Denmark Street

Denmark Street is a street on the edge of London's West End running from Charing Cross Road to St Giles High Street. It is near St Giles in the Fields Church and Tottenham Court Road station. The street was developed in the late 17th century and named after Prince George of Denmark. Since the 1950s it has been associated with British popular music, first via publishers and later by recording studios and music shops. A blue plaque was unveiled in 2014 commemorating the street's importance to the music industry. The street was originally residential, but became used for commercial purposes in the 19th century. At first, metalwork was a popular trade but it became most famous as "the British Tin Pan Alley" housing numerous music publishers' offices. This market declined in the 1960s to be replaced by music shops and independent recording studios. The Rolling Stones recorded at Regent Sound Studio at No. 4 and popular musicians, including David Bowie and the Small Faces, often socialised in the Gioconda café at No. 9. Elton John and Bernie Taupin wrote songs at offices on the street in the 1960s, while the Sex Pistols lived above No. 6, and recorded their first demos there. The comic book store Forbidden Planet and the Helter Skelter music bookshop have also been based on the street. In the 2010s, the surrounding area was redeveloped. Parts of Denmark Street are listed to protect them, but other parts, away from the street itself, were demolished and redeveloped.