Ralph McTell: Streets of London Video: wildfiremedia.
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[This article has been updated from 29th December, 2012. Perhaps we could give away some, if we have a little to spare...]
Used as a teaching aid in a Singapore school textbook some years ago, this international pop anthem about the street poor was first recorded in 1969. It is the third time I am posting *Streets of London on this blog. I would probably post it again in another year to remind us of the squalor, deprivation and loneliness of many homeless people in this world today. Some things never change.
When you are sipping that glass of champagne and slurping the caviar, tucking into succulent chicken rice and downing it with Tiger or just watching the ushering in of New Year 2021 on TV please remember the very poor who need our help.
I am not being hypocritical but perhaps just two Singapore dollars placed in the hands of someone who needs the money is sufficient. Or more if you wish. Depends on how much your heart (not head) is willing to give. Don't force yourself. If you can't, don't.
Watch the above video to the end because it's different from the others available on You Tube. wildfiremedia who produced the clip had an interview with Ralph McTell on the streets of London.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_voluntary_welfare_organisations_in_Singapore
Video: from wildfiremedia on You Tube.
Streets of London is written by Ralph McTell, first recorded for his 1969 album Spiral Staircase but not released in the United Kingdom as a single until 1974. It was his greatest commercial success, reaching number two in the UK singles chart, at one point selling 90,000 copies a day.
As McTell explains on the video it could be any street in any big city in the world. He was inspired by an older song called, Poor People of Paris (1954) made good by Les Baxter and Orchestra. I remember this one, do you?
As McTell explains on the video it could be any street in any big city in the world. He was inspired by an older song called, Poor People of Paris (1954) made good by Les Baxter and Orchestra. I remember this one, do you?
Over two hundred artists have made covers of this song including Cliff Richard, Blackmore's Night, Mary Hopkin, Raffi, Sam Hui, Sinéad O'Connor, Schooner Fare, Anti-Nowhere League, Roger Whittaker, Cleo Laine, Cat Stevens Oskar Weise/Tom Brner, Tommy Korberg and Liam Clancy. Its popularity was also the subject of a comedy sketch on BBC show Big Train.
McTell celebrated his 70th birthday with a concert at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, on 7 December 2014 (video clip below).
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