20 Remarkable Photos Of London In 1992

By Will Noble

Will Noble 20 Remarkable Photos Of London In 1992

A small crowd looks at a blown up high rise — The Commercial Union building (now St Helen's), after being bombed by the IRA.

Patrick Keiller's 1994 essay film London was a landmark in psychogeography.

Using extensive footage shot in London throughout 1992, the filmic trilogy captured both dramatic moments that defined the era (the Baltic Exchange bombings, the construction of some of the contemporary buildings which define the city today) to workaday scenes of bustling shopping centres, and commuters waiting for trains.

Old British Rail trains pull in as commuters wait — London Bridge station.

Keiller's narration of the film (a clip of which you can see here) is a skewed version of the usual documnetary style; in a somewhat lugubrious tone, he takes on the role of an unnamed narrator, who along with a companion called Robinson, venture around the city to investigate 'the problems of London'.

A colourful indoor shopping parade — Granville Arcade, Brixton Market.

It's neither documentary nor fiction — or otherwise, it's both documentary and fiction — certainly it's a one heck a a unique film, in which at one moment, Keiller discusses how the Tories want to limit London's independence, and the next Robinson details a strange dream he had.

The old Wembley stadium rises above red roofed terrace houses — The old Wembley stadium.

The film is now a book, published by FUEL in 2020, and recreates the film in vivid stills, with the Keiller's voiceover printed beneath.

A cow grazes on an expanse of grass, with pretty Georgian terrace houses in the back ground — A cow on Petersham Meadows.

Here, we've picked 20 remarkable images from the book, which bring back to life a London of over three decades ago — a time of Concorde, IRA bombs, the Chippendales, and feeding pigeons in Trafalgar Square.

Hogarth's bust in Leicester square, with the Empire Cinema behind — Wet Wet Wet, Zandra Rhodes and Todd Carty... what a weird lineup, at Leicester Square Empire.

For the whole, offbeat effect, we recommend seeking out the book — and also watching the film (it's available in its entirely on BFI Player, although you'll need a subscription to watch.)