We won't mention any Brentford Nylons adverts. Not one.

Books

Perhap's Brentford's greatest indentation upon the literary scene has been Robert Rankin's 'Brentford Trilogy', now at five books and counting. These document the adventures of two middle-aged layabouts in Brentford , Pooley and O'Malley, and sundry other characters - with a fair smattering of science fiction mixed in. Start with "the Antipope' and make up your own mind. Other books include 'East of Ealing', 'The Brentford Triangle', 'The Sprouts of Wrath' and 'The Brentford Chainstore Massacre'. The titles will give you some idea of what to expect.

Falstaff visits Brentford in the Shakespearean play, and 'The Rising of the Moon' by Gladys Mitchell is a romantic novel set in Brentford.

Film & TV

Brentford's location in West London, within easy reach of the BBC, Sky and Teddington Studios makes it handy for outside scenes. Some that I know about include:

Dixon of Dock Green - apparently the police station exterior shown in the opening titles was the old Brentford Police Station on the High St, long since gone.

Roger Roger - I cycled home one night to find the tower blocks lit strange colours, for the benefit of a scene from this BBC taxi sitcom.

Hackers - the old Swimming Baths (on Clifton Road) were used for shooting this film.

The Blind Date - I saw some filming in St Lawrence's churchyard for this ITV drama, which was broadcast earlier this year. I didn't see it go out, but I gather the heroine of the piece lived in a 'medieval tower' - at a guess they used St Lawrence's tower, which is reputed to be 14th Century, for this.

DSS early morning filming in the Albany Arms tuned out to be some sort of advert against dole fraud...

Mr Blobby - the promo video for the 'Mr Blobby' song that was Christmas No. 1 a few years back was made in the Kew Steam Museum.

Know any more?

Music

Demon Records - home of many a fine act - are based here, in an industrial unit just off the A4.

Various muscians also live in Brentford - but it seems churlish to name & shame. I know of no 'name' bands hailing from here, but I hope someone will enlighten me. Brentford's not mentioned in song that often, either, although 'Gunnersbury Park' by the 'Hit Parade' (Sarah recording artists, now thought to be defunct) comes close.

I've also read about a reggae band/album, possibly based in Jamaica, called Brentford All-Stars. Anyone know anything of this? Holst?

Other

Turner hung out in Brentford as a student teacher, lodging at the White Horse.