Brixton
Brixton is a district in South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.[3] Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century as communications with central London improved.
Brixton is mainly residential, though includes
Brixton is 2.7 mi (4.3 km) south-southeast from the geographical centre of London (measuring to a point near Brixton Underground station on the Victoria line).[8][9]
History
Toponymy
The name Brixton is thought to originate from Brixistane, meaning the stone of Brixi, a
Until the mid-19th century
Brixton marks the rise from the marshes in the north of the ancient parish of
The area remained undeveloped until the beginning of the 19th century, the main settlements being near
As part of the Reform Act 1832 the expanding area of London was given representation with the creation of new parliamentary boroughs covering the metropolitan area. Only the part of Brixton north of St Matthew's Church became part of the Lambeth parliamentary borough, reflecting the still semi-rural nature of the southern part of the area. The population of Brixton was 10,175 in 1841, about 10% of the parish of Lambeth. In twenty years the population of both had doubled.[12][13]
Victorian expansion
When the London sewerage system was constructed during the mid-19th century, its designer
Brixton was connected to central London by rail on 25 August 1862 when
In 1881 the population of Brixton was 62,837, now home to a quarter of the parish of Lambeth.[15]
A prominent building on Brixton High Street (at 472–488 Brixton Road) is Morleys, an independent department store established in the 1880s.[16][17] In 1888, Electric Avenue was so named after it became the first street in London to be lit by electricity. In this time, large expensive houses were constructed along the main roads in Brixton, which were converted into flats and boarding houses at the start of the 20th century as the middle classes were replaced by an influx of the working classes.
Before World War II
By 1925, Brixton attracted thousands of new people. It housed the largest shopping centre in south London at the time, as well as a thriving market, cinemas, pubs and a theatre. In the 1920s, Brixton was the shopping capital of south London with three large department stores and some of the earliest branches of what are now Britain's major national retailers. Today, Brixton Road is the main shopping area, fusing into Brixton Market.
On the western boundary of Brixton with Clapham stands the Sunlight Laundry, an Art Deco factory building. Designed by architect F.E. Simpkins and erected in 1937, this is one of the few Art Deco buildings that is still owned by the firm that commissioned it and is still used for its original purpose.
The Brixton area was
1948: The Windrush generation
In the 1940s and 1950s, many immigrants, particularly from the West Indies and Ireland, settled in Brixton.[10]
The first wave of immigrants (492 individuals) who formed the
Many immigrants only intended to stay in Britain for a few years, but although a number returned to the Caribbean, the majority remained to settle permanently.[19] The arrival of the passengers has become an important landmark in the history of modern Britain, and the image of West Indians filing off its gangplank has come to symbolise the beginning of modern British multicultural society.[19] In 1998 the area in front of Brixton Library was renamed "Windrush Square" to mark the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the Windrush.[10]
1980s: Riots after police actions and Scarman Report
Brixton was the scene of riots in
Following the
1990s: Nail bombing
John Major's childhood roots in the area were used in a campaign poster leading up to the 1992 election "What does the Conservative Party offer a working class kid from Brixton? They made him Prime Minister."[28]
The
In April 1999,
2000s: Regeneration vs Gentrification
There has been, and there remains great debate regarding whether Brixton's recent renaissance should be deemed regeneration or gentrification.[32][33] Some believe the area has slowly undergone a process of gentrification since the 1990s and has resulted in many wealthy middle-class people taking advantage of the area's location and the thriving bohemian art scene. However, others argue that the area is undergoing exciting regeneration.[34][35][36] In recent years, Brixton has hosted a regular farmers' market on Station Road, as well as Pop-up restaurants and pop-up shops. New art galleries, delicatessens, bars, cafes and vintage clothing stores, particularly in and around Brixton Village Market have also opened, which some believe is gentrifying the area in a similar way to that in nearby Clapham.[37]
Pop Brixton exemplifies the ongoing discussion about regeneration. Originally created as a
In April 2015, a Reclaim Brixton protest was held by local residents and activists opposing gentrification.[40][41]
In March 2016, a campaign to save the businesses that occupy the railway arches commenced, with long-running local businesses being forced out due to rent-rises. The council passed the plans for Network Rail to refurbish them in August.[42]
In May 2019, plans for a 20-storey tower block providing office space were unveiled by Taylor McWilliams - a Texan property developer whose company Hondo Enterprises had bought Brixton Market in 2018. This plan drew a large opposition from the local community and campaign groups, already concerned with the threat of eviction of a popular local supermarket.[43][44] Despite a petition and overwhelming opposition, council planners approved the development on 3 November 2020.[45][46] A subsequent decision is to be made by London mayor Sadiq Khan, the date so far for which has been postponed.[47]
