music history | Flickering Lamps

Marc Bolan’s rock shrine – a place of modern-day pilgrimage

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Caroline

Scenes of tragic road traffic accidents are very often turned into temporary shrines – loved ones of the unfortunate individual killed leave flowers and other tributes at the site. Sometimes, these little shrines are maintained for years – in my hometown of Preston I still often go past a regularly replenished floral tribute at a set of traffic lights where a lady was killed in an accident in 2004. One such shrine in south west London has become a permanent fixture and a place of pilgrimage for fans of man it commemorates, the musician Marc Bolan, most famously the frontman of glam rock band T. Rex, who was killed in a car crash on Queen’s Ride in Barnes in 1977.

Eel Pie Island: hippie commune, legendary music venue & artists’ enclave

Posted on June 29, 2014 by Caroline

The River Thames has long attracted artists, and today many of them have made their home on Eel Pie Island in Twickenham. This narrow island, also known as Twickenham Ait, is only accessible by boat or footbridge and is not usually open to the public. However, twice each year the artists of the island hold an open studios weekend where members of the public can visit the island and purchase the work of the artists who have studios there.