Last night, around 8:00 GMT flames swept through Camden Town, North London. As firetrucks descended on the area locals formed bucket lines to try to quench the massive blaze. The fire was thought to have started in a market stall just behind The Hawley Arms, a pub located near the Camden Lock bridge and famous for its clientele, which includes, among others, singer Amy Winehouse.
The Camden Town district is known for its nightlife. The marketplace is a mecca for alternative lifestyles and vibrant subcultures and young people vying for the mantle of cool and alternative. The emo, the goth, and the otherwise disaffected congregate in clusters of cool in clubs such as The World's End, The Underworld, The Good Mixer, Koko, The Purple Turtle, Dublin Castle, and the Oh! Bar. One wonders which, if any, of these hotspots was the inspiration for the cutting satire of Amy's "Eff Me Pumps."
By 8:10 last night reports were coming in that the fire had spread from the market stall to surrounding buildings. Half an hour later witnesses saw flames leaping 30 feet above the buildings, as the number of firetrucks responding reached at least 20 and rumors of people trapped inside began to circulate. These rumors were dispelled early on as the smoke cleared, and as of today there were no reported fatalities.
The Hawley Arms, standing adjacent to the source of the blaze, was badly damaged. Pictures surfaced on the internet almost immediately showing the building shrouded in smoke that glowed with the flames beneath. The pub was at first thought to be completely destroyed, but by morning the damage was upgraded to severe, and patrons voiced hope that it would be back in business soon.
An article in The Independent from last summer tells more about the famous Hawley Arms and its star clientele, including Winehouse who was seen sometimes in the company of Kelly Osbourne and sometimes fresh out of the clinic.
Amy wouldn't have been at the Arms tonight in any event, as she is scheduled to be performing at the Grammy awards in a few hours, though she will sing from London, appearing live via satellite, not from the Staples Center. Her recent and publicly broadcast troubles with drugs and with the law have derailed her career in a number of ways, forcing her recently to cancel tour dates and appearances. Musicians from George Michael to Prince have reached out to the singer with offers of assistance of whatever kind she might need, having been touched by her talent, and there seems to be a general feeling of sadness and inevitability among friends, fans, and fellow musicians alike who have been watching her in the past few months. The US State Department even reversed at the last minute a ruling that prevented her from entering the country to perform at the awards in an odd moment of compassionate bureaucracy, but, according to her publicist it was too late for her to appear in L.A.
Her album Back to Black is up for Album of the Year and she received a total of 6 nominations altogether. For those of you not familiar with her album, it is striking for its retro-soul feel, its Saturn-like digestion of the music of the past, and its compelling lyrics that have gotten so much attention for (amazingly!) drawing on or otherwise relating to her own life and experience.
Here's hoping she doesn't perform the song that is nominated for record of the year, Rehab, as it is too easily a joke for the tabloids as it is, and doesn't give an accurate notion of what the album is about anyway. Here's another song from her freshman effort Frank that you might like better:
Winehouse seems to be welcome fodder for tabloids these days, who hang on her every failing with a thinly-veiled glee and offer it up for consumption; it's as bad as those who stand around watching a fire and fan the flames of rumor by saying, with well-intentioned though unfounded certainty, that there are people dying inside The Hawley Arms.
The Camden Town district is known for its nightlife. The marketplace is a mecca for alternative lifestyles and vibrant subcultures and young people vying for the mantle of cool and alternative. The emo, the goth, and the otherwise disaffected congregate in clusters of cool in clubs such as The World's End, The Underworld, The Good Mixer, Koko, The Purple Turtle, Dublin Castle, and the Oh! Bar. One wonders which, if any, of these hotspots was the inspiration for the cutting satire of Amy's "Eff Me Pumps."
By 8:10 last night reports were coming in that the fire had spread from the market stall to surrounding buildings. Half an hour later witnesses saw flames leaping 30 feet above the buildings, as the number of firetrucks responding reached at least 20 and rumors of people trapped inside began to circulate. These rumors were dispelled early on as the smoke cleared, and as of today there were no reported fatalities.
The Hawley Arms, standing adjacent to the source of the blaze, was badly damaged. Pictures surfaced on the internet almost immediately showing the building shrouded in smoke that glowed with the flames beneath. The pub was at first thought to be completely destroyed, but by morning the damage was upgraded to severe, and patrons voiced hope that it would be back in business soon.
An article in The Independent from last summer tells more about the famous Hawley Arms and its star clientele, including Winehouse who was seen sometimes in the company of Kelly Osbourne and sometimes fresh out of the clinic.
Amy wouldn't have been at the Arms tonight in any event, as she is scheduled to be performing at the Grammy awards in a few hours, though she will sing from London, appearing live via satellite, not from the Staples Center. Her recent and publicly broadcast troubles with drugs and with the law have derailed her career in a number of ways, forcing her recently to cancel tour dates and appearances. Musicians from George Michael to Prince have reached out to the singer with offers of assistance of whatever kind she might need, having been touched by her talent, and there seems to be a general feeling of sadness and inevitability among friends, fans, and fellow musicians alike who have been watching her in the past few months. The US State Department even reversed at the last minute a ruling that prevented her from entering the country to perform at the awards in an odd moment of compassionate bureaucracy, but, according to her publicist it was too late for her to appear in L.A.
Her album Back to Black is up for Album of the Year and she received a total of 6 nominations altogether. For those of you not familiar with her album, it is striking for its retro-soul feel, its Saturn-like digestion of the music of the past, and its compelling lyrics that have gotten so much attention for (amazingly!) drawing on or otherwise relating to her own life and experience.
Here's hoping she doesn't perform the song that is nominated for record of the year, Rehab, as it is too easily a joke for the tabloids as it is, and doesn't give an accurate notion of what the album is about anyway. Here's another song from her freshman effort Frank that you might like better:
Winehouse seems to be welcome fodder for tabloids these days, who hang on her every failing with a thinly-veiled glee and offer it up for consumption; it's as bad as those who stand around watching a fire and fan the flames of rumor by saying, with well-intentioned though unfounded certainty, that there are people dying inside The Hawley Arms.
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