2023 saw the council begin the public consultation for the regeneration of 6 Canterbury Crescent (International House) and 49 Brixton Station Road (Pop Brixton). [48]
Transition town
Brixton was one of the first inner-city based 'Transition town' projects in the UK.[49] Brockwell Park hosts the now annual Urban Green Fair, first held in summer 2007.[50]
Brixton pound
Unit | |
---|---|
Symbol | B£ |
The Brixton pound was first trialled at Transition Town Brixton's "Local Economy Day" on 19 June 2008. It was then launched on 17 September 2009 by Transition Town Brixton.[51] The Brixton pound is a local currency that is available as an alternative to sterling.[52] The first trading day of the Brixton pound was on 18 September 2009 with 80 local businesses accepting the currency.[53]
The Brixton pound aims to boost the local economy and build a mutual support system amongst independent businesses by tying local shoppers to local shops and by encouraging local shops to source goods and services locally.[53] The notes are available in B£1, B£5, B£10, and B£20 denominations and depict local celebrities such as the community activist Olive Morris and the environmentalist James Lovelock. Lambeth Council has endorsed the project,[53] which the New Economics Foundation helped to develop.[54]
On 29 September 2011, the Brixton pound launched an electronic version of the currency where users can pay by text message. A second issue of the paper currency was launched, featuring a new set of well-known people with Brixton connections: On the B£1, the Black Cultural Archives founder Len Garrison, on the B£5, NBA basketball player Luol Deng (the reverse was inspired by the Ark Evelyn Grace Academy), David Bowie on the B£10 and World War II secret agent Violette Szabo on the B£20.[55]
The reverse of the notes, designed by a Brixton creative agency This Ain't Rock'n'Roll, feature notable local landmarks such as the Stockwell Skatepark, public art on Electric Avenue, Nuclear Dawn (one of the Brixton murals), and the Stirling Prize-winning Ark Evelyn Grace Academy. All four notes feature a design motif inspired by Coldharbour Lane's Southwyck House (or "Barrier Block").
In 2015, to celebrate the Brixton pound's fifth anniversary, the Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller was commissioned to design a limited-edition B£5 note.[56] It was described as "psychedelic and political", with the front featuring bright colors and the back with a quotation from Karl Marx’s Das Kapital ("Capital is money, capital is commodities...By virtue of it being value, it has acquired the occult ability to add value to itself. It brings forth living offspring, or, at the least, lays golden eggs.")[57]
Other towns and cities in the UK that have used their own currency include the city of Bristol, Totnes in Devon, Stroud in Gloucestershire and Lewes in Sussex.[citation needed]
Housing
Housing estates
Brixton is home to several particularly large housing estates: Stockwell Park Estate off Stockwell and Brixton Roads respectively; Myatt's Fields South and North off Vassall Road; Angell Town off Brixton Road on the boundary with Camberwell; Cowley on Cowley and Vassall Roads, Loughborough in the centre of Brixton, Tulse Hill estate, Somerleyton estate and Moorlands Estate, situated off Coldharbour Lane. There are also smaller estates such as Blenheim Gardens, Caldwell Gardens, Church Manor and Hertford. These estates account for a large part of the Brixton residence.[4]
Estates like the Stockwell Park Estate and the Angell Town Estate were originally designed to accommodate high-level walkways which were envisaged to link the whole of Brixton. The ground-floor garages of these estates have proved to be a major security problem.[58] The Somerleyton Estate is dominated by Southwyck House (known locally as "Barrier Block"), a large horseshoe-shaped brick and concrete 1970s structure that backs onto Coldharbour Lane. The 176-apartment block was originally constructed in this shape to provide a noise barrier against Ringway 1, a proposed inner-London motorway that was planned to pass through Brixton and Camberwell, later abandoned.[59]
Some housing estates have been linked with urban decay and crime. New gates and iron bars have been constructed for the Loughborough Estate around Loughborough Road and Minet Road in response to a number of murders around the estate. The Loughborough Estate is home to more than 3,000 families and a mix of 1940s low-rise buildings and 1960s/1970s tower blocks and houses.[5] Problems of urban decay have been reported around Loughborough Junction, the catchment area for Loughborough Estate, the Angell Town Estate and the Moorlands Estate.[60]
Victorian buildings
Brixton still features some grand Victorian housing.[5]
Brixton Market
Culture
Brixton murals
After the riots in 1981 a series of murals were funded by the council. The murals portray nature, politics, community and ideas. The surviving murals include the Brixton Academy Mural (Stockwell Park Walk) by Stephen Pusey (1982) showing a mixed group of young people, intended to portray the natural harmony that could be found between children of mixed backgrounds in the local schools.
