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Friday Coffee Break: English Accents? We Got 'Em

Posted at 8:43 AM on April 29, 2011 by Steve Seel (67 Comments)
Filed under: 9:30 Coffee Break

If you've watched any of the royal wedding this morning, you've already enjoyed plenty of that lovely, high-falutin' English accent. Of course, we have to do something royal wedding-related for today's 9:30 Coffee Break ... so, we thought, "How about airing a fuller range of English accents? Like, some of the more "common" ones in particular?" So that's our goal today: songs featuring performers with thick, heavy English accents, but not exactly the kind that one would hear echoing inside Westminster Abbey.

Songs played:
The Streets "Fit But You Know It"
Jamie T "If You've Got the Money"
Billy Bragg "Waiting for the Great Leap Forward"
Lady Sovereign "So Human"
Lily Allen "Not Fair"

Comments (67)

Foundations -- Kate Nash

That guy from the Streets

The guy in Stone Roses

Ian Dury

Slade

Madonna [nyuk]

Posted by lou | April 29, 2011 8:59 AM

Blur - Parklife

Posted by ErikR | April 29, 2011 8:59 AM

Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps Please!- Splodgenessabounds

Any Ozzy Osbourne, Rolling Stones

Posted by Emily | April 29, 2011 8:59 AM

Lady Sovereign - Love Me or Hate Me
Blur - Park Life

Posted by Marisa | April 29, 2011 9:00 AM

Great topic! I love those British accents.
Lily Allen, The Streets, Arctic Monkeys

Posted by Martha | April 29, 2011 9:01 AM

Florence & the Machine - Kiss With a Fist
The Fratellis - Flathead

Posted by dave | April 29, 2011 9:01 AM

The Streets - Dry Your Eyes

Posted by derek | April 29, 2011 9:01 AM

How about the Liverpullian accent? Something by the Wombats, say? I always enjoy "Let's Dance to Joy Division."

Posted by Gray | April 29, 2011 9:01 AM

Art Brut
DC Comics And Chocolate Milkshake
The Replacements

Posted by ken | April 29, 2011 9:01 AM

Streets-Fit but you know it
MIA or Lady Sovereign
and something from Mary Poppins!

Posted by ann | April 29, 2011 9:02 AM

Another vote for The Streets

Posted by dtcubeguy | April 29, 2011 9:03 AM

Art Brut either:DC Comics And Chocolate Milkshake
or The Replacements

Kaiser Chiefs - Good Days Bad Days

Posted by ken | April 29, 2011 9:03 AM

Lily Allen

Blur

The Ting Tings

Posted by Oj | April 29, 2011 9:04 AM

Patrick Fitzgerald- Safety Pin Stuck in my Heart or (better) Hello! I'm a Reject

Wreckless Eric- Whole Wide World

Molly Half Head- Vivid Whitsun

Posted by Dave Feasey | April 29, 2011 9:04 AM

Fit But You Know It - The Streets

Posted by Meghan | April 29, 2011 9:05 AM

Two came to mind right away:

Herman Hermits - I'm Henry the Eighth I Am
Billy Idol - White Wedding

Posted by Larry M. | April 29, 2011 9:05 AM

Herman's Hermits - Henry VIII

Posted by Brooks | April 29, 2011 9:06 AM

Oh Bondage Up Yours by X Ray Spex
RIP Poly Styrene. This is a song for the royal wedding!

Posted by Katherine | April 29, 2011 9:06 AM

How about anything by Stornoway? -Zorbing, perhaps?

Posted by Osha | April 29, 2011 9:07 AM

Sex & Drugs & Rock n' Roll - Ian Dury & the Blockheads

Whole Wide World - Wreckless Eric

Posted by wellst | April 29, 2011 9:07 AM

"A New England" - Billy Bragg

Posted by bob | April 29, 2011 9:08 AM

How about anything by Stornoway? -Zorbing, perhaps?

Posted by Osha | April 29, 2011 9:08 AM

Come on Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runners

Posted by cait | April 29, 2011 9:09 AM

Anything by the Streets- esp off "A Grand Don't Come For Free"

Posted by Chad | April 29, 2011 9:10 AM

Oasis - Cigarettes and Alcohol

Posted by Harry | April 29, 2011 9:10 AM

"Buffalo Stance" -- Nena Cherry
"Ch Ching" or "Fiddle wih the Volume" -- Lady Sovereign

Posted by (JL) | April 29, 2011 9:11 AM

I definitely second Herman's Hermits - "I'm Henry The 8th I Am"

Also, Sex Pistols - "Anarchy in the UK"

Posted by andy | April 29, 2011 9:12 AM

You can't go wrong with ANYTHING by Herman's Hermits or Ozzy. Although I don't think their accents are too thick, who wouldn't want to hear a little Beatles and Zep?

Posted by Mary | April 29, 2011 9:12 AM

"Cooksferry Queen" - Richard Thompson

Posted by bob | April 29, 2011 9:12 AM

Gotta go with NJ's own The Anderson Council - an American band that outs on heavy British accents.

Posted by Ira | April 29, 2011 9:13 AM

"Janie Jones" - The Clash

Posted by Amanda B | April 29, 2011 9:13 AM

Gomez - Pop Juice or Royalty
The Swell Season - Slowly Falling
Gang of Four - I Love A Man In Uniform
The Beautiful South - Tonight I Fancy Myself
or We Are Each Other
Metric - Help I'm Alive

Posted by ken | April 29, 2011 9:13 AM

Billy Bragg - A New England
The Streets - Fit But You Know It

Posted by Shelly | April 29, 2011 9:14 AM

Art Brut - "Direct Hit"

Posted by andy | April 29, 2011 9:14 AM

Adam Ant
Any of his early stuff his accent is pretty clear.

