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White City
The question 'What's the story behind White City (the place)' sent me away
to do a bit of research
White City is in Wood Lane, West London. In 1908 140 acres were laid out
here by the Kiralfy brothers for the Franco-British Exhibition. There were
40 acres of gleaming white-stuccoed buildings (is this where 'white city'
originated?) and half-a-mile of waterways. The centrepiece was the Court of
Honour which had a lake and illuminated fountains surrounded by exotic
Indian-style pavilions. The exhibition was the largest held in Britain up
to that date and there were more than 8 million visitors.
The same summer the 4th Olympic Games were held in the stadium: 1500
competitors from 19 nations took part. The hero of the games was Doronado
Pietri who collapsed just before the finishing line of the marathon. He was
disqualified for being helped over the line but Queen Alexandra awarded him
a special cup. In 1910 a Japanese-British exhibition was held to celebrate
the Anglo-Japanese alliance.
The grounds and buildings were taken over by the government in 1914; and
after the war they were derelict.
Greyhound racing was introduced in 1927 and the Greyhound Derby is/was held
here. The 52nd Derby was run in 1982. This explains the reference in
'Dogs'. The Athletics Association Championships were first held here in
1932. In 1931-3 the stadium was used as the home ground of Queens Park
Rangers football club.
In 1936 50 acres were acquired by the London County Council for housing.
On the album Pete is writting about the 50 acres of housing built by London
County Council - rented accomodation provided by the state. Much of it has
become run down and fits in well with the themes of the album. Also, there
was a video made to go with the album which explains the plot.
Apart from all this twaddle, it is a good album; shame it is so short.
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Ian Burn e-mail: vlsburia@reading.ac.uk
The Library, The University of Reading, Tel: +44 0734 318775
Whiteknights, Reading RG6 2AE, Great Britain. Fax: +44 0734 316636
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