Recent contributions towards Brixton's mural tradition include the portrait of Michael Johns on Popes Road by Dreph, created as part of Brixton Design Trail in September 2017 and the temporary installation of "Remain, Thriving" by Njideka Akunyili Crosby at Brixton tube station, a commission by Art on the Underground.[62][63] In 2018 Dreph completed a large mural depicting Michelle Obama in Dorrell Place.[64]
Entertainment
The Ritzy Cinema, Coldharbour Lane, is a formerly independent cinema now owned by Picturehouse Cinemas. The building was designed as the Electric Pavilion in 1910 by E. C. Homer and Lucas, one of England's first purpose-built cinemas.[65]
Brixton has a significant
Record shops
Brixton has had a number of popular record shops. Desmond's Hip City on Atlantic Road existed from the 1970s until its closure in 1989. A record by the band Skydiggers; Desmond's Hip City is named after the shop. In 2018, filmmaker Molly Dineen made a film about the owner of Blacker Dread Muzik Store called Being Blacker.[68] Brixton's current record shops include Supertone Records (opened in 1983) selling soundsystem reggae and Container Records which sells dance music.[69]
Sport
Brixton is also home to a 1970s purpose-built
Media
Brixton is served by two local news blogs - Brixton Blog running since 2010 which also prints a monthly newspaper,[73] and Brixton Buzz formed in 2011[74]
Radio
Religious sites
Christian churches
Brixton lies within the
The 1868 parish church of St Jude, located on Dulwich Road, was designed by the architect John Kirk of Woolwich. It closed in 1975, and the parish merged with St Matthew's. The church building is today used as business premises by a publishing company.[79]
Corpus Christi Church in Brixton comes under the remit of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark.[82]
Brixton Mosque
The
The mosque made international headlines when it was reported that
Brixton Synagogue
Brixton Synagogue at 49 Effra Road opened in 1913 and closed in 1986, with the congregation then amalgamating with the nearby Streatham Synagogue. The front of the building still exists.[88]
Governance
Brixton town centre is divided between four wards of Lambeth Council.
- Brixton Hill ward - south of Acre Lane and west of Brixton Hill
- Coldharbour ward - east of Brixton Road/Effra Road and south of Loughborough Road
- Ferndale ward - north of Acre Lane and west of Brixton Road
- Tulse Hill ward - east of Brixton Hill as far as Effra Road/Norwood Road.
The area south of Brixton Water Lane and including Brockwell Park is in Herne Hill ward
Policing, drugs and crime
Operation Swamp
Before the 1981 riot was the centre of "Operation Swamp 81" aimed at reducing
Gang culture
In 2003 The Independent reported that around 200 "hardcore Yardies" are based in Lambeth, some operating as members of "Firehouse Posse" or Brixton's "Kartel Crew".[90] Yardies were historically associated with Jamaican immigrants and had a recognised stronghold in Brixton. Parts of Brixton were referred to as "Little Tivoli" after "Tivoli Gardens", a notorious "garrison community" in Jamaica ruled by gunmen.[91][92] In 1999 a scandal broke over Metropolitan Police detectives allowing two known Jamaican Yardies to stay in Britain as an intelligence tool. Eaton Green, one of the Yardies, escaped bail in Jamaica in 1991 and settled in Brixton, dealing in crack cocaine. Three months later Green was arrested by a Brixton constable, Steve Barker, and became a paid informer. Green provided intelligence about Yardie activity for two years, continuing the use of firearms and the dealing of crack throughout this time.[93]
Several gangs are headquartered in the Brixton area. The "Murderzone" (MZ) gang, which is involved in illegal drug dealing, hail from the Somerleyton Estate.
