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What does it mean?

What does it mean?

'Brand Camden' has meant many things to many people over many years. As 2025 dawns, we explore where the competing local narratives might lead next

Tom Kihl
January 03, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 13 minutes

Who ‘owns’ Brand Camden anyway?

Happy New 2025, Camdenists 🎉, and welcome to the year that our dear Borough turns 60.

The actual ‘birthday’ is April 1st (no joke) when, back in 1965, the former ancient parish of St Pancras was merged with the neighbouring metropolitan boroughs of Holborn and Hampstead to create the entity and identity we know today.

London’s hodgepodge of 32 devolved local councils (all created on that very same day) is an unusual way to run a big global city, but this rare autonomy does lend itself to a strong sense of localised pride and participation.

Ultimately though, however passionately we may identify with living in or being from Camden, our boroughs - like the nation state or the post code gang - are essentially concepts that lie only in the human imagination. By all means own them, love them, and bask in the traits such belonging may lend your own view of yourself - just resist the urge to go to war over a bunch of stories.

Knowing that people often still do exactly that, legally if not physically, I’ve always been intrigued by the issue of ownership of the Camden ‘brand’. It’s something the Council absolutely can and do claim to be theirs, slapping it before or after a dizzying number of initiatives; We Make Camden, Camden Together, Love Camden, Camden Alive… Yet they hardly can be said to hold (or defend) an exclusive copyright.

For many casual visitors, the global expression of this brand is actually the Market, the ‘Lock’ bridge sign, the live music destination, tube station, or the ubiquitous beer. Piggybacking on the huge worldwide recognition of the place name is a much utilised trick. The Brewery (which started in Hampstead, expanded to Kentish Town, and is now mostly brewing in Enfield) is a case in point, having been acquired and thoroughly leveraged by drinks giant AB InBev off the back of judicious application of the white lie that its origins had something to do with actual Camden Town.

From watch companies to coffee roasteries, this game continues - and good luck to ‘um all! Having simply stuck an ‘ist’ on the end of the word in naming this publication, I can hardly sniff at the appropriation.

Then there are those things that quintessentially scream ‘Camden!’, without even needing to co-opt the damn word at all; Dr Martens…the Roundhouse…Soul II Soul… Not many places anywhere in the world can conjure up quite such a variety of location-specific mythologies, something with which we are all blessed and cursed in equal creative-epicentre-cum-tourist-magnetising measure.

And while my pet hate is the cultureless social media accounts that stick up endless Amy Winehouse statue/food porn content for clicks and claim to be in any way locally relevant or authentic, (grrrr 🤬) it remains a bit of a superpower that our ‘hood continues to offer a royalty-free, open source globally recognised brand for everyone to at least attempt to capitalise upon.

Despite all this, the passage of time still alters the names and artifacts associated with a place. Just a couple of generations ago, ask anyone who or what was synonymous with ‘Camden’ and they’d likely include gin, pianos, horses and legions of fighting railway navvies.

The formation of today’s larger, unified London Borough of Camden 60 years ago meant that you’d be geographically quite correct to associate it with storied cultural icons from its extremities - from Kenwood House to the British Museum - yet The Brand currently remains steadfastly focused on the post-Withnail bohemian legacy of shouty, punky old Camden Town itself.

Denizens of Kilburn, Covent Garden or Dartmouth Park may find frustration, or perhaps relief, to often not to be appreciated as being part of the Camden juggernaut at all, despite the logo on their street signs.

I hope, a couple of generations from now, that the ownership and iconography around a name originally bestowed upon the area after Charles Pratt, the first Earl of Camden, has continued to morph and change. It would be dull, (but not altogether unexpected with the confluence of tech and nostalgia), if people were still just banging on about The Clash, Britpop and how the Market was better when it was battered antiques, sandals and incense.

Promises such as the Highline point towards what might eventually come to represent the area and its moniker next, but for 2025, especially with postponed plans for more stones and events around the Music Walk of Fame, expect brand Camden to be a messy mix of co-opted history, culture and emotion.

You can, as ever, own as much or as little of all that as you like.

📊 This week’s one-click poll

How does the Camden 'brand' make you feel?

FOOD & DRINK

A first taste of Voyage

The Megaro Hotel in King’s Cross

One of the first big local restaurant openings of 2025 is going to be Voyage with Adam Simmonds, which begins service later this month at the Megaro Hotel, directly opposite King’s Cross Station.

