Arts

Rap symphony heralds London transit renewal

Hey Alex - How about a Rondo for Renewal?

But Caribbean-born musician-educator Alex Pascall has taken an entertaining look at the tube. His "travellers symphony" maps the daily events of life and movements on the London Underground Train, "from the starting point to your destination".

"It's a rap symphony that's rhythmic, entertaining and dramatic, told through dance, songs and poetry and humour, says Pascall, a well-known media broadcaster and ambassador of Caribbean culture in the UK. It "swings to the zing of the Tube Train, as we journey from station to station in the hustle and bustle, from morning till past midnight".

Pascall wrote the symphony for children to make learning enjoyable alongside their traditional classroom studies. It is also a needed window on the nation's cultural life today, he believes. Already well received at the Lyndhurst school, south London, 7 July, primary school pupils say: "This show puts the life of Londoners back in the tube and the rush back in the rush hour".

And Pascall knows a thing or two about his subject. He worked on the tube in the early sixties and has served on the passengers' committee.

"I've always been fascinated by the train as an invention and the operation of this vast network. Without it London will grind to a halt," he says. "I want students to widen their interest in transport and travel that may influence their career choices and advance technical engineering".

Alex sounds like just the person to dramatise the revival of the tube, a boon to Black and low-paid workers, and a vital part of London's transport system. How about a Rondo for Renewal in which a hilarious muddle leads to a happy ending, and the maestro, Mayor Ken Livingstone, takes a bow for making tube journeys safer and cheaper with improved trains, signalling and track?

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