Plan
Probably written in 1972, "Plan" was composed for Ed Berman's campaign effort, opposing the intended erection of three large towers to transform Piccadilly Circus. It is voiced from the perspective of the developer, eulogising the tidiness and order of concrete, office blocks and regulation-sized trees, while the inconvenient public are funneled away into tunnels to make more room for traffic flow. It concludes with an unexpected campaign anthem, as voices join together to assert, "That's not the way it's got to be..." - probably the closest Leon ever got to offering protestors a ready-made street slogan.
Despite the fact that the redevelopment plan was rejected soon after (on the basis that it did not generate enough additional space for cars!), Leon recorded the song for his next studio LP, with Roy Bailey handling the protestor's coda.
Despite the fact that the redevelopment plan was rejected soon after (on the basis that it did not generate enough additional space for cars!), Leon recorded the song for his next studio LP, with Roy Bailey handling the protestor's coda.
"This is taken from [That's Not the Way it's Got to Be] and was written at the behest of Ed Berman, for the campaign to save Piccadilly from being turned into a miniature Birmingham. In the event, the plan was shelved and Piccadilly and Eros, in all their seediness, remain as a disreputable meeting place for lonely souls and lost tourists. But the conflict between people and cars is now even more acute and the final chorus could well be adapted for a Reclaim the Streets party." - LR (sleevenotes to Perspectives, 1997)
“One major plan was to redevelop Piccadilly Circus. I don’t remember the details but in essence it meant putting people underground to make room for more traffic. The Save Piccadilly Campaign asked me to write a ‘protest’ song. I wrote two. This one with its banner-waving singalong refrain, ‘That’s not the way it’s got to be’... [and “The Man Who Puffs The Big Cigar’].” - LR (sleevenotes to The World Turned Upside Down (CD box set), p23)
“One major plan was to redevelop Piccadilly Circus. I don’t remember the details but in essence it meant putting people underground to make room for more traffic. The Save Piccadilly Campaign asked me to write a ‘protest’ song. I wrote two. This one with its banner-waving singalong refrain, ‘That’s not the way it’s got to be’... [and “The Man Who Puffs The Big Cigar’].” - LR (sleevenotes to The World Turned Upside Down (CD box set), p23)