In 2011, five of the most prominent members of the GAS Gang—Ricardo Giddings, Helder Demorais, Jamal Moore, Shaquille Haughton and Kyle Kinghorn—were sentenced to a total of 76 years in prison for the murder of rival gang member, fifteen-year-old Zac Olumegbon.[100]
Members of local gangs are mostly in their late teens or early 20s, with gang leaders usually being childhood friends. Brought up in some of London's poorest areas some gang members reportedly move from house to house on an almost nightly basis, making it hard to track them. According to the Metropolitan Police, these youth gangs are far from organised criminal masterminds; however, they continue to evade the police and have been responsible for numerous offences of homicide. Operation Trident officers stated that it is a "struggle" to persuade local people to testify, because of fear of reprisals. Trident officers stated that some gang members were "inept at handling powerful guns", and that gangs have machine guns, in 9 mm. According to the detective many of the deactivated guns are shipped in from the Balkans and then reactivated.[101] Brixton has been noted as one of the most significant origins of UK drill.[citation needed]
Drugs
Some media commentators persistently call Brixton "the drugs capital of London".[102] Val Shawcross, Labour representative on the London Assembly for Lambeth and Southwark, runs a "Brixton Drug Crime" campaign and she states on her website:
I have been raising the disgraceful state of Brixton and the existence of an open drugs market in the centre – with the Council, Mayor and the Metropolitan police... The police, the Drugs and Firearms Unit and Transport Operational Unit officers have been undertaking long-term surveillance of the area (Brixton Town Centre) culminating in a three-day operation at the end of June to arrest those dealing Class A drugs... The police will be carrying out continuing covert operations in Brixton and patrolling with drug detection dogs. This is a long-term crackdown with the aim on cleaning the dealers out of Brixton.(retrieved July 2008)[103]
For many decades, Brixton has had a reputation for cannabis use and the BBC has quoted a local resident as saying "People have always smoked cannabis in Brixton – everyone knows that, people have walked down the street smoking spliffs for years." This reputation was amplified by the "softly softly" police approach to cannabis that was piloted in Brixton in 2001 to 2005. Concerns were raised about "drug tourism" to the area.[60] The "softly-softly" pilot occurred in the context of a wider debate in Britain about the classification of cannabis. Despite the pilot being stopped and replaced by a "no deal" policy, the Metropolitan Police was in favour of a reclassification of cannabis from class B to class C. Cannabis was officially reclassified in Britain from a class B down to a class C drug in early 2004. In January 2009 the UK government reclassified cannabis back to a class B drug.[104][105][106]
JayDay Cannabis Festival
From 2001 to 2004, Brockwell Park hosted the annual Cannabis Festival, or JayDay, organised by the Cannabis Coalition. The police reportedly maintained a low profile, tolerating the smoking of cannabis.[107][108] In 2005 the London Borough of Lambeth rejected the application for a further Cannabis Festival on the following grounds:
"While Lambeth Council supports freedom of speech and the right to take part in a legitimate campaign, the council cannot condone illegal activities such as cannabis use and drug pushing – both of which have taken place at a previous festival held by the Cannabis Coalition. Indeed council officers monitoring the event in the past were approached by drug dealers who offered them drugs."[109]
Brian Paddick
In 2001, Brian Paddick, then Police Commander for the London Borough of Lambeth, became subject of newspaper headlines due to the implementation of a pilot cannabis programme in Brixton, also known as the "softly softly" approach, as well as his posts made on the Brixton-based Urban75 internet forum. Police officers were instructed not to arrest or charge people who were found to be in possession of cannabis. They were instead to issue on-the-spot warnings and confiscate the drugs. Although Paddick is credited with the idea, the pilot programme was sanctioned by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, Sir John Stevens. Paddick asserts that he implemented the policy because he wanted his officers to deal with cannabis quickly and informally so that they could concentrate on heroin and crack cocaine offences, and street robbery and burglary, which were affecting the quality of life in Lambeth to a greater extent.[110] The pilot was ended December 2005 and was replaced by a so-called "no deal" policy on cannabis in Brixton following complaints about increasing numbers of dealers openly selling the drug.[111]
Paddick had been a sergeant on the front line during the
If someone had said just five years ago that black, white, young and old, straight and gay, liberal and anarchist would all be standing together giving a standing ovation to a police commander in Brixton, people might have said they had smoked one spliff too many.[116]
Gun crime
In June 1998, gun crime in Brixton was reported on widely in connection with the linked murders of Avril Johnson and Michelle Carby, in Brixton and Stratford respectively. Both women were shot in their homes in separate, but connected, attacks; in addition, both victims were shot in the head.
