Modernist Buildings, Post Punk Music — Photo by Will Saunders on Unsplash

August 2, 2024

Modernist Drums & Post Punk Music

Well, this post kicks off yet another month (my, don't they just fly by!) we are already past halfway through another year and the longest day of the year has been and gone so prep up for the evenings beginning to draw in quicker! For this post I thought I'd have a revisit of an area and building I visited originally last year, but I took another trip back again recently, so without further ado....

If Spy Rings, Agatha Christie and Minimalist Living are your thing, then Isokon Flats is the place to go to in leafy Belsize Park. The flats were designed by a Canadian engineer by the name of Wells Coates and the flats were formally opened in 1934 as an experiment in minimalist living. They were occupied by members of the Bauhaus Art Movement as shown in the photo with the Blue Plaque. Agatha Christie lived there between 1941-47 and also more notoriously several 'Spies' were linked with the building, enough for the flats to subject to surveillance by the British Security Services, evidently Flat no.7 was occupied by the man who recruited the 'Cambridge Five' spy ring.

Have a listen to The Untouchables from 1985 with their cover of the old Jamo Thomas track 'I Spy For The FBI' at the youtube link which was produced by Jerry Dammers from The Specials. The original being released all the way back in 1966.

It is a quite odd construction, down a leafy road of the usual North London style gothic looking Victorian/Edwardian houses, next to Belsize Woods. The building stands out like a sore thumb to be honest, a white megastructure looking more akin to a cruise-liner than a block of flats.

Modernist Architecture The Isokon Building in Belsize Park — The Isokon Building/Cruise Liner! Picture Source: 𝓐 𝓚ⅰ𝓬𝒌 Ìռძⅰ𝓮 𝓝𝒖ꚍⱿ

I am sure at the time it was built there must have been some raised eyebrows from the people of the area.

House Styles Belsize Park — Yer Standard Norf Lundun Drums Over The Frog And Toad. Picture Source: 𝓐 𝓚ⅰ𝓬𝒌 Ìռძⅰ𝓮 𝓝𝒖ꚍⱿ

Inside Isokon It has a small museum offering the chance to have a peek into several of the re-constructed rooms that are in each of the flats upstairs and my they certainly are compact and bijou! Evidently once a year usual around September time London throws an 'Open House' event that you get to have a look inside some of the Capital's well known buildings and Isokon is one of them.

2 Willow Place

Just a bit further up the hill and heading towards equally as leafy Hampstead there is another Modernist style building called 2 Willow Place, this one is not free to enter, but you can pay and have a look round the once home of architect Ernő Goldfinger. Again another unpopular building at the time as it wasn't in keeping with the style of housing in the rest of the street an oddly enough one of the residents who opposed it was none other than Ian Fleming, he of the James Bond novels, perhaps he got the inspiration for his villain Auric Goldfinger from Ernő. Poor old Ernő as opposed to poor old Ernie 'The Fastest Milkman In The West' from Benny Hill hitting #1 in the UK Charts in 1971, catch it in all it's cheesy 1970's shaped glory at the link.

It is quite odd just how close many places are, head one way down Haverstock Hill and you hit Chalk Farm and The Roundhouse music venue and on to Camden Market, if you turn off of one of the roads down the same hill you hit another pretty little place called Primrose Hill, which is very near Regents Park and London Zoo, from the hill you can get an amazing view of the Capital. All the places mentioned are pretty much walkable and if you head up the hill a bit further you hit the delights of Hampstead Heath. What a choice! And some lovely pubs along every trail from The Stag near Belsize Park to The Sir Richard Steele along Haverstock Hill heading down into Camden as well as the Magdala Tavern along by Hampstead Heath, and that is only a handful of them!

And Cue Some More Spy Sounds🔎🎶

So for this post and following that Spy related element, here is a track I heard years and years ago on a Compilation Album featuring various artists all on Independent Record labels from various years between 1977-1986, I still have in my collection. This one is a bit of an unusual one in a Synth Pop/Electronic/Post Punk vein by a short lived outfit called Lori & The Chameleons called 'The Lonely Spy' and was released in 1980 on the Indie 'Korova' Record label.

Primary — The Lonely Spy Picture Source: Discogs.com

They Were

- Lory Larty - Vocals
- Tim Whittaker - Drums
- Gary Dwyer - Drums
- Ray Martinez - Trumpet

The production and song writing credits went to two other known musicians of the day: Dave Balfe and Bill Drummond both from Liverpool band Big In Japan, the guest musicians on this track featured another Liverpool hero Gary Dwyer from The Teardrop Exlpodes. And on that note leaving you with one of my favourite Teardrop Explodes tracks 'Treason'. You can catch more sounds on the Independent Korova Records Label at the tag on this site at the link, if you like the sounds of Teardrop Explodes catch them at the link to a previous post 'Passionate Friend?' and finally if you are looking for Benny Hill's music...