The last time Londonist caught up with Lupe Fiasco, in 2006, the Chicago rapper was sporting the quotidian hip hop uniform of suede Tims and baggy jeans. Last night was a different look altogether. Clearly setting out to match his surroundings, Lupe bounded onstage kitted in a tuxedo and fresh white shirt, his band similarly well attired. As he remarked later in the evening, Esquire have just anointed him one of their best-dressed men......

The tense stalemate following last month's election in Zimbabwe spilled over into the streets of London yesterday. Frustrated by the insistence of Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party to hold a recount, activists from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) - which claims their candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, won the March 29th presidential election - stormed the Zimbabwean embassy on the Strand. Member's of the MDC-UK women's wing, led by Judith Ngwenya, snuck in after deviously (in......

Prior to Mohamad al-Fayed's sensational appearance at the Royal Courts of Justice this week, with his sober critiques and totally non-insane, honest-to-Gawd guaranteed truthful claims of murder most foul, the hitherto dull proceedings of the Diana Inquiry have been enlivened by John Loughrey. Mr. Loughrey describes himself as "Diana's Number One fan", and in living proof of his dedication to what is clearly a hotly contested title, he has attended every single sodding day......

32. The Spirit Of Christmas Christmas ghost stories told by a crackling fire are a rare occurrence in the modern age, so let me chill your spine with a few yarns relating to festive phantoms of the wintry city. The first haunting is said to occur on Christmas Day at the Cadogan Hotel, Sloane Street, and concerns the ghost of actress Lillie Langtry, once a mistress of Edward VII. The spook is not a......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 3rd December ????: Nothing of any interest has ever happened in London on this date. Sorry. Tuesday – 4th December 1882: The Royal Courts of Justice on The Strand are opened by Queen Victoria. Wednesday – 5th December 1905: Part of the roof of Charing Cross station collapses, killing six people. Thursday – 6th December 1983: Britian’s first heart and lung transplant operation takes place at Harefield......

Part 2: "Let's all go down the strand"...Music Hall. "The music hall is dying, and with it, a significant part of England. some of the heart of England has gone; something that once belonged to everyone, for this was truly a folk art." John Osbourne - 1957. Music Hall helped to shape the entertainment scene in London. It's even had a bit of a revival of late, with music and supper clubs like the......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 23rd July 1986: Prince Andrew marries Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey. As a wedding present (of sorts), the Queen grants them the title of Duke and Duchess of York. Tuesday – 24th July 1987: At the High Court, Jeffrey Archer wins damages of £500,000 in his libel case against the Daily Star. 14 years later he would be convicted of perjury and perverting the course of justice......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 21st May 1853: The Aquatic Vivarium, the world’s first public aquarium, is opened in Regent’s Park. Tuesday – 22nd May 1897: The Blackwall Tunnel is officially opened by the Prince of Wales, becoming the longest underwater tunnel in the world (at the time). The original tunnel now forms the western (northbound) carriageway – the adjacent tunnel that houses the eastern (southbound) carriageway was opened in 1967. Wednesday......

Fresh this Week: Two hundred years ago, in 1807, the British turned their backs on the Atlantic slave trade, though for 150 years they had grown fat on its proceeds. Why did they change their minds about it? And what significance should we attach to this, two centuries later? James Walvin, until recently Professor of History at the University of York and winner of the Martin Luther King Memorial Prize for Black and White......

This Day In London’s History 1882: The Royal Courts of Justice on The Strand are opened by Queen Victoria. The impressive gothic spectacle that is the building for the Royal Courts of Justice was designed by George Edmund Street (who was, appropriately enough, a solicitor before he became an architect) and built in the 1870s. Also known as the Law Courts, the building is home to England’s primary civil court, dealing with some of......

To-day was the most glorious of days. A bright sun shone through the cloudless sky, so as one could quite forget the season, were it not for the countless bunches of holly and mistletoe adorning every doorway, and the fresh chill of the morning. I still marvel at our good fortune, here in Ruislip. Only two years ago, our modest village seemed so isolated. Now I am able to board an electric train bound for......

OK, that pun didn’t quite work, but we’re not the Daily Mirror, you know. Our cack-handed wordplay heralds some news just in about London’s most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. Early adventures of the former Baker Street resident are to be re-serialised by Stanford University. Starting in 2006, weekly e-mails will be sent to subscribers containing the stories ‘just as they were originally printed and illustrated in The Strand Magazine’. To sign up for the......

The Londonist Literary List appears every Tuesday. If you’d like to bring an event to our attention, please email londonistlit@gmail.com. Okay, so there still doesn't seem to be too much going on in the publishing world. However, at least this week, what little there is on offer is really interesting stuff. Paul Auster's (pictured) Brooklyn Follies, a much-lauded novel about the post-2000 election and post-September 11th United States, is being released in the UK,......

If you love the legend they call Bob, then there's a wealth of goodies coming your way. You have 5 nights at Brixton in November. You have Uncut's 100th Anniversary issue with it's Highway 61 Revisited Revisted cd, his seminal album re-recorded by Uncut favourites such as The Drive By Truckers, Paul Westerberg and Richmond Fontaine (American Music Club's mournful psychadelic cover of Queen Jane Approximately and Dave Alvin's slow spoken soulful blues take......

It’s alternative transport day here at Londonist Towers. John Caudwell, founder of mobile phone company Phones4U, set the right tone by arriving back in London yesterday after a 2,300-mile cycle ride from Athens in the company of six other businessmen from Stoke-On-Trent and Stafford. Caudwell raised almost £340,000 for the Stafford-based Caudwell Charitable Trust, so perhaps it was suitable that his marathon should stop outside Coutts Bank on The Strand. Caudwell doubtless took advantage of......