In 2001 the Metropolitan Police raised concerns over rapidly increasing gun crime in London. At the time Lambeth had the highest rate of robberies in London. In July 2001 two armed police officers shot dead black 29-year-old Derek Bennett in Brixton, Angell Town Estate, after Bennett brandished a gun-shaped cigarette lighter. The verdict of the subsequent inquest ruled that Bennett had been "lawfully killed", the verdict was upheld in a subsequent appeal.[119][120][121]
In December 2004 Operation Trident officers and armed officers were assisting Lambeth police in a number of stop and search operations targeting "suspected gunmen or vehicles that have been associated with firearms" and called "Operation Trident Swoop" by the police. The Metropolitan Police hoped that "the searches will deter suspects from carrying weapons and prevent shootings taking place, as well as possibly recovering weapons and leading to arrests."[122] Superintendent Jerry Savill, Lambeth Police has responsibility for policing in the Brixton area, stated:
This operation is aimed very specifically at people we have information to suggest may be involved in gun crime or other offences. We want to send out a very clear message to those who carry guns in Lambeth, don't. It is time to stop the vast majority of people in this borough feeling afraid to be on the street and make it the gunmen who are fearful of their community helping the police to arrest them.[122]
In September 2006 Brixton was the scene of a widely reported shooting, involving two boys being shot in the packed McDonald's on Brixton Road/Acre Lane.[123]
In 2007 firearm offences rose by 4 per cent in London, totalling 3,459 "gun-enabled" crimes, including 30 gun murders of which nine victims were aged 18 or under. A series of gun crimes in the Brixton, Clapham and Streatham, including the Murders of three boys in one week, led some media commentators to call the area "gun capital".[124]
In popular culture
Music
A 2022 article from Complex named Brixton as the "Mecca of UK drill" due to two original UK drill groups - 150 and 67 - originating in the borough.[125]
References to Brixton in song started with the release of "Whoppi King" by Laurel Aitken in 1968 and "Brixton Cat" by Dice the Boss in 1969. This was later followed in August 1975 by a popular novelty song written and sung by Geraint Hughes and Jeff Calvert (who billed themselves as "Typically Tropical"): two white men who told the story of a Brixton bus-driver "going to Barbados" with "Coconut Airways" to escape the rain of London.
- The 1979 Pink Floyd album, "The Wall" features the song "Waiting for the Worms" where the album's protagonist Pink hallucinates that he's a fascist dictator and announces that his followers, "The worms will convene at 1:15 outside Brixton Town Hall where we will be going in force!"
- The 1979 punk song "The Guns of Brixton" by the Clash deals with law enforcement violence in Brixton. Written by the group's bass player Paul Simonon, who grew up in Brixton, it had a strong reggae influence.
- On the 1979 album Brixton Prisoninhabitant to his mother.
- Sex Gang Children, a post-punk band who are attributed with pioneering the goth movement, were formed and based in Brixton in the early 1980s.
- Before a Jam gig, well-known punk band the Misfits were involved in a fight and thrown into Brixton Prison, which led them to write their song "London Dungeon".
- Eddy Grant's 1982 album Killer on the Rampage contains his hit song "Electric Avenue", a reference to the well known shopping street in central Brixton, which was one of the first in the UK to have electric street lighting installed. The song evokes images of poverty, violence and misery but also celebrates the energising vibe of the area.
- The Pogues song "Transmetropolitan" on their album "Red Roses for Me" (1984) mentions "Brixton's lovely boulevards" along with many other London landmarks.
- The song "Journey to the Centre of Brixton" is by R.O.C.
- The song .
- The song "And God Created Brixton" is featured on the Carter USMalbum A World Without Dave. It mentions many of the most famous landmarks in the community including the Ritzy cinema and the prison.
