"Streets of London" is a folk song by Ralph McTell, who first recorded it for his 1969 album Spiral Staircase.
The song was inspired by McTell's experiences busking and hitchhiking throughout Europe, especially in Paris and the individual stories are taken from Parisians.
[4] McTell's song contrasts the common problems of everyday people with those of the homeless, lonely, elderly, ignored and forgotten members of society.
2 in the UK Singles Chart, at one point selling 90,000 copies a day[8] and winning him the 1974 Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically and a Silver disc for record sales.
Punk band Anti-Nowhere League recorded a version of the song on their debut album in 1982.
[12] In 2017, McTell re-recorded the song with Annie Lennox (who sings the song's second verse, and some support vocals close to the end) and clients of UK national charity Crisis (who sing the chorus vocal behind McTell.)