Brixton

Danielle with Dave and Rikky Rogers
and their son in Mayall Road, Brixton

Our humble room

After arriving in London in April 1975, we looked up Pete Coast, contact we had been given in Australia and stayed with him for a couple of days.

We looked up some friends of his in Mayall Road, Brixton. Fortunately they were happy to share the cost of their 2-storey public housing house and we moved in immediately with Dave and Rikky Rogers and Richard Dowden.

The expansive back yard

There were some cultural differences: they had a tiny fridge, just for milk, cheese and the odd beer, the butter was left out;  they were horrified when we wanted a shower each day as they only took a bath once or twice a week, sharing the same water; they thought we were obsessive about washing our clothes.

Very soon we bought two second-hand bicycles for transport and to use for sightseeing around London and transport to work.

Brixton at the time also had a very high population of Caribbeans, mainly from Jamaica and so the local markets were full of tropical vegetables and other West Indian products.

Railton Road 1975
(Photo Nickel In The Machine)

82A Railton Road 1975
(Photo Nickel In The Machine)

In the main street, Railton Road, many shops were run by Caribbeans. My favourites were the music stores selling almost exclusively imported albums and singles of reggae and ska, with huge speakers pumping the infectious rhythms into the street where you couldn’t help but bounce along as you walked past.

It was there that we became interested in reggae, it impossible not to.

(Internet Photo)

Reggae was also just becoming internationally popular.

Although Bob Marley and the Wailers released the song "I Shot the Sheriff" in 1973, it wasn’t until Eric Clapton released his version a year later that reggae was exposed to a mainstream audience and interest in the music grew.

Also as we only lived a short distance from a community hall that held dance nights on Fridays and Saturdays, the music was so loud, with so much bass that our house used to vibrate in synch with the rhythm.

Winifred Atwell
(Photo Nickel In The Machine)

Winifred Atwell Salon
(Photo Nickel In The Machine)

There is a great article on the famous Honky Tonk Woman – Winifred Atwell and the Railton Road in Brixton that gives a little background to the West Indian connection.

Railton Road burnt-out
(Photo Nickel In The Machine)

See also Familypedia Brixton which has more information about that period, and the riots that took place after ill-advised police action in 1981 and 1985.