10 London Music Landmarks You Walk Past Without Knowing
The doorways, alleys and buildings where music history happened — and the addresses to find them yourself.
- Every spot here is a public street or building exterior — free to see and photograph.
- Several contradict what you think you know: "Hey Jude" wasn't recorded at Abbey Road, and "Sympathy for the Devil" was cut in a building that's now a cinema.
- They're spread across the city — from Soho to Barnes to a literal island in the Thames — so they're best tackled in a few short trips, not one walk.
- Most have no plaque and no crowd. The whole pleasure is knowing what you're looking at.
- A free app can play the track tied to each spot as you arrive.
London wears its music history quietly. There are no plaques on most of these buildings, no queues, no gift shops — just an ordinary doorway or an unremarkable alley where something extraordinary happened. The fun is entirely in the knowing. Once you do, you can't walk past without looking up.
Here are ten of the best — the spots where the story is far better than the building lets on. Real addresses throughout, with an honest note on what you'll actually find when you get there.
▶ Hey Jude — The Beatles
1. Trident Studios, Soho
Everyone knows Abbey Road. Almost nobody knows that "Hey Jude" was recorded somewhere else entirely — here, in a narrow Soho alley, at Trident Studios. The Beatles came in 1968 because Trident had an eight-track tape machine when Abbey Road was still running four. Bowie, Queen and Elton John all cut records here too. The studio is gone, but the alley and building survive, easy to walk straight past. Free, public. Address: 17 St Anne's Court, W1F 0BQ.
▶ The Wind Cries Mary — Jimi Hendrix
2. 23 Brook Street, Mayfair
Jimi Hendrix lived here in 1968–69. The detail that stops people in their tracks: the house next door, number 25, was the home of composer George Frideric Handel some 200 years earlier. Two of the greatest musicians who ever lived, next-door neighbours separated only by time. It's now the Handel & Hendrix in London museum — you can go inside, and the street is free to walk. Address: 23 Brook Street, W1K 4HB.
▶ God Save the Queen — Sex Pistols
3. 6 Denmark Street, Soho
Denmark Street is "Tin Pan Alley," Britain's old songwriting engine. Upstairs at number 6, the Sex Pistols lived and rehearsed in 1975–76 — and Johnny Rotten's biro drawings on the walls are now Grade II listed by Historic England. Protected by law, like cave paintings. Three doors down at number 4, the Rolling Stones cut their first album. Free, public street. Address: 6 Denmark Street, WC2H 8LX.
▶ Keys to Your Heart — The 101'ers
4. 101 Walterton Road, Maida Vale
Before The Clash, Joe Strummer fronted a pub-rock band called The 101'ers — named after the number of the squat they lived in. This address. You can stand outside the house where Strummer learned to be a frontman, the place The Clash grew out of. An ordinary residential street; admire it from the pavement. Address: 101 Walterton Road, W9 3PG.
▶ Wonderwall — Oasis
5. Berwick Street, Soho
That blurry shot of two figures passing on a London street, on the cover of Oasis's (What's the Story) Morning Glory? — it's Berwick Street, shot at dusk in 1995, then the beating heart of London's independent record shops. A couple of those shops are still trading. Stand on the spot and you're inside the cover. Free, public street. Address: Berwick Street, W1F 0PH.
▶ Not Fade Away — The Rolling Stones
6. Eel Pie Island, Twickenham
This is the one almost nobody knows. A small island in the Thames, reached by footbridge, with a hotel that in the early 1960s was one of London's wildest R&B clubs. The Rolling Stones, The Who, Rod Stewart and Eric Clapton all cut their teeth here. The hotel burned down in 1971, but the island and its footbridge remain — a whole lost scene, hiding in the river. Address: Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, TW1 3DY.
▶ Sympathy for the Devil — The Rolling Stones
7. Olympic Studios, Barnes
You can buy a cinema ticket and sit where "Sympathy for the Devil" was recorded. Olympic was one of the great studios: the Stones cut much of Beggars Banquet here, Hendrix recorded "All Along the Watchtower," and Led Zeppelin made their first album. It's now a beautiful art-house cinema and café — most of the audience has no idea what happened in that room. Address: 117 Church Road, Barnes, SW13 9HL.
