Gateway To 1984 Uncovered In Lewisham

Will Noble
By Will Noble Last edited 91 months ago
Gateway To 1984 Uncovered In Lewisham

An oft-used word by one of our favourite London writers, Peter Ackroyd is 'palimpsest'. Our city is layer upon layer of history — some of them from a past that's relatively recent.

Londonist reader Benjaman Butler has stumbled on a layer of 1984, in the form of a wall, recently re-exposed down a road close to Lewisham Shopping Centre.

Some of the poster bills have remained remarkably intact, and some of can be dated quite specifically; Duran Duran released their 11th single The Reflex on 16 April 1984.

We also know that on 25 April 1984, the boxer Errol Christie took on and defeated Stacy McSwain, at Alexandra Palace (see the poster on the bottom right).

There are also bills for Bow Wow Wow's new album, and this Alarm gig at The Lyceum on 16 and 17 May 1984, with support from The Go-Betweens and New Model Army.  

Essentially, this is what the spring listings looked like back in 1984. What we really like though is that the posters are plastered over a ghost sign from another era altogether.

Great palimpsest-ing, London.

All photos © Benjamin Butler.

Last Updated 04 August 2016