- Brixton-formed Alabama 3's album "Exile on Coldharbour Lane" references Brixton life.
- The subject of Maxi Priest's 1990 hit song "Close to You" is from Brixton.
- Amy Winehouse's song "Me and Mr Jones" features a reference to Brixton.
- California punk band Rancid wrote a song called "Brixton" that appears on the Rock Stars Kill compilation, and later on B Sides and C Sides.
- The electronic band Cee-Lo Green on their record Brixton Briefcase, which features on the album No More Idols.
- In the track "Buckingham Palace" on rapper Canibus' 1998 debut album Can-I-Bus, Brixton is mentioned.
- Robbie Williams mentions "moving bricks to Brixton" in his 2012 song "Candy".
- The Streets mentions "As London Bridge burns down Brixton's burning up" in 2002 Original Pirate MaterialLet's Push Things Forward
- English singer David Bowie was born in Brixton in 1947.
- Skunk Anansie lead singer, Skin, was born and raised in Brixton in 1967.
- American singer Taylor Swift references "nights out in Brixton" in her 2019 song "London Boy".
- English singer-songwriter Elly Jackson of La Roux lives in Brixton, where she created the songs of her 2020 album Supervision.
- British pioneering hip hop group Hijack were from Brixton.
- British rapper Dave mentions Brixton in his song Heart attack from his album We’re All Alone In This Together.
- The song Its Only Natural by the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers from their 2022 album Unlimited Love tells the story of two lovers. While the female subject is "a daddy's girl, pride of all Brixton" the male is "a Southend boy" that knows how to fight. They fall in love despite their class differences.[126]
Film and television
- Director Richard Parry's 2001 film Streatham Hill and Brixton Hill.
- Sarah Manning, a fictional character from Orphan Black, the BBC America Series, was from Brixton.
- In the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, one of the fictional co-directors listed is Reg Llama of Brixton.
- In the Disney Plus Marvel MCU Series Secret Invasion - Brixton is featured by actual location and name, in the second episode, set in 1997, as a secret hideout location/meeting place for Samuel. L. Jackson's character Nick Fury and a refugee Alien Species called Skrulls.
- The 2023 romantic comedy film Brixton Village, specifically at the restaurant "Salpike" at which Colin Firthserved the main actors.
Literature
- In Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, the "scalphunters" of Britain's MI6are based in Brixton, in "a grim flint schoolhouse... behind a flint wall with glass and barbed wire on the top." They are the section of MI6 specializing in "hit-and-run jobs... too dirty or too risky for the residents abroad" such as "murder, kidnapping, or crash blackmail."
Internet
- Urban75 is a long-running internet forum based in Brixton.
Transport
Buses
Brixton is served by
London Underground
The nearest station is Brixton on the Victoria line. Around the corner from it is the National Rail station.
National Rail
The nearest station is Brixton for Southeastern services towards London Victoria and Orpington. It is located around just around the corner from the Underground station.
Road network
Brixton is located on several main roads. The
Notable people
Three people who have lived in Brixton have blue plaques marking their former homes:
- Havelock Ellis, pioneer sexologist lived at Dover Mansions on Canterbury Crescent[127]
- C. L. R. James, the writer and black political activist, lived in Railton Road,[128] above the offices of Race Today.[129]
- Dan Leno (1860–1904), an English music hall comedian famous for his drag acts (56 Akerman Road).
Other notable people with Brixton connections include:
- David Bowie was born at 40 Stansfield Road, Brixton.
- Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone grew up and lived for many years in Brixton.
- Poet Linton Kwesi Johnson is a long-time Brixton resident.
- Former British Prime Minister John Major spent part of his childhood living off Coldharbour Lane. He began his political career as a local Lambeth councillor.[130]
- Max Wall, comedian and music hall performer, was born in Brixton.
- Freddie Davies, the "parrot-faced" comedian and actor, was born in Brixton in 1937.
- Poly Styrene, the singer of the band X-Ray Spex, was born in Bromley in 1957 but grew up in Brixton.[131]
- DJwas born and still lives in Brixton.
- Danny Williams, heavyweight boxer, was born in Brixton.
- Frank Dillane, film actor, was born in Brixton as well as spending his early childhood there.
- Mick Jones of The Clashare both from Brixton.
