The Knowhere Guide

Local Heroes in Croydon, Greater London*

Croydon, Greater London Famous Residents

Cringing Cult of Celebrity (Famous residents and ex-residents.)

• MATTHEW WRIGHT OF THE WRIGHT STUFF FAME ETC USED TO LIVE IN CROYDON. MARVELLOUS FELLOW.
• Dot Cotton, Kate Moss, Gary Spencer used to , but I think now hes a star he lives up in chelsea or somewhere....Ronnie corbett....iAN WRIGHT, WRIGHT WRIGHT
• Kate Moss. She still denies coming from Croydon or going to Riddlesdown High School. The Kray brothers, Croydon is a Breeding ground for the unwanted.
• Dane Bowers(and the lads who think they are 'ard cos they hang with him)
• D H Lawrence, has a room named after him at the old Davidson school (davidson road, now the davidson professional centre, used for various council stuff) as he used to teach there. What a clever chap.
• DH Lawrence taught at Davidson Road school whose later famous sons included such as Paul Nihill (road walking silver medallist, 1960's Commonwealth games) and the now disgraced Gary Glitter under his proper name. Ronnie Corbett actually lived on Shirley Church Rd near Spout Hill. Kate Moss and her modelling brother lived on Forestdale and certainly did go to Riddlesdown. Edward Woodward on the other hand actually lived in the neighbouring borough of Sutton and went to Elmwood School in Carshalton. The Craig-Bentley affair occured on the roof of Barlow & Parkers whose premises were in Tamworth Road next to the old school that was originally named for John Ruskin. This smae John Ruskin often lived with his granny who ran a pub in High Street near Surrey Street. The Watney family, of brewing fame, lived at the house now occupied by the Whitgift school in South Croydon. Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes tales, lived for some time in Tennison Road, South Norwood (the other side of the railway line from Davidson Road).
• erm - didn't that bloke who wrote sherlock holmes used to live in norwood? yeah, there is a blue placqard thingymawotsit on a house on a long road where the 410 turns into just before it turns into Davidson Road. Will update you with the name of the Road, but if you already have it listed, then I'm sorry about that. Rumour had it that Ian Wright lived somewhere near Ronnie Corbett - I remember seeing him in Croydon once, trying to look inconspicuous, but at the time I was a big fan and shouted out IAN! IAN WRIGHT! Wotcha mate! and blew his 'cover'. Oh well.
• Rat Scabies, punk drummer, and Sue, out of Mel & Sue, both born with Croydon Town Limits. Ronnie Corbett lived near Addington Village. Bernard Ingham, Thatchers spin doctor, lives in Purley.
• Rick Parfitt from Status Quo
• captain sensible
• don't know about resident, but david bowie and ray davies both went to croydon college at some point. that's pretty cool, i think, not that cringey. except for them of course ;)
• Derren Brown
• Jordan!!! Sums up croydon itself. Trashy, fake and full of shite
• i saw dane bowers mincing round croydon by moss brothers the other day in a particularly snazzy white cardigan
• The bloke who played Beppe in Eastenders once got beaten up outside the Black sheep bar. The Bill's been filmed there quite a bit. Alot of films as well - because apparently it looks like New York from street level (!???!).
• David "Ziggy Stardust" Bowie himself hails from Croydon. Oh yeah, and a lot of shite UK Garage and R&B acts do unfortunately! Give me David anyday!
• Kate Moss is from Croydon, and Naomi Campbell is from Clapham just around the corner. Few people of So Solid Crew are too (cringe)
• dane bowers rot in hell is from this region as well as various girls from eternal, and they were all sooooo successful!
• Ronnie Corbett lives near me. Never see him though.
• Jools Tavernier from Eastenders.
• tommy out of ground force
• DH Lawrence lived at Colworth Road, Addiscombe and the guy who played Darth Vader lived in Carlyle Road
• IAN WRIGHT THE FOOTBALLER - AND STEVE KEMBER TOO I THINK
• One particular superstar living right under your noses! You haven't noticed?? Well, he's pretty sure of himself, seems yet to convince everyone else though!
• Ronnie Corbett!! Addington village!! Dane Bowers - Monks hill.
• Dane Bloody Bowers & Ranan
• Dani Filth of Cradle of Filth is rumoured to have a house on the outskirts of crodyon somewhere, but I dunno about that.. Ronnie Corbett used to live on Bishops Walk apparently, though I dont think he does any more. Dot Cotton of Eastenders lives in South Croydon somewhere aswell apparently
• Edward Woodward is from the 'Don. At least when the odds were against him and he needed help, he fucked off out of the borough to Cornwall, via New York!
• boring....kate moss, eternal, ian wright lives here, as does angus deayton, and ronnie corbett......
• Adam Faith eats in that cafe in South Croydon opposite the Firkin (RIP).
• Kirsty McColl.
• The famous case of Derek Bentley (the guy that was executed despite not actually killing the victim) happened on a warehouse on Tamworth Road, just down from Forbidden Planet.
• David Lean, Ronnie Corbett
• Matthew Fisher of Procol Harum and "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" fame lives in South Croydon. D.H. Lawrence once lived in a house in Croydon and even applied his DIY skills to the place.
• Darth Vader lives in Croydon
• Good old Ronnie Corbet!! Lives up in Shirley Park! Very nice man!! Good golfer too!!
• Maralin Manson
• I meant Louise Nurding, ex-Eternal singer and wife of Jamie Redknapp.
• Kate Moss and Louise Burding were born and raised in Croydon. See, were not all ugly!
• Sue from the Duo Mel and Sue on TV lives in Croydon, She went to Cromhurst School. Lives near Selsdon
• Jay Aston ex-member of Bucks Fizz used to live in Grovelands Road, Purley Des O'Connor used to live in Kenley
• Dame Peggy Ashcroft came from Croydon (hence the Ashcroft Theatre, part of the Fairfield Halls): she lived in George Street as a kid. Roy Hudd comes from Croydon, making us as cutting edge in comedy as in everything else. Talking of comedy, our local team, Crystal Palace, doesn't just attract joke chairmen; the following non-Croydoner comedians all support Palace - Sean Hughes, Eddie Izzard, Jo Brand, Neil Morrisey, and Kevin Day (well, Kevin's from Croydon, I think). Palace's best ever player, Ian Wright, still lives in the borough, and there are rumours that Jonathon Pearce, the, ah, 'enthusiastic' Channel 5 and Capital Radio footie commentator, still lives in South Croydon.
• Martin Clunes (of Men Behaving Badly fame) was born in Croydon.
• I don't know if you can call this a "Best thing" or a "Worst Thing" about Croydon, but one resident is a "Mr Francis Rossi", singer and lead guitarist to the... ahem... veteran rock band... Status Quo. He lives in the bottleneck south of Croydon, known as Purley (where I live).
• Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs from Saint Etienne
• Eternal
• Loop
• Ronnie Corbett. Yes, he lives in my town as well as various other celebs including Dot Cotton from East Enders and Kate Moss (who went to school in Riddlesdown, part of Croydon).

