Is Camden Town Dying?



During the 70’s, 80’s and even 90’s, Camden Town was the centre of the London gig scene, and the movement against mainstream fashion and music. However, recent gentrification and an increase of tourism raises the question: does Camden Town still hold the same countercultural significance it was once famous for?

In their hit song "Sorted for Es and Whizz," Pulp buy tickets from a "mashed up bloke"[1] in Camden, capturing the district’s former ‘alternative vibe’. Camden felt un-policed, attracting a range of different rebel movements such as mods, rockers and punks, each following a unique ideology but sharing a mistrust of authority and traditional values. Camden was full of cheap bars and pubs that allowed young people to come together and exchange ideas, particularly significant in this period of growing unemployment and economic recession. Yet in recent years there has been a marked social shift, driving London’s youth away from their former stamping ground.

It was perhaps the death of Amy Winehouse in 2011 that heralded the final demise of Camden’s music scene, and the subculture attached to it. Ironically, the increase in tourism had the effect of driving away the young people that had brought the subculture to Camden Town in the first place. Tourists were enticed by the prospect of visiting the house she had lived in and buying souvenirs, but they did not contribute to its scene. It became just another ‘cool’ area for tourists to tick off their sightseeing list in London, leading to the rise of consumerism and an increase of prices. Camden Town is now full of tourist and corporate shops such as AllSaints and Monsoon which have diluted its uniqueness. Young people can no longer afford to live or socialise in the area, causing their move away to other areas of London, such as Brixton and Dalston, taking their music and fashion with them.

Foreign investors have taken an interest in Camden as well, leading to gentrification.
The restructuring of Camden Market and Camden Town to suit the tastes of the middle class further removes it from its anti-authoritarian roots. In Buck Street Market re-development plans have been recently approved to replace the makeshift stalls with a three-storey shipping container development in the next five years.[2] This move would further sanitise the aesthetic of the market to better appeal to a mass audience. Many of the original traders in the market have expressed fears that these plans would mean a move upmarket and an increase of rent prices which would force them out of business. Once known for its handcrafted and original goods, the market is now inundated with generic and expensive emoji pillows and British themed memorabilia. 


Camden is slowly dying, and no longer holds the cultural authenticity it was once famous for. Stifled by increasing tourism, it has become both mainstream and homogenised, the very qualities it fought against all those years ago.

Bibliography:

Pulp, Different Class, 1995. CD

Carrier, Dan, ‘Gentrification warning as Camden Town market revamp gets go-ahead’, Camden New Journal (2018)  http://camdennewjournal.com/article/gentrification-warning-as-camden-town-market-revamp-gets-go-ahead  [accessed: 25/01/2020]


[1] Pulp, Different Class, 1995. CD
[2] Dan Carrier, ‘Gentrification warning as Camden Town market revamp gets go-ahead’, Camden New Journal (2018)
http://camdennewjournal.com/article/gentrification-warning-as-camden-town-market-revamp-gets-go-ahead
[accessed: 25/01/2020]

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