fu Manchu, Dwarves, Eagles of Death Metal, Mondo Generator, Hermano, Unida, Slo Burn and Them Crooked Vultures.

Peter Blake (artist) English artist

Sir Peter Thomas Blake is an English pop artist, best known for co-creating the sleeve design for the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. His other best known works include the covers for two of The Who's albums, the cover of the Band Aid single "Do They Know It's Christmas?", and the Live Aid concert poster. Blake also designed the 2012 Brit Award statuette.

Piccadilly Circus Road junction and public place in London, England, UK

Piccadilly Circus is a road junction and public space of London's West End in the City of Westminster. It was built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with Piccadilly. In this context, a circus, from the Latin word meaning "circle", is a round open space at a street junction.

Down Street tube station Closed London Underground station

Down Street, also known as Down Street (Mayfair), is a disused station on the London Underground, located in Mayfair, west London. The Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway opened it in 1907. It was latterly served by the Piccadilly line and was situated between Dover Street and Hyde Park Corner stations.

<i>Piccadilly</i> (film) 1929 film

Piccadilly is a 1929 British silent drama film directed by E.A. Dupont, written by Arnold Bennett and starring Gilda Gray, Anna May Wong, and Jameson Thomas. The film was filmed on location in London, produced by British International Pictures.

<i>Vegas</i> (1978 TV series) Television series

Vegas is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from April 25, 1978, to June 3, 1981. Vegas was produced by Aaron Spelling, and created by Michael Mann. The series was filmed in its entirety on location in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Isobel (song) 1995 single by Björk

"Isobel" is a song recorded by Icelandic singer Björk for her second studio album, Post. Written by Sjón based on a story by Björk, the lyrics of "Isobel" tell the story of the title character, who is magically born in a forest and sends a message of instinct amongst the logical thinking of the people of the city. The story of Isobel has been explored in "Human Behaviour" and "Bachelorette", forming a trilogy. The track was released as the second single for the album as two different CD releases in August 1995. Featuring additional songwriting by Nellee Hooper and Marius de Vries, string arrangements by Eumir Deodato and production by Hooper and Björk, "Isobel" combines a lush orchestral sound with electronic breakbeats.

Dieter Roth

Dieter Roth was a Swiss artist best known for his artist's books, editioned prints, sculptures, and works made of found materials, including rotting food stuffs. He was also known as Dieter Rot and Diter Rot.

The London Underground has long provided inspiration in various areas of popular culture.

Piccadilly Palare 1990 single by Morrissey

"Piccadilly Palare" is song by British singer Morrissey, released as a single in October 1990. The song features one of Morrissey's former colleagues from the Smiths, Andy Rourke, marking the last time any former member of the Smiths would collaborate with Morrissey. Background vocals were provided by Suggs, lead singer of the band Madness. "Piccadilly Palare" reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart and number five in Ireland.

Tim Head is a British artist.

Björk Icelandic musician (born 1965)

Björk Guðmundsdóttir is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer and actress. Over her four-decade career, she has developed an eclectic musical style that draws on influences and genres including electronic, pop, jazz, experimental, trip hop, alternative, classical, and avant-garde music.

Claes Oldenburg Swedish-born American sculptor

Claes Oldenburg is a Swedish-born American sculptor, best known for his public art installations typically featuring large replicas of everyday objects. Another theme in his work is soft sculpture versions of everyday objects. Many of his works were made in collaboration with his wife, Coosje van Bruggen, who died in 2009; they had been married for 32 years. Oldenburg lives and works in New York.

Gregor Muir is Director of Collection, International Art, at Tate, having previously been the Executive Director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London from 2011 until 2016. He was the director of Hauser & Wirth, London, at 196a Piccadilly, from 2004 - 2011. He is also the author of a 2009 memoir in which he recounts his direct experience of the YBA art scene in 1990s London.

Radio Werewolf

Radio Werewolf was a musical collective active in Los Angeles, California, and Europe from 1984 to 1993.

Ken (Kenny) Woodman was a British composer and trumpeter. He was famous for the song "Town Talk", which was used as the theme song for Paul Kaye's shows on the pirate radio station Radio London, and later as the theme song for Jimmy Young on BBC Radio 2. He posthumously became famous for the song "Mexican Flyer", which was originally released on the Ken Woodman and his Picadilly Brass album That's Nice in 1966. "Mexican Flyer" was used as the theme song for Space Channel 5, and was included in the soundtrack of Samba de Amigo and Swing Girls. He was also music arranger for Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones and famously for Sandie Shaw, where he arranged and conducted "Puppet on a String" at the Eurovision Song Contest. Kenny Woodman was a musician in the Royal Marine Band, during WW2 and arranged a lot of their music in the early 1950s before moving into the music business.

Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain Memorial in Piccadilly Circus, London

The Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, popularly but incorrectly known as "Eros", is a fountain surmounted by a winged statue of Anteros, located at the southeastern side of Piccadilly Circus in London, England. Moved after the Second World War from its original position in the centre of the circus, it was erected in 1892–93 to commemorate the philanthropic works of The 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, the Victorian politician and philanthropist, and his achievement in replacing child labour with school education. The fountain overlooks the south-west end of Shaftesbury Avenue, also named for the Earl.

References

  1. The Editors of American Heritage (1962). D-Day, The Invasion of Europe. New York, New York: American Heritage Publishing Co, Inc. p. 36. . . .the ten mile (16 km) circle in the Channel nicknamed Piccadilly Circus, where the troop convoys would meet . . .{{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  2. The Guardian, Monday 3 October 2011
  3. Christie's Sale 8044 Lot 7
  4. "Dieter Roth Foundation Online". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
  5. Tate Collection | Lipsticks in Piccadilly Circus, London by Claes Oldenburg
  6. The Sundays – Hideous Towns , retrieved 20 April 2021
  7. Piccadilly Circus - The Locations Guide to Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures
  8. Björk: The Stereogum Interview