Not so in Camden. This year’s mayor Jonathan Simpson is youthful in comparison, spends his spare time on gigs, has 25,000 tracks on his iPod and has just been Camden Barfly’s star DJ.
Speaking to me before the gig, Jonathan said: “I’m scratching my head thinking what on earth I’m going to play. I’m just this music nerd with lots of records but I’ve never played them publicly before. We’ll see if it’s good fun or completely car crash. Amy and my music tastes are fairly similar, she has more French pop records than me but we’re both big Morrissey fans. This will be a first, it may be a last we’ll see.”
Their fee will go to The Roundhouse Trust, the mayor’s chosen charity of the year.
“The Roundhouse is a not for profit venue. It has great gigs and events and money raised goes back into the studio enabling young people to get involved in music and performing arts. It has a really cheap studio space, concerts are recorded live by young people so can be watched around the world, they have a radio station, cheap instruments to hire – it’s a fantastic space for creativity. If there’s one space in Camden to produce the next Amy Winehouse, Madness, future artist, it will definitely be the Roundhouse.”
He chose music as his theme, he said, because: “Other mayors in the past have chosen themes which have not necessarily related to the true spirit of Camden. If you mention Camden round the world, people will probably say first the market and then the music heritage. So many great bands have been born in Camden and while it’s fun to promote, it’s also really important because it creates so many jobs and gives millions of pounds to our local economy.”
He’s not shy to recognise the competition “Everybody who goes out in Camden has a good time, while people who speak to me about going out in Shoreditch say they don’t necessarily, and feel like they were desperately pretending to have a good time, be fashionable, and if anybody broke out into a smile they would be frowned upon.”
While he may be drowning in music, he hasn’t yet got to the point of alphabetising his records (downloads excepted).
He said: “I have too much, it’s a constant bugbear, I occasionally wish I didn’t have so much but when I feel my inner geek coming out, the records come out.”
Where others at school headed for the football pitch, Jonathan, aged 10 – who played accordion at school – was busy organising relatives to drive him to see The Smiths.
He said: “When I have free time I go to concerts and that’s what attracted me to Camden. The best gig was at the height of Suede’s popularity, they were on fire and had a fantastic gig at the Roundhouse. There was this surreal celebrity moment when Neil Tennant from the Pet Shop Boys came out and sang Rent with the band. It was brilliant – the idea of the Pet Shop Boys being a rock band. Lots of great gig memories – also seeing smaller bands at venues like The Dublin Castle and them going on to do really well. You can never judge a band until you’ve seen them live, being able to see something and test your boundaries.”
Bands he champions include Beirut, Sleigh Bells, Best Coast, The Irrepressibles and Jonsi.
He added: “I find most music completely uplifting. I’m listening to loads of Tom Waits which I suppose most people would find like being tortured in Guantanamo Bay. If I need cheering up I tend to grab a Tom Waits or Leonard Cohen album. When I’m getting ready to go out Brigitte Bardot is guaranteed to cheer you up.”
Jonathan's also roped in friend Camille O’Sullivan to do a concert at the Shaw Theatre in March and has convinced Jarvis Cocker to DJ at a charity party at the BT Tower, “it’s not often you can say I’m the mayor of Camden would you like to come play a party at the top of the BT Tower.”
He added: “I’d love to take readers to the pub and talk music for the whole evening and have them leave thinking what a nerd I am.”
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