- Drum and bass producer Dillinja is from Brixton.
- Screenwriter, director Daniel Mulloy was born in Brixton.
- The band Alabama 3 were formed in Brixton.
- House music duo Basement Jaxx formed in Brixton.
- EBK, long-term resident of Brixton.
- Fruitbat of power-pop punk band Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine was a long-time Brixton resident.
- Jan Chappell, actress, best known as Cally in Blake's 7.
- Joe Cornish, presenter of the BBC production Adam and Joe in the 1990s, and current comedy radio presenter on BBC6 Music with Adam Buxton.
- S Club 7.
- Sharon Osbourne, wife of Ozzy Osbourne and daughter of Don Arden, was born in Brixton.
- Mike Skinner of the band "The Streets" moved to Brixton c. 2000 to pursue his recording career. Some of his songs are about living in Brixton.
- Skin, singer of the band Skunk Anansie, grew up in Brixton.
- Stereo MC's, acid jazz/club dance group, were formed and are still based in Brixton.
- Novelist Martin Millarlived here, and most of his novels are set in and around Brixton.
- civil rights activist.[132]
- Environmentalist James Lovelock, famous for proposing the Gaia hypothesis, was born and spent his childhood in Brixton.[133]
- fighter ace, was born in Brixton.
- Jo Self, artist, long-term resident of Brixton.
- Iwan Thomas, Olympic athlete.
- Nyron Nosworthy, professional footballer.
- Shivani Kapoor, Indian model.
- Ty, rapper.
- Several members of the So Solid Crew.
- Sneakbo, rapper.
- Big Narstie, rapper.
- Luol Deng, player for the American basketball team Miami Heat, lived and played in Brixton.
- Alex Wheatle, novelist.
- Lisa Maffia, singer and TV personality, was brought up in Brixton.
- Bunmi Mojekwu, actress.
- James Dagwell, journalist and former BBC News presenter, lived in Brixton.
- La Roux (Elly Jackson), musician, was born and raised in Brixton.
- Hew Locke, contemporary artist, a resident of more than 20 years, has cited Brixton and its market as an influence on his work.
- Nikki Sudden and Dave Kusworth of the Jacobites shared a house on Norwood Road, Brixton, in the early 1980s.
- Danny Kirwan of the band Fleetwood Mac was born and raised in Brixton.
- Clive Dunn (1920–2012), best known for playing Lance-Corporal Jack Jones in the British sitcom Dad's Army, was born in Brixton.
- Jean Kent (1921–2013), actress known for appearing in British films, was born in Brixton.[134]
- Philip Lindsey Clark, sculptor, was born in Brixton.
- AJ Tracey, rapper, was born in Brixton but raised in Ladbroke Grove.
- Dillian Whyte, Jamaican born boxer, emigrated to Britain as a teenager and grew up in Brixton.
- Dave, rapper, born in Brixton but was raised in Streatham.
- Bob and Alf Pearson, a British musical double act, lived on Electric Avenue in the late 1930s.[135]
- Deno, rapper.
- Pearl Mackie, actress, grew up in Brixton.
References
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- ^ "2011 ward populations". Ukcensusdata.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
- ^ Mayor of London (February 2008). "London Plan (Consolidated with Alterations since 2004)" (PDF). Greater London Authority. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 June 2010.
- ^ a b "Brixton Guide". All in London. 2009. Archived from the original on 2 October 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2009.
- ^ a b c "History of Brixton". Myvillage.com. Archived from the original on 6 February 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
- ^ "Streetmap of Brixton". Streetmap EU Ltd. 2009. Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
- ^ "Lambeth Council office locations". London Borough of Lambeth. 2009. Archived from the original on 15 June 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
- ^ "Where Is the Centre of London? An Update". 30 April 2014. Archived from the original on 30 May 2016.
- ^ "Distance between Brixton and Frazier Street, London, United Kingdom, (UK)". Distancecalculator.globefeed.com. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
- ^ a b c "London Borough of Lambeth | A short history of Brixton". Lambeth.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013.
- ^ a b Ideal Homes – Brixton Archived 9 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Census of England and Wales, 1841
- ^ Census of England and Wales, 1861
- ^ "The Main Drainage of London". The Morning Post. London, England: British Newspaper Archive. 21 October 1853. p. 2.
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