The
plaque was unveiled on a temporary position as the riverfront
was undergoing maintenance with the planting of new trees and
cementing of new flowerbeds and riverside benches. The plaque
has now been repositioned to it's correct position overlooking
Eel Pie Island.
The history
of Eel Pie island will be known to some, probably as the birthplace
of some of rock n’ rolls finest bands and singers. The Rolling
Stones, The Who, Rod Stewart all played at the Eel Pie Hotel in
the sixties. Eel Pie was a mecca to the nascent music of the sixties
and the emerging hippy culture. It was most definitely the place
to go if you were apart of that culture in the sixties and early
seventies. The Eel Pie hotel's history goes back further to Victorian
times when it was a reknowned 19th Century venue and a dancehall
in the early decades of the 20th Century.
The values
and ideals of the culture that were an integral part of Eel Pie
have long since left. They have either been transformed, subsumed
or forgotten. One time rebel rouser Mick Jagger is now Sir Mick.
Would anybody have thought that could be possible at the time?
In many ways the culture of the time was avant-garde ahead of
itself, concerned about global issues and intent on making a better
world. In some ways these values have succeeded in other ways
perhaps they have failed. The world has become more consumerist,
more cynical and perhaps more dangerous.
History has
a habit of going full circle. The Eel Pie Hotel was closed down
in the early seventies after complaints and various police raids.
The hotel is no longer there and has since given way to housing.
It was considered to be a place of bad repute by local residents
and the authorities. Now, in the 21st Century it is commemorated
and the unveiling of the heritage plaque demonstrates how attitudes
can change.
The Eel Pie
club have successfully kept the tradition of the island's musicians
alive, organising rhythm and blues gigs in Twickenham and meeting
regularly at the Cabbage Patch hotel. http://www.eelpieclub.com/
The website
http://www.eelpie.org/ shows
some interesting pictures of the island and in some ways act as
a reunion site for those who were a part of the Eel Pie scene
in the sixties. Eel Pie stands as a name and a place irrevocably
wed to the history of British musical heritage. The island's significance
in this heritage should not be underestimated. The plaque stands
testimony to not only the musicians of Eel Pie but those who went
and listened to the music and in some ways dreamt of a better
World.
Article:
Arcadian Times. |