As a taster of what’s to come from the Michelin-starred chef in his new home, he leads a five-course fundraising dinner in aid of The Burnt Chef Project, the charity that focuses on improving mental health in the hospitality sector.

Alongside Adam will be four equally renowned culinary talents cooking a course each, with full details of the dishes and where to get tickets here.

It’s all happening this Wed 8th Jan, offering an exclusive preview of the restaurant and its kitchen before it officially opens, so swerve the inevitably waitlist and get down there now.

🥔 Following the extremely short-lived tenure of quality beef joint Grassfed, their vacated prime Hawley Wharf archway has now been reborn as Gnocchi Bar. Specialising in crunchy deep fried versions of the chewy potato dumplings, they come slathered with all manner of suitably impressive toppings, from pesto and a whole burrata, to Nutella and fresh berries for dessert.

🍳 Up on the station mezzanine, you might not have discovered St Pancras Brasserie unless waiting for a Eurostar, but it’s actually a lowkey-but-luxe all-day hangout. New for 2025 is the Kitchen Bar, which will offer a chef’s table style experience right next to action, and new menu items, all due to pull in St Pancras next month.

🍧 Regardless of the snowy forecast, hot new ice cream and wine bar The Dreamery looks like an essential destination for venturing down the canal to De Beauvoir Town right now. It’s from the equally popular restaurant Goodbye Horses, and coffee shop Day Trip, all located together. The ice cream shop, with its stunning colourful lit-up ceiling and simple menu, is the proverbial cherry on top of an already strong offering.

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VIDEO OF THE WEEK

🌞 Forget the icy weather with a look back at Jeffreys Street Bicentennial

What better way to transport yourself from the cold, dark days of the start of the year than with a video shot at the Bicentenary Street Party that took place on July 2nd 2016 in Camden Town’s lovely Jeffreys Street?

Ok, there’s the odd rain shower, but as a reminder of how lucky we are to have so many free local outdoor parties every summer, put on by the quirky community that still remains in this part of the city against so many odds, it’s a suitably inspiring winter watch…

MUSIC

🎺 Don’t let January’s spirit of abstinence get in the way of a decent affordable gig (or two)

KOKO, still going full throttle for January

🎺 With two shows by perennial soul fave Jocelyn Brown already sold out over the coming few days, Parkways Jazz Cafe is not slowing down one bit as it barrels into 2025 all musical guns blazing. Check out their famous celebration of Cuban sounds, Havana Música, which is back this Thurs 9th Jan, where the Sambroso All Stars play live percussion-rich salsa, rumba and Latin jazz alongside tunes from DJ Javier.

🪩 KOKO don’t slow down either, with their now infamous affordable January kick-off bash, the 2025 Launch Party - House & Disco Part 1 offering unannounced but guaranteed heavyweight house DJs with tickets from just a tenner. The second night (Sat 11th) is already sold out, so don’t sleep on this, as previous guests have included Roger Sanchez, Skream and Dusky.

🎤 And of course, the Dublin Castle continues to host bands regardless of the time of year, with a night of punk rock as indefatigable local promoters CMDN Live Presents Healthy Junkies, Televised Mind, The Kanz, and Loud George! on Thurs 9th.

STAGE

🎭 Enter The Trump Show season 2 era live on stage

Survival Entitlement Hedonism at Etcetera Theatre

🤠 We like the sound of kicking off the unsettling prospects of 2025 with Survival, Entitlement and Hedonism, a work in progress by Clara Seitz based on real life accounts from US citizens of life since the Trump re-election result in November, until now. On the eve of a new regime, Chris must continue as normal - whatever that means. It’s on tonight, Fri 3rd Jan at the Etcetera Theatre.

🎙️ Big comedy hitters Paul McCaffrey, Slim and Sara Barron are all blowing off the New Year cobwebs pronto at the 99 Club Comedy at UCL’s Saw Swee Hock Centre, off Kingsway this Sat 4th Jan.

😂 Enjoy a free night out at Euston’s Shaw Theatre this Wed 8th Jan where you can join Frank Skinner and a panel of other comics as they try and work out what something is based only on its reviews. One Person Found This Helpful is being recorded for Radio 4, with another night coming up in February, too.

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