# Think of a British city that isn't London **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 11, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298 "2015-10-11T16:46:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/81 "2015-10-13T09:01:47Z")
As a Mancunian I’m feeling the love right now ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/82 "2015-10-13T10:12:48Z")
Reading. It’s where the fella was from. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/83 "2015-10-13T11:44:10Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#): > > As a Mancunian I’m feeling the love right now Well, it makes a difference from the rain, right? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/84 "2015-10-13T14:21:02Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Your ceremonial head for the year gets to be called “Lord Mayor” instead of just plain old “Mayor”. Cue fancy new regalia (if you can get away with it). [nitpick] All places in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that have a lord mayor are cities, but not all cities have a mayor who is a lord mayor. The right to have one is granted separately. It tends to be given only to the larger cities. Same with the title of lord provost in Scotland. [/nitpick] ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/85 "2015-10-13T14:31:42Z")
Dover. I think of it whenever we go out for fish 'n chips, which happened to be just this weekend. I loved the cliffs, Roman architecture, history, especially during the war. ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/86 "2015-10-13T15:00:20Z")
Manchester, Liverpool, then Dover. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/87 "2015-10-13T15:08:32Z")
Birmingham was my first thought, and I have no idea why. I don’t know of anyone or anything having come from there, and I can’t even say for sure which nation of the UK it’s in. Plenty of other places, I can think of those things (the Beatles were from Liverpool, Edinburgh is the principle city of Scotland, and so forth), but they didn’t come to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/88 "2015-10-13T15:22:19Z")
If we’re counting towns as cities, then Yeovil, since I was born there. If we’re not, then Birmingham. > [@Dereknocue67](#): > > Skelmersdale, north of Liverpool. > [@nicky](#): > > Cities, not obscure hamlets outside villages. > [@Dereknocue67](#): > > I believe you insulted the 38,000+ people residing there. I’ve been there and it is clearly a city. It’s a [town](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skelmersdale). ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/89 "2015-10-13T16:54:48Z")
Edinburgh. ---
**Author:** ![journeyman\_southpaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5e9695/32.png) [@journeyman\_southpaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/journeyman_southpaw)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/90 "2015-10-13T17:32:44Z")
Birmingham because Black Sabbath are from there, which means I’ve read a fair bit about what Birmingham was like in the '60s. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/91 "2015-10-13T17:49:43Z")
Liverpool, cuz of the Beatles. ---
**Author:** ![AHarris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bcef8e/32.png) [@AHarris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHarris)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/92 "2015-10-13T18:13:30Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > And no-one has mentioned Edinburgh or Glasgow? Those were the first ones that came to mind for me. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/93 "2015-10-13T18:38:35Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I thought of Manchester and Birmingham simultaneously, but the only reason I thought of the latter was because I lived in nearby Wolverhampton for a few months about twenty years ago. Before I moved there, I never even knew of its existence, despite it being the second largest UK city (and despite being a Smiths fan–I guess I never paid much attention to the lyrics “Panic on the streets of London/panic on the streets of Birmingham.”) Both cities have produced a lot of popular musical acts. Birmingham was home to Black Sabbath, the Moody Blues, ELO/the Move, Judas Priest… Manchester gave us the Hollies, Oasis, Davy Jones, Herman’s Hermits, Simply Red, Freddie and the Dreamers… ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/94 "2015-10-13T19:06:03Z")
The Moody Blues, Duran Duran and ELO were from Birmingham, too. And half of Zeppelin (Bonham and Plant) were Brummies. ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/95 "2015-10-13T19:10:41Z")
The first British city I think of is Norwich, for the same reason that the first Australian city I think of is Bacchus Marsh. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/96 "2015-10-13T19:21:57Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > The Moody Blues, Duran Duran and ELO were from Birmingham, too. And half of Zeppelin (Bonham and Plant) were Brummies. Plant is a West Brom fan for what its worth…not sure what this means as far as his hometown but apart from contemptible bandwagoners like Liverpool and Man U fans the English usually stay loyal to their childhood clubs. ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/97 "2015-10-13T19:29:03Z")
Winchester, one of my favourite cities in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/98 "2015-10-13T20:24:11Z")
Manchester. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/99 "2015-10-13T21:08:58Z")
Manchester. I’m not sure why, as it has no particular connotation for me. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/100 "2015-10-13T21:49:51Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Plant is a West Brom fan for what its worth…not sure what this means as far as his hometown but apart from contemptible bandwagoners like Liverpool and Man U fans the English usually stay loyal to their childhood clubs. Well, West Brom counts as part of Birmingham to me. I mean, technically it’s the West Midlands but it’s all Brum really. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298.md?page=6)