What a Pearly King taught me about Cockney rhyming slang and East London history
This feature piece reflects on the life and legacy of George Major, the 'Pearly King of Peckham,' who was a cultural icon in East London. The author recounts a 2016 interview that highlighted the unique Cockney rhyming slang and the changing landscape of London's East End.
Why it matters
It preserves the history of fading cultural traditions and local identities in rapidly gentrifying urban centers.
LONDON — He was one of my most memorable interviews. Even though we were both speaking English, I could barely understand a word he was saying.
"The costermongers, wheeze used to fly-pitch, on this frog and toad," he said — at least I think, after listening to my tape several times again, none the wiser.
Our interview was back in 2016, on one of my first NPR reporting trips to London. George Major, then 78, was a local celebrity. We walked together through the East End, where the factories and docklands that Major grew up around during World War II have given way to glass skyscrapers. A vendor ran out into the street to slap him high-five. Tourists snapped photos.
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