"Towers of London" is a song by Andy Partridge. It appeared on and was released as a single for the 1980 album Black Sea. It reached No. 31 on the UK singles chart.
A live version appeared on BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert, later on the 1998 Transistor Blast box set.
A rejected single version appeared on the 2002 Coat of Many Cupboards box set.
Single tracklisting[]
UK doublepack[]
- A-side: "Towers of London"
- B-side: "Set Myself on Fire (live)"
- -Plus bonus single-
- A-side: "Battery Brides (live)"
- B-side: "Scissor Man (BBC version)"
UK single[]
- A-side: "Towers of London"
- B-side: "Set Myself on Fire (live)"
Holland single[]
- A-side: "Towers of London"
- B-side: "Battery Brides (live)"
Quotes[]
Andy: “Supposed to be a bit Beatlesy. . .” Colin: “I think it was more akin to Ray Davies. . .” Andy: “Really? I always had ‘Rain’ in mind. . .”
Andy (on the BBC Radio 1 version): “A brisk, blacksmith approved stroll through ‘Towers of London’, architectural detail applied in liberal dollops on the end of a Gibson guitar by Sir Christopher Gregory. (I always wanted to burst into singing the Beatles' ‘Rain’ over the end of this number.) Somebody had knocked over Dave's ‘Les Paul’ and he hadn't time to rectify the charming (Ahem) ‘Youth Club’ tuning it had acquired.”
Andy (on the rejected single version): “This ode to the sad romance of London's Victoria era navvies was written largely (and appropriately) in the coal shed of 46 Kingshill Road, Swindon. I cleared the coal out, whitewashed it, and sat in my own dungeon, strumming. We started what was to become the Black Sea album in the old Polygram Studios, Stanhope Place, (which I think Paul Weller bought up a little later) and this was one of the first cuts. Virgin asked us to get this ready up front after picking it out as a potential single.
“I can't think why we didn't use this version. It's a little slower than the later Townhouse recording. And it does have an acoustic guitar backbone, but to my ears now, this only gives it a more loping swing. Anyway, this take was shelved. The thin reedy chord swells you hear in the verses came courtesy of Steve Lillywhite's new toy, an Archer amp and speaker, about the size of a matchbox. Steve had just worked with Peter Gabriel whose keyboard player would use one to tune up his synths with, quietly, so as not to disturb the others in the band. Steve thought everything sounded fantastic through it, so he rushed down to Tandy's and bought one of his own.
“When compiling this set, we found some banter between Terry Chambers and Steve Lillywhite at the start, claiming this too, was take one hundred and three, a running gag at the time. Check out the top of the Black Sea version.”
Lyrics[]
Towers of London
when they had built you
did you watch over the men who fell
Towers of London
when they had built you
Victoria's gem found in somebody's hell
Pavements of gold leading to the underground
Grenadier Guardsmen walking pretty ladies around
fog is the sweat of the never never navvies who pound
spikes in the rails to their very own heaven
Towers of London
when they had built you
did you watch over the men who fell
Towers of London
when they had built you
Victoria's gem found in somebody's hell
Bridges of muscles spanning so long and high
merchants from Stepney walking pretty ladies by
rain is the tears of the never never navvies who cry
for the bridge that doesn't go
in the direction of Dublin
Towers of London
when they had built you
did you watch over the men who fell
Towers of London
when they had built you
Victoria's gem found in somebody's hell
And I've seen it in a painting
and I've seen it in engraving
and I've seen it in their faces
clear as children's chalk lines on the paving
And I've seen it in a painting
and I've seen it in engraving
and I've seen it in their faces
clear as children's chalk lines on the paving
Towers of London
when they had built you
did you watch over the men who fell
Towers of London
when they had built you
Victoria's gem found in somebody's hell
Towers of London
la la Londinium
Videos[]
Promo[]
Promo video for "Towers of London." Uploaded by YouTube user "23Daves."