Where’s the best place to meet the world’s greatest music icons? We may be slightly biased, but London is one of the world’s best cities for music fans. From legendary rock and jazz venues like Brixton Academy and Ronnie Scott’s to being the birthplace of Amy Winehouse, David Bowie, Stormzy, The Rolling Stones, The Clash, Adele, and Florence and the Machine to name just a few. A tour around neighbourhoods like Shepherd’s Bush, Camden, Soho and Brixton and the famous zebra crossing at St John’s Wood (home of Abbey Road recording studio) offers the chance to connect with music history.
But if you want to take a deep dive into rock and roll stories, there’s plenty of knowledgeable people to show you the sights. Here’s our guide to the best rock and roll and British music tours in London.
Brit Music Tours
Veteran tour company Brit Music Tours have walking (and some more expensive Black Cab) tours covering artist specific tours like The David Bowie London tour, the Amy Winehouse tour in Camden and the Beatles London Walk in Soho and Apple Studios, and area tours such as The Rock and Roll Walking Tour of Soho.
They also do a Jazz Tour of London which is designed for groups of up to 10 (£185.00) which visits legendary jazz venues including Ronnie Scott’s and the Blue Note club.
Cost: from £17.00 per personDuration 2-3 hours
Every record tells a story (free, self-guided tour)
If you fancy taking a tour at your own speed, music blog Every record tells a story has put together a decent, two hour self-guided rock and roll tour of central London.
All of the locations are close together, in and around Soho, and take in small venues, sights of the former haunts of musicians like Marc Bolan and Bowie, and a stroll down the famous Tin Pan Alley (Denmark Street).
Cost: free!Duration self guided at your own pace
Soho punk tour
Soho is important to British music and its various genres, including punk. West London probably has a bigger claim to the London punk scene, it was the birthplace of The Clash and many punks bought their gear in The King’s Road Chelsea. But, as you you’ll dicover on the Soho punk tour the underground clubs of late 70s Soho were an important part of that time too. Tour guide Aidean MacManus has lots of stories to tell about the venues, clubs, market stalls and pubs of that scene.
Cost: from £20.00Duration 2.5 hours
London Rock Tours (various locations)
Laying claim to being the OG rock tour in London, The London Rock Tour has been going since 1986. So it’s fair to say they know a thing or two about London’s rock history
They run several walking and bus tours around London, including the aptly named ‘Beatles Ticket to Ride’ bus tour, which runs in the evenings and includes a photo opportunity at the Abbey Road zebra crossing.
You can also take walking tours of Soho, or the less hectic (but equally interesting) Fitzrovia, explore the Caribbean music of Notting Hill and take tours that celebrate artists including Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie and Amy Winehouse.
London Rock Tours offer a mix of scheduled and private tours, so keep an eye on the website for what’s coming up. The team are a knowledgeable bunch of music heads, some of whom are musos themselves, all ready to regale you with tales of rock history, and possibly a little mythology thrown in for good measure.
Cost: from £20.00Duration 2-3 hours
Rock and roll pub walk
If you want to walk, and drink in the haunts of rock legends, then let seasoned tour guides London Walks take you to the pub. Or several.
It’s an evening walk, with some impromptu live music along the way, possibly from your tour guide/local troubadour.
You’ll meet at Exit 1 of Tottenham Court Road station, appropriately opposite The Flying Horse Pub. Then you’ll make your way around the busy streets of the West End, stopping off at a few musically-significant pubs along the way for an evening of stories, songs and possibly a refreshing beverage or two.
Cost: £20.00Duration 2 hours
Other self-guided music themed tours
Pandemic Tours, Soho music tour
While we’re not quite sure about the name, Pandemic Tours does offer a decent self-paced tour of the musical haunts of Soho taking in the sights of former venues such as the 12 Bar Club and The Astoria (R.I.P), as well as hidden gems and plenty stories. You can download the tour via the app on the App Store/Google Play for £9.99.
Cost: £9.99Duration self guided in your own time
Brixton self-guided music tour
Take a short, but immersive musical stroll through Brixton. Narrated by a local historian, the Brixton Self Guided Music Tour can be self paced either offline or online and takes you on a tour of the area’s Black history and diverse music scene. Stops include music e Dogstar, the David Bowie memorial, Windrush Square, Brixton Market and Phonox.
Cost: free!Duration self guided at your own pace
Want to hear more live music but don’t want to get stung by dynamic pricing? Check out guides to some of London’s smaller venues.
