In terms of fogeyishness the genuine article here is Sir John Betjeman, the betweeded poet laureate who, in the words of Auden was so at home with the provincial gaslit towns, the seaside lodgings, the bicycle, the harmonium. On LondonвЂ™s Burning from their self titled debut The Clash give us a hefty chunk of urban dissaffectation from the western suburbs of London. ItвЂ™s easy to imagine Dury as a carachter from Dickens or the ragamuffin cabman providing Sherlock Holmes with some tipoff. Ian Dury represents a proletarian flavour of risque entertainmnet that dates back to the music hall era. When frontman Suggs appeared on Desert Island Discs in 2002 there was also something quintessentially English about a number of his selections: The Kinks, Sir John Betjeman, Ian Dury and The Clash.Дespite the Englishness of her name Julie London was, of course, American- Suggs chose Cry Me A River (younger readers may know it from V for Vendetta) and you canвЂ™t argue with that as a selection of a timeless classic. However, as their enduring popularity testifies, Madness had a place in the hearts of millions of working class Britons. The вЂSka revivalвЂ™ also missed out on a sartorial coup, with faux market stall pork pie hats and sta pressed trousers that were more like pantomime costumes replacing the authentic fashions of the late sixties. Maybe they did appeal to kids who idolised Tucker off Grange Hill but they turned out a succession of catchy and humorous hits. Madness were undoubtedly one of the major successes of the eighties. But then again so are Michael Caine, Stanley Holloway, Johnny Vegas and John Terry. Well, weвЂ™re a class riven society and I suppose they fall into two categories:ДЄpparent toffs like Basil Rathbone, Terry- Thomas, Stephen Fry and Boris Johnson are undeniably quintessentially English.

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