Argh! I was hoping to mention Coward’s song first! Ah well. There’s always Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty, I think (yes?).
If you’re doing folk/children’s songs, there’s also “Oranges and lemons, ring the bells of St. Clement’s…”
“London’s Burning”–The Clash
“White Man in Hammersmith Palais”–The Clash
I could go with some more Smiths and Morrissey but that might just be a little overkill. (Cemetery Gates, Sloane Square, Margaret on the Guillotine–about M. Thatcher, but still London-connected!)
If you do the Gershwin song (a favorite of mine, by the way), be sure to get the Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald version–very nice!
My personal favourite: There’s No Place Like London from Sweeney Todd.
Misfits - London Dungeon
" England Swings Like Pendulum Do" by Roger Miller ,which mentions Westminster Abbey and Big Ben
Beatles: “A Day in the Life” (mentions the House of Lords & the Royal Albert Hall). “The Ballad of John & Yoko” ends in London.
Dire Straits: “Portobello Belle” & “Industrial Disease” (mentions Speaker’s Corner)
Mary Poppins: “Feed the Birds” (mentions St. Paul’s Cathedral)
This site mentions quite a few others, including “Play With Fire” (The Rolling Stones), “Waterloo Sunset” (The Kinks), and “(I Don’t Want to Go to) Chelsea” (Elvis Costello)
Dang! A fragment of lyric is sticking in my head, though Google turns up nothing. Vintages 60s female vocalist singing something like:
Last plane to London
Leaving on Runway Number Five (Nine?)
Last plane to London
And I’m missing him, my baby
Flashback? Audio hallucination? Or something else.
And it’s nothing like Last TRAIN to London:
(done by both ELO and Air Supply)
Last train to London, just heading out
Last train to London, just leaving town
But I really want tonight to last forever
I really want to be with you
Let the music play on down the line tonight.
Ringing a bell with any Dopers?
Noonday Underground - London
Arlo Guthrie’s Please Mr. Customs Man
"Coming into London over the pole flyin’ on a big airliner’
number of people It’s a Long Way to Tipperary “…hello Leichester Square…”
London Girls-- Tori Amos b-side
The Waifs - London Still
“London Still”, by Western Australian’s own The Waifs.
<shakes fist at gex gex for sneaking in there>
And I meant “Western Australia’s own” too.
“Leave it to the Dogs” – The Stranglers
We’ve already seen the Pogues mentioned, but I think Misty Morning, Albert Bridge would be a better choice from them.
Upon further review, I agree. I love both tunes, but Misty Morning is such a goddamned beautiful song.
Okay, speaking of Disney flicks:
Bedknobs and Broomsticks Potrobello Road (“Place where the riches of ages are stowed”)
I don’t know if this would qualify but the Byrds’ Eight Miles High was written about the impressions (perhaps chemically enhanced) the group got when they flew to London (“Rain gray town/Known for its sound”).
Also, the Stones’ Street Fighting Man mentions “sleepy London town.”