Prince Charming

Posted by Kimberly | April 29, 2011 9:14 AM

The Streets - "Let's Push Things Forward"
Sex Pistols - "God Save the Queen"
The Beatles - "All You Need is Love"
The Rolling Stones - "Let It Loose"
Beady Eye - "The Roller"
Oasis - "Live Forever"
The Spice Girls - "Wannabe"
Faithless - "Mass Destruction"

Posted by Brent B | April 29, 2011 9:15 AM

'Everything's Just Wonderful' by Lily Allen and another vote for 'Fit but You Know It' from Streets

Posted by monica | April 29, 2011 9:15 AM

how about England, Half English- Billy Bragg lays on the accent kinda thick in it (Bubble and Squeak anyone?)

Posted by mark b | April 29, 2011 9:16 AM

Anarchy in the UK - Sex Pistols

Posted by Becky | April 29, 2011 9:17 AM

"Cool For Cats" - The Squeeze

Posted by borkum riff | April 29, 2011 9:17 AM

Ian Drury-Reasons to be Cheerful

The Stranglers-Dutchess

Sham69-Borstal Breakout

The Monks-Nice Legs, Shame About the Face (very cockney)

Posted by rcvard | April 29, 2011 9:17 AM

Happy Hour - The Housemartins

Posted by ken | April 29, 2011 9:17 AM

Kate Nash
Art Brut
Everybody was in the French Revolution, Now!
Johnny Rotton/ PIL
The Jam

Posted by Lisa | April 29, 2011 9:18 AM

Adele

Posted by Alex | April 29, 2011 9:19 AM

Come Dancing-- The Kinks

Posted by Greg | April 29, 2011 9:19 AM

Great Leap Firward - Billy Bragg

Bellboy - the Who

Posted by Michelle Krajewski | April 29, 2011 9:19 AM

The Jam - Absolute Beginners

Posted by ken | April 29, 2011 9:20 AM

John Cooper Clarke - Evidently Chickentown
Ian Dury - Reasons to be Cheerful (part 3)

Posted by Art McGathey | April 29, 2011 9:20 AM

This song is soooo appropriate, both for accents and the wedding theme!

"I'm Getting Married in the Morning" from the musical "My Fair Lady"

Come on...you know you want to!

Posted by Lynne | April 29, 2011 9:22 AM

If George had not sung "Do You Want to Know a Secret"...you would have no coffee break this morning.

Sorry to ruin your Beatles Free...but he does sing "Do you promise not to tell". And that is the first line where a British accent was heard.

So there: Play It.

I enjoy your shoe.

Posted by Michael Schachter | April 29, 2011 9:22 AM

Art Brut
The Streets

Posted by Jae | April 29, 2011 9:23 AM

I have to second Billy Bragg, Kate Nash, and The Streets and Splog...Splodgor...Splongebob...you know, the Lager and Crisps song mentioned above.

The Kinks-She's Bought a Hat like Princess Marina
-Victoria
-Harry Rag
Badly Drawn Boy-Born in the UK.

Posted by Eryc | April 29, 2011 9:23 AM

anything by The Streets, but I really like "Never Went to Church".
I second Blur's "Parklife"!

Posted by Rachel A. | April 29, 2011 9:24 AM

The Streets, Dry your eyes or copperpot the rap artist

Posted by bob | April 29, 2011 9:24 AM

Alabama 3 (A3) - Have you seen Bruce Richard Reynolds? or anything clean enough for radio.

Posted by Maggie | April 29, 2011 9:27 AM

Oh yeah,
Gary Clail / Tackhead / Mark Stewart

Posted by Dave Feasey | April 29, 2011 9:27 AM

The Ting Tings - Shut Up and Let Me Go

Posted by ken | April 29, 2011 9:28 AM

come dancing - kinks
you know my name - beatles
or yellow submarine

Posted by rob | April 29, 2011 9:30 AM

Lily Allen came to mind first, but what I would really love to hear is Chris Difford of Squeeze singing "Cool for Cats."

Posted by cal | April 29, 2011 9:30 AM

Hoovers- I got You Babe

Posted by Dave Feasey | April 29, 2011 9:30 AM

"God Save the Queen" - The Sex Pistols (You get both with this one...The mention of royalty AND a cockney brogue!)

Posted by borkum riff | April 29, 2011 9:31 AM

This is why I am in LOVE with The Current!!!

I vote : Kate Nash - Foundations

Posted by Nicole Flint | April 29, 2011 9:37 AM

Damn, forgot about the Housemartins!

"Five Get Overexcited"

Posted by bob | April 29, 2011 9:46 AM

Anything by Garbage would be great! Especially "Why do you love me?" Kind of fitting for a future Kings choice if you ask me...

Posted by Melissa Timm | April 29, 2011 9:55 AM

Scottish, but it'll do.

Posted by Ian Goldsmith | April 29, 2011 9:59 AM

Cheerio and Toodle-Pip by the Toy Dolls. Actually, anything by the Toy Dolls.

Posted by Eric | April 29, 2011 10:23 AM

I'm surprised no one mentioned Arctic Monkeys, I love that guy's voice and accent.

Posted by Clarissa | April 29, 2011 11:31 AM

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