Bob Dylan’s walk around Camden Town

I WAS alerted this week how this summer will mark 20 years since good old Bob Dylan went for a walkabout in Camden Town in a top hat as he filmed the video for the splendid Blood In My Eyes. It serves as a reminder of Dylan’s enduring talent but also, funnily enough, as an interesting historical document of Camden Town’s not so distant past. As Bob walks around, look at what we’ve lost. Remember when you could drop in for a read at Compendium Books on the way to the Lock and buy music over the road at Rhythm Records. Bob’s walk also takes him past the Camden Stores pub in Parkway (see above). The foliage outside is gone. The beer is gone. It’s now a Massala Zone.

The video might just serve as a warning. As pubs fight to survive in NW1 – some classic names in Camden’s pub trade have disappeared since 1993 and it’s sad to see the Golden Lion under threat right now – how many more will be converted into chain restaurants over the next 20 years?