Adam writes… I’ve been trying to think of a way to say Thank You to all of you who support my guided tours in London. And I’ve come up with this… every month a free map! I hope you enjoy them and find them useful. Each month, on or around the 1st, I’ll post a new map. They’ll be curated around a band/act/singer/composer, or a theme, or a neighbourhood, period or genre. Each one will have at least 5 locations for you to explore. Most of them will deal with the London area, but from time-to-time I’ll head off a little further afield as well. Where relevant, I’ll add playlists and links for further reading too.
London Music Tours Map of the Month No.11: The Police
A sentimental one this month. When talk turns to the topic of your first album, we often make a distinction; what was your first album? And what was the first album you bought with your own money. I’m not sure why “your own money” comes into it. Maybe it’s another way of saying “What was your first album you chose of your own free will?”
Mine was Zenayatta Mondatta by The Police. I bought it at Mr Liddle’s electrical shop in Loanhead, Midlothian. It was a little more expensive that it would have been had I gone to a big shop in Edinburgh, but I thought it was well worth it. I was 11 years-old.
As a little kid, The Police and The Jam* were the first “pop groups” I remember thinking were cool. So this month, I’ve put together a map of six locations from the formative years of The Police when they were little more than kids themselves.
And here’s Zenyatta Mondatta…
When I was 11, I loved the singles of course – Don’t Stand So Close To Me and De Do Do Do… – but otherwise my fave tracks were Canary In A Coal Mine and Andy Summers’ weird instrumental Behind My Camel.
* For a Jam map, click HERE
You can check out the full London Music Tours schedule HERE. Private tours are available the whole year round – use the form at the bottom of this page to arrange a tour for your party or group.
To join one of my non-music-themed walking tours, visit the London Walks website HERE.
