The music man who promotes London’s vitality
Multitasking Andy McRobbie – teacher, musician, promoter and tour guide – is a big fan of this extraordinary city. “I find something new to excite me every day,” he says, “which is what makes London so special.”
Since giving up his job in the City, McRobbie’s contribution to London has been varied. He has discovered plenty of hidden gems as a tour guide, for example. “I love taking them around the Square Mile,” he says. “It’s a great mix of the old and the new.”
McRobbie’s favourite area of London is around the Docklands, “where there is a grim history and yet, if you search for long enough, there are so many hidden gems to be found”.
His main passion is for his music and how it brings people together. McRobbie’s open mic nights at his East London recording studios have also become a breeding ground for talent. They provide “an opportunity for the diverse make-up of people in the capital to come together and make music”.
The Tower Hamlets resident is originally from Hanwell, west London, where he started the Hanwell Hootie Marshall Amps music festival. It’s held every year to commemorate the town in which Jim Marshall sold his first amp to The Who’s Pete Townshend.
And as if this workload wasn’t already enough, McRobbie, who has a Masters degree in chemistry, also runs a small tuition company teaching science in academies and colleges.
“Even in my science lessons I draw upon London,” he says. “I use the Tube to demonstrate quantum theories and electronic configurations. On the Underground, if one person sits next to another on an empty carriage then that person will move in an opposite direction – just like in basic physics.”
For more information on Andy, visit: 1000londoners.com/londoners/andy
Next week we meet Alternative Tours guide Gary Means
Do you know an inspirational Londoner with a story to tell? Nominate them in the comments box below or tweet their story to #madeoflondon and they could be featured in the Evening Standard.
