London in the 90s

[Mondayforthebin]

Just having a nostalgic 10 minutes and thinking about when I first moved to London in my early 20s from my small town in middle of nowhere, fresh out of University. Moved to leafy North London with 4 other friends for a really cheap rent (wow, how times have changed!) No proper job so just temped and did some bar work and was out all the time on seemingly very little money as I earned very little! Went to see loads of bands, drank lots, wore v little and made some amazing friends and generally had lots of fun.

I know I definitely have my rose tinted specs on but miss those days and feel quite sad for DS that he'll probably not be able to afford to have same experiences as London is so expensive now.

Omg that was it, the wag!!!

Thank you!

I like going to visit, but it seems a lot less fun and so much more crowded now

One of the things I remember LOVING about London in the 90s, having moved over here from NYC, was leaving the crowds and hositilitly of NYC behind. Today's London reminds me of 90s NYC. Definitely much more crowded... and aggressive. London was not an aggressive city in the least back then. I don't want to ignore the reality that terrible, terrible crimes still happened back then. It certainly wasn't the land of milk and honey. But it was undeniably a gentler city... a bit slower and less crowded. People really did queue and keep to the right side of the pavement/stairwells and gave up their seats on buses for those in need. I didn't worry about being mugged or stabbed or raped. That fear didn't even occur to me. Again, these crimes happened then and happen now. I don't know if it's my age combined with the rose tinted glasses or if, in fact, London is just a more dangerous, hostile, soulless place. It was absolutely a thrilling place in the 90s. Nothing rose-tinted about that fact.

I moved to London after my last child went to Uni 6 years ago

BEST DECISION EVER

It's fantastic here. So green, walk everywhere and the buses are brilliant and extremely cheap. I use the 'free' museums at least monthly. And there is so much free or cheap to do.

I grew in the suburbs and from age 14 used to go in on the tube at least every couple of weeks.
We'd go to Camden, Portobello Road, Kensington Market, Oxford Street. Saw loads of great bands like Skunk Anansi, Placebo, Green Day for between £10 & 20. We'd turn up at the ticket office off Oxford Street and just look at the listings and buy some tickets.
Great times!

Grew up in London & spent 40 years there. Still love it, but moved cos I needed affordable housing. I recall going to The Milk Bar in 1992. Also in the '80s Bunjie's hippy cafe near The Ivy. Central London is blander now... like a theme park. Still adore my home town though ❤️

Stargreen ticket office in Argyll Street?

Yes that's it, I couldn't think what it was called. You too then?

All cities have their time....the key is simply to figure out which city is the place to be now, and find a way of getting there. Anyone know where's great for young people now? (probably not anywhere in the UK TBH).

I also remember being obsessed with meeting a boy from an Indie band, any indie band 😂 never did but had a lot of fun trying

The absolute horrors I went out with just because they were in a band 🤣

This always reminds me of my youth.

DS wants to move to Barcelona, he’s very set on it. He’s only 15 though so he may well change his mind yet 😉

Dd2 (17) loved Berlin when she went on a school trip there a few months back, TheWhalrus.

I lived in London on a shoestring 1994-97 - so the apex of 'Cool Britannia'. It was brilliant. Shared a flat in Herne Hill that had balcony views down to the Houses of Parliament. God knows that that would cost now.

Neither of my dc fancy London living although we visit often. It doesn't feel as 'real' now. Hopefully it will rise again.

Mine weren’t even in an actual band 😂

The St Moritz is still there - on Wardour St

I lived in London then and whilst we did things I found it very expensive. I was working long hours and didn't earn very much. It felt like a slog alot of the time.

But some things were magical. Long dark nights going around bookshops, independent pizza restaurants, going to the many flea pits to see movies each week, getting black cabs along the river, being in the city proper, sitting in Camden, drinks after work.

My experience would have been so much better had I had money. I would have made much better decisions as well.

If you haven’t read it already, I highly recommend Miki Barenyi’s autobiography “Fingers Crossed”. She was the lead singer of Lush and the bulk of the book is about late 80s to late 90s London, specifically the indie music scene. Nostalgia galore!

Like many others, I lived in London in the 90s, a cheap bedsit near Euston/Camden.
I wasn’t really a party girl loved Camden market, Brick Lane and surronds, Soho and Covent Garden (used to hang out at Freuds in Covent Garden because Blur apparently used to hang out there).
Camden High street had an amazing Indian vegetarian eat as much as you like place - 3.95. We used to take empty tubs and fill with dhal to take home.
The Nags Head on Holloway Road was my work local.

Long hot summer of 95 - days whiled away at Hampstead Mixed Ponds which was full of ghetto blasters and smelt strongly of cannabis.
Euro 96 football fever.

I lived in suburbs but was usually up in London at weekends. Started at 15 going to Camden markets etc then at about 16/17 the clubs. Used to go to the royal George and then the Astoria. Also used to go to the venue In New Cross.

His knows how we don't come to harm with the dodgy minicabs we used to get home. We did always make a point of going to an office rather than off the street but not sure they were much better.

I moved to London in 1996. So many fun times. I don't know how I managed to afford it all now. So many drinks after work, gigs, club nights. I loved Camden. The shopping was so good too. I loved the huge Top Shop at Oxford Circus.
Still live there now, would love a bigger place but DD is happy in school and don't fancy moving out to a commuter town.

I grew up in London, was a teen and early 20s in the 90s. Lots of nostalgia for my youth when I think about it, but I also think enough time has past now that I can look back and truly see it as a different era and not just in my life. London has changed, life has changed!

My boyfriend used to drive us to clubs in the West End and park for free outside. That blows my mind now, when I think about driving into central London, let alone finding somewhere to park and paying for it, congestion etc.

Me and my friends all managed to live in flat shares in zone 1 & 2 funded by our student loans and minimum wage part time jobs. Who could afford that now?

I wasn’t really on the indie / bands scene, more of a raver. We used to travel all over London and the surrounds for raves. I got to know north, east, south and west through clubbing! Good times.

@Whycanineverever I used to live a five-minute stumble from The Venue when I moved to London in 2000! Good times.

Actually I just checked the website and it looks pretty much exactly as I remember it, and you can still get in for three quid before midnight 😂

Oh the Wag, Astoria and the 100 Club. We went out so much. Clubbing all the time, gigs, bars. I existed on so little sleep and a diet of crisps and chardonnay. (I was a trainee lawyer so basically my life was like This Life).

Marathon Bar in Chalk Farm. Camden Palace.

I was there from 1993 - still am, but had my first baby in 1999 and life changed a little bit then. Clubbing in King's Cross and Farringdon. Brick Lane for curries. I had very cool friends who lived in Hoxton and we used to go out with them. I moved from University for my first job and lived in a house share in Clapham North. It was really dodgy. Later on I moved to North London.

But also less cool, Break for the Border! Do you remember that? We used to go there on work outings. Get hammered on tequila.

Oh yes...

Borderline too!