England

Friday, June 6

Before today’s adventure began, I made a quick stop at the British Museum. If you’ve read about my past journeys, you will recall that this building houses many of the world’s most important archaeological treasures.

The photos below are the quiet before the storm, before the public arrives.

Then the doors open and the building quickly begins to fill.

I left the museum to dedicate myself to today’s topic: England’s contribution to music. A perfect place to start was the Royal Academy of Music.

Their alumni include many famous people like Sir Elton John. It was a typical school day with students, practice spaces, and notes wafting from every window. I couldn’t help but imagine the musicians in my family attending there. 

They have a small museum to showcase their collection of historical instruments. 

It included this priceless Stradivarius.

Being among the best students in the world inspired me to visit St. Mary Abbots.

On specific days, the Royal College of Music conducts a recital to share their students’ talents. Today was Tchaikovsky.

This was the view of the church as I exited.

I took a long walk through Kensington and saw the quieter London neighborhoods. 

My journey continued with a stop at the home of Jimi Hendrix. He lived here from 1968 to 1969. There is a museum along with a depiction of his room. 

No musical tribute to London would be complete without The Beatles. Most tourists flock to Abbey Road Studios in an attempt to recreate the iconic album photo. I considered doing the same, but instead I was drawn to a lesser known location: 3 Savile Row. 

They had a studio in the basement and recorded Let It Be there. Somewhat spontaneously, they decided to bring their instruments to the roof and give a live concert to the neighborhood. It lasted 42 minutes before the police were called in. It ended up being the band's final public performance. It concluded with John Lennon joking, "I hope we've passed the audition." You can watch an excerpt here.

If you are curious about what it looks like today, an image is below.

My father greatly influenced my taste in music. In the late 1980s, he was one of the first to purchase a compact disc player. He filled the living room with albums like Dr. Hook, Kenny Rogers, and Lionel Richie. He was a fan of musicals, so he had a few original Broadway scores. One night when I was about sixteen, I opened one of the disc packages and found the script within. I put on headphones and both read and listened to the whole performance. The music and my imagination allowed me to “see” the Palais Garnier and the dark realm beneath (it is real, by the way!). My musical tour of London concluded by honoring my father along with another graduate of the Royal College of Music, Andrew Lloyd Webber. I attended The Phantom of the Opera at His Majesty's Theatre, the very same place it had its world premiere on October 9th, 1986. Here's to you, Dad.

Goodnight London!

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