It’s no secret that Camden has been a beacon for musical talents who will inspire generations – but sometimes it’s easy forget the many big names it forged.
The new Camden documentary, a four-part series on Disney+, perfectly captures the chaotic life and soul of the area and the big artists who found their footing at its many venues.
“It’s got a heartbeat, it’s got a vibe, it’s got an energy to it,” Noel Gallagher says. Chris Martin in contrast calls it a “s**thole” – but in a good way.
While it’s interesting to hear the stories of many musicians, the beauty of director Asif Kapadia’s series is how it manages to cram so many people into single episodes.
Dua Lipa, who is the executive producer of the series, leads the first episode, as she takes a cab to Camden Town and recalls how much the area played a role in her early days as a singer on YouTube.
Yet it’s not all about her – as the episode juxtaposes the rise of this more recent celebrity to Camden’s history with the rise of Madness, who made The Dublin Castle pub a household name after their live performances there in the 1970s.
The narrative is constantly shifting from how crowds grew at The Dublin Castle, to the tales of how Coldplay came to be, or how Amy Winehouse rapidly became a Camden icon.
And just when you’d think Camden was done with big names in its opening episode, Islington’s Little Simz – who represents a whole different genre – comes in to explain her path to becoming a rapper in Camden.
Watching just one episode feels like a standard day visiting Camden, you get immersed in its bustle and energy.
The editing is quite fast paced to keep your attention up, and you can’t help but want to hit the town after hearing the loud music and seeing all these celebrities gleefully talk about their crazy nights and all the callbacks to their time at The Jazz Café.
While hearing about the magic of the area or its influence might not be a surprise to some, there are very interesting stand-out stories such as how The Roots struggled to make themselves known in Philadelphia, and how Questlove lived for five years above a fish and chips shop, during which he found inspiration which led to their success.
It did at times feel like the episodes went on a bit too long, but never to the point that it overstayed is welcome. I couldn’t help but smile while I watched people ’s excitement as they talked about what makes Camden so important.
Whether you’re someone who grew up in the borough, or you have a general interest in the music scene, there’s so much to take in when watching the docu-series.
The Ham&High was only shown episodes one and three of the four-part series.
Camden can be streamed on Disney+ from May 29.
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