To Pellicci’s in Bethnal Green….

… to meet my friend Julian. He’s cracking good company and Pellicci’s is my favourite cafe in the world. Unchanged since the 1940s and still run by the same family, it’s a rare relic of the old East End. But whenever I’m in that area, I’m reminded of living in Greenwich and being late for work one morning. I pulled out quickly on to Bethnal Green Road then realised I’d pulled out into Ronnie Kray’s funeral cortege. I was about twelve cars behind the horse-drawn hearse and the whole of the East End was gridlocked. I’d be lucky to get to work by lunchtime so I stayed in the procession to savour a morbidly fascinating moment in London’s long history. It was 1995 and this record was a huge hit. And although these “gangstas” are fake, those on Bethnal Green Road that day were all too real.