Buskers, Street Entertainers

• the men in blankets outside dorothy perkins deserve a mention- will a CD be coming out in the near future?!?
• There's a good bloke with a 12 string swho hangs around the underpass out of the whitgift. But he only plays stereophonics songs which I hate.
• funny rastafarian who always tries to sell you reggae tapes outside mcdonalds
• The guy who sells the Big Issue outside Alders is really nice, go talk to him and buy the Big Issue! Hes a decent guy. There is usually someone playing a guitar badly in the subway outside the Nestle building, the reggae guy outside McDonalds, various entertainers in North End
• Those lovely ladies who present you with some home-made lucky heather which'll bring you loads of good luck, in exchange for just a few quid. There's also a very short (midget) black guy that does acrobatics. Everyone else has been mentioned, apart from the young man who plays the guitar and sings through a microphone outside Virgin Records. He's definately got a good voice, but please mate, just sing the songs and stop trying to impress us with your vibrato's and the unnecessary notes you can hit. Leave that to Mariah Carey.
• croydon town centre regga man constantly high and selling his tapes
• THE RUSTA DUDE! he plays his music and smokes weed all day outsode McDonalds. there is a big issue guy with a cool lil dog outside alders who is ALWAYS there and talks 2 everyone, go say hi. there is also the lil coloured dancing man who does nifty tricks and stuff outside virgin. (you cant miss him, he is like 4 foot tall and so so cool)
• The dude that sells the Big Issue outside Alders Croydon. Top bloke and his little Staff Dog.
• OH MY GOD....this blind geezer who can NOT sing and plays bloody awful random chords on an old bontempi organ....i've considered paying him to move up north...somewhere far.....Inverness perhaps...
• That guy with the guitar in the subway is Hippy Steve of Firkin and Ship fame.
• to many, theres even prostitutes @ east croydon station now
• Everywhere. Hate the summer ones tho. Only give money to the ones in the subway in winter-you know they're hard up. Them ones in the street have mum & dad pay for their equipment!
• Croydon is full of street entertainers if you go along the main road on the weekend - most of them very professional using stereos, microphones, etc. Occasionally there are religious preachers as well. If they start to walk towards you, turn away.
• the bloke who plays reggae tapes in north end and the other bloke with a guitar in the subway.
• The very well dressed opera singing lady outside Allders always makes me chuckle!! Why oh why is she not in the Royal Opera House, rather than Croydon Town Centre?!!?
• the rasta who freely smokes pot as he plays his loud reggae
• The terrible woman in North End who blurts out opera and scares old ladies.
• A very Talented Oriental Guy who plays outside Virgin Records, very soothing!!
• Blind bloke who tries very hard, but sometimes has to sing the tune, bloke selling reggae tapes who plays his music WELL loud outside Thomas Cook's, Saxaphone player who plays in all weathers and very loud opera singer who looks well out of place in the town centre.
• Just stand around in the pedestrianised part of North End, outside Allders, to hear musicians ranging from an old geezer and his amplified accordion, to South American pan pipe players!

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Last updated: 2007-12-14