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Amazing what a lick of paint can do.

The Brunswick Estate was built in the early 70s and was once regarded as one of the worst council estates in London. Hundreds of flats encased in an ugly concrete brutalist structure surrounding a horrible shopping precinct where most of the shops were boarded up. Then a few years ago, someone had the (literally) bright idea of painting the drab grey concrete a rather fetching shade of cream. The transformation was breathtaking. The architecture, always so unappealing, suddenly looked quite beautiful. Chic shops and restaurant chains moved into the precinct and the Brunswick, with its enviable location just by Russell Square tube, is now a very desirable place to live. I pedalled past today, admiring its cream tiered apartments gleaming in the sun. And thought the word Brunswick would be a great excuse to play a disco gem you haven’t heard for years.

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