Beachside from pier to pier
I took a brief walk along the Brighton coast a few hours before the concert, walking along the seafront with the Channel by my side. I began by Brighton Palace Pier, not far from the Sealife aquarium, and I could hear a punk band playing on the pavement, a few people circled around them. A few bars were decked out on the seafront as well, and loads of people were lying down by the beach, relaxing in the heat, though that should go without saying.
Brighton is surprisingly alive for a seaside town. I've always had this perception of seaside towns as usually being quiet, modest places, the kinds where nothing happens outside heatwaves. Brighton, though, is definitely the opposite. Part of that might be down to the area having a large queer community, no seriously - it has the highest proportion in the whole of the UK. That's probably related to Brighton being a more youthful city, which makes it an almost idyllic place where something's always happening. Like Brighton and Hove Pride, which was taking place when I visited, coincidentally.
Walking along the seafront, it's hard not to get a bit nostalgic. There's the i360, the awkward-looking viewing tower, where you get inside a donut-shaped deck and slowly get pulled into the air. I remember being a kid when it first opened and how odd it seemed compared to the rest of Brighton. Just a glass structure standing like a titan amidst the pebbles. It's now stood here for ten years, and fits in almost perfectly with the rest of the city skyline.
More despondent, though, is the West Pier, not too far from the i360. This used to be Brighton's main pier, opening in 1866, supported by a series of pillars still standing on the seafront to this day. At its peak in 1919, 2 million people visited the pier annually, but owing to competition with the Palace Pier, as well as high maintenance costs, the West Pier shut down in 1975.
The pier was never properly maintained in the following years, before a storm in 1987 and a fire in 2003 reduced it down to a stump, now looking more like a disused oil rig. It's beyond repair, and is destined to live out the rest of its days slowly crumbling into the sea. Those pillars I mentioned earlier? They're actually columns which survived the fire, and which were later arranged into the Golden Spiral structure, coalescing around a small plaque commemorating Eugenius Birch's construction of the pier.
I headed further down the seafront, eventually passing by the Victorian bandstand and the area where I tend to be when I head to the beach. That's where the Edward VII statue is, if you're wondering, alongside the sleek cafe which replaced the quainter cafe that stood here before for worse. A short walk away, heading along a series of lawns, gets you to Hove.
Hove is similar in character to Brighton, what with all the beaches, but anyone from Hove would hate you for thinking they're the same. Hell, the city here's called Brighton AND Hove. I didn't spend long in Hove, though, I had a concert to get to, but I did admire the colourful beach huts lying along the promenade. They've stood here since the 1930s, and there are about 500 in all standing here today. You can even buy one, though they often go for thousands. There was a funfair on the other side, too.
Royal Pavilion
Away from the sea, you'll find the Royal Pavilion, probably the prettiest building in the city, with its towers topped with bulging domes, reminiscent of Indian architecture. Construction began back in 1787, with the intent of providing George IV, the then Prince of Wales, with a seaside resort. You see, Brighton had risen from being a standard fishing village to become an attractive healing site in the 18th century. A local physician named Richard Russell told people that drinking and bathing in seawater was a quick and easy way to alleviate your ills, and this fad helped build Brighton's reputation. George IV wanted to treat his gout, so the solution was simple - go to Brighton. And build a cool looking building whilst there.
The pavilion is beautiful, and you can visit it today. George's successor, William IV, also stayed at the pavilion in the summer, but Queen Victoria hated it; the royals would spend their future summers down by the Isle of Wight. It later became an events venue, and a hospital during the First World War, and the pavilion today is a museum, which I didn't visit. I'm sure it's just as stunning inside as it is outside, though.
Nick Cave
I'll briefly mention the concert, because why not? It also happened to be historic - according to Nick Cave himself, it was the largest ticketed event in Brighton's history. 50,000 people were there!
The concert took place in Preston Park, just north of the sea. If you're interested in the park, there's a cool clocktower. However, I was more intrigued by getting to see Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds again. I'd last seen them back two years ago in the O2, and it was electrifying, so I wouldn't miss out on this show if I could. Cave also happens to live in Brighton, so I'm guessing this show had personal importance to him, too.
Obviously it was a stunning show, it would have been more surprising if it wasn't. Cave's able to command the stage so effortlessly, and his ability to keep the audience captivated by a 14 minute long ambient performance has to be applauded. Jubilee Street, as always, was noisy, chaotic, and ultimately beautiful. The best part was probably when he brought out Kylie Minogue to perform Where the Wild Roses Grow in a heart-wrenching duet; I was exceedingly lucky to witness this, since he last performed with her back in 2018. Overall, I have no regrets.
Epilogue
I could have mentioned Brighton and Hove Albion, the local football club, but they play all the way out in Falmer. There's also Graham Greene's Brighton Rock, one of my favourite books which takes place here and which I discussed on this blog years back. In fact, I probably could go on, Brighton's pretty influential in loads of different ways I don't have time to talk about right now. It's got the world's worst building material, for example - bungaroosh!
Brighton's a lovely city, one I don't get tired of visiting. Sure, the pebbly beach can be irritating, but I have so many warm memories of the place I can overlook that. Getting to see Nick Cave will always be a plus, too. It also means I've finally blogged about East Sussex, which is nice. Worth visiting for sure.
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