▶ Cello Song — Nick Drake
8. 49 Greek Street, Soho
A basement folk club called Les Cousins ran here from roughly 1965 to 1972, and you'd never find a trace of it now. But down those stairs played Bert Jansch, John Martyn, Sandy Denny, a young Paul Simon — and Nick Drake. If you love the British folk revival, this unremarkable Soho doorway is the church. Free, public street. Address: 49 Greek Street, W1D 4EG.
▶ Astronomy Domine — Pink Floyd
9. 31 Tottenham Court Road
In a basement here, the UFO Club ran for barely a year in 1966–67 — and it was the launchpad of London's psychedelic underground. Pink Floyd and Soft Machine were the house bands; the all-night happenings here lit the fuse for everything that followed. The club is long gone and the address is now ordinary commercial premises, walked past by thousands a day. Address: 31 Tottenham Court Road, W1T 1RP.
▶ Maybe I'm Amazed — Paul McCartney
10. The Bag O'Nails, 9 Kingly Street, Soho
In this Soho basement club, on 15 May 1967, Paul McCartney met Linda Eastman at a Georgie Fame gig — the start of one of music's great love stories. Months earlier, Jimi Hendrix had played a now-legendary showcase here for half of rock royalty: Beatles, Stones and Who members all crammed in to watch. A quiet side-street doorway with an outsized history. Address: 9 Kingly Street, W1B 5PH.
Is it worth seeking these out?
Honestly, it depends what you're after. Most of these are exteriors and ordinary doorways rather than museums — the UFO Club is a shopfront, Les Cousins is just a street number, and Eel Pie Island's legendary hotel is long gone. What you get instead is the quiet thrill of standing on the exact spot where something happened, knowing what almost everyone walking past doesn't. They're scattered across the city too, so pick a few that are near each other rather than trying to do all ten in a day. Comfortable shoes, and a bit of imagination.
How Sonic City fits in
The hard part of hunting down spots like these is the knowing — realising you've reached the right doorway, and having the right song ready when you do. That's the gap Sonic City fills. It's a free app that uses your phone's GPS to play the track tied to each landmark the moment you arrive, so "Hey Jude" starts as you reach Trident and "Sympathy for the Devil" plays as you stand outside the old Olympic Studios. No reading a map and a track list at the same time.
A few honest limits: it's London only for now, iPhone only, and it plays through Apple Music today (Spotify is coming soon). It's free, there are no accounts to create, and it doesn't collect your data. If you'd rather just use this list and your own playlist, that works too — everything here is free to visit either way.
Sonic City plays London's music history as you walk past it — free, on your iPhone.
Get Sonic City — freeFrequently asked questions
Where was "Hey Jude" actually recorded?
At Trident Studios in St Anne's Court, Soho — not Abbey Road. The Beatles used Trident in 1968 because it had an eight-track tape machine when Abbey Road was still on four. The alley and building survive; it's a free, public spot.
Can you visit Jimi Hendrix's London home?
Yes. Hendrix lived at 23 Brook Street, Mayfair, in 1968–69, next door to the former home of composer George Frideric Handel at number 25. The site is now the Handel & Hendrix in London museum, and the street is free to walk.
Is the Sex Pistols' graffiti on Denmark Street still there?
Yes. Johnny Rotten's biro drawings on the walls of the upstairs flat at 6 Denmark Street, where the band lived and rehearsed in 1975–76, are now Grade II listed by Historic England — protected by law. The street is free to visit.
What is Eel Pie Island?
A small island in the Thames at Twickenham, reached by footbridge. Its hotel was one of London's wildest R&B clubs in the early 1960s, where the Rolling Stones, The Who and Rod Stewart all played early gigs. The hotel burned down in 1971, but the island and footbridge remain.