By David Parker
The new ‘Brighton Music Walk of Fame’ pays tribute to Sussex musicians…
The ‘Walk of Fame’ is the brainchild of Walk of Fame Media and the owners of Brighton Palace Pier.
From The Who and Abba to name but two of the great names, the Walk allows tourists and visitors to interact with specially created music plaques along the Pier using Shazam’s visual recognition technology.
More current artists include Rag & Bone Man, James Bay, and Rizzle Kicks, who went to school in the city.
By scanning Shazam Codes on the plaques, passers-by can activate a digital Walk of Fame experience on their smartphones and access unique content and music from those artists inducted.
Brighton Palace Pier is one of Britain’s famous historic coastal landmarks receiving in excess of five million visitors each year and voted the most visited free attraction in the country outside London, each year. Brighton Palace Pier was the first digitally interactive pier in the UK.
They include The Who, Norman Cook, Jeff Beck, Sir Rod Stewart, David Gilmour, Leo Sayer, Jimmy Page, Tom Odell, Steve Ellis, and The Lambrettas.
The Steve Ellis plaque
One of the artists who has his own plaque is Love Affair’s lead singer Steve Ellis. He told us he was “surprised and thrilled to be inducted”.
David Courtney, chief executive of Walk of Fame Ltd, said: “It will be a great addition to the city’s culture, allowing the stars of yesterday and today to be paid tribute to in a very public and memorable way”.
“We have such a diverse musical history in Brighton that it cannot be forgotten. Instead of being in the ground this time, the individual plaques with the names of artists will be fixed to lamp posts that line the boardwalk on the pier”.
“This will be another spectacle for visitors and residents alike to enjoy when they are enjoying a day out at the pier. It will continue to grow as the years go on to cover a historic selection of talented musicians that have added to our culture and entertained us all.”
“There will be 52 names inducted this year for the display on the pier, six of which will be nominated by members of the public”.