London: Sex, Drugs and Rock'n'Roll

Rock music was born and raised in the tiny backstreets and alleys of Soho. It’s here you find basement clubs, rehearsal rooms, pubs and recording studios where the bands made their first tentative steps towards stardom. You’ll see and hear about the Marquee, Knuckles, 100 Club, the Roxy, Ronnie Scott’s Club,  legendary UFO, the history of rock and it’s foundations, from blues and jazz to skiffle, folk, and into the heart of swingin' 60s classic rock, through to the new wave/new romantic movements of the 80s.

Then, there are the studios like Trident and De Lane Lea where Queen, Genesis, Bowie, Bolan and others made seminal albums. Beatle fans will enjoy seeing Macca’s Golden Disc covered office, early show sites, the theatre they owned, and the early NEMS office. On ‘Tin Pan Alley’, you’ll hear about the Stone’s first recording session, Elton’s ‘Woolworth’ albums and how Bowie lived in a caravan. You’ll see where the Sex Pistols rehearsed and lived, where Bob Dylan played his first London gig, and where Hendrix and Phil Lynott, amongst many past and present guitar heroes, bought and continue to buy their instruments.

Among many seminal locations on this tour, you’ll see where Bill Haley launched rock’n’roll onto London and where Cliff Richard, Tommy Steel, Marty Wilde, Billy Fury and others followed his lead; you’ll see where Pink Floyd cut ‘The Wall’ and Joy Division made ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’; where U2 played one of their first London gigs in front of 8 people. You’ll see apartments and homes of Bob Marley, Pete Townsend, Elton, the Sex Pistols, Ritchie Blackmore, Bowie, Syd Barrett, the Gallagher brothers, and where Amy Winehouse ended her short and problem-filled life.

Take a walk in your favorite's footsteps, through narrow, winding streets of what is London's entertainment district. See the clubs, recording studios, early gig sites, and places where your fave bands have played. Glimpse the world-famous Camden Markets and canal, an area known for street art, where a guy called Banksy started too. Long before Amy Winehouse made Camden her playground, it was the stomping ground for hippie London, The Clash, then Madness and U2 in the 80s, Oasis and their Brit Pop rivalries in the 90s. 

The tour culminates with time at Abbey Road where you'll walk in the footsteps of the Fab Four across that famed crosswalk!