In the second in our series of regular collaborations with Canary Wharf’s guitar school, KitchenJam, we take a look at the history of a track with a local link and deliver some tips on how to play it
KitchenJam founder Darryl Powis has created a video tutorial to help Wharfers get their fingers around the riff that drives Oh Well. Find it above or follow this link to get playing
To play the whole track you’ll need the chords below:
All the chords you’ll need to play Oh Well by Fleetwood Mac – image by Wharf Life
looking back on the history of the track and its link to Docklands
BY ZAINAB HASSAN
Ask most people about Fleetwood Mac, and they’ll likely think of the five-piece unit behind landmark album Rumours.
But the group began in London as something else, a blues band built around Peter Green – a guitarist BB King said gave him ‘cold sweats’.
Born Peter Allen Greenbaum in 1946, the youngest of four children in a Jewish family in Bethnal Green, Green grew up miles away from the Mississippi Delta that inspired his playing.
Green’s older brother showed him a few chords and he cut his teeth playing professionally around east London as a bassist or guitarist in various bands.
In one group, Green met a young Mick Fleetwood and the pair later worked together in the influential blues-rock band John Mayall And The Bluesbreakers, then going on to form Fleetwood Mac.
Like many young British players of his generation, he learned blues licks from Muddy Waters, BB King, Freddie King and John Lee Hooker, but he channelled that inspiration in a different way to his peers.
Green played with measured restraint and a distinct, pained vocal colour, writing songs such as Black Magic Woman, Albatross and Oh Well.
At the height of the band’s early success in 1970, he walked away, but his playing remained ingrained in the band’s DNA.
Peter Green was born in Bethnal Green – image by Nick Contador
the unsung hero
Green’s contributions to Fleetwood Mac don’t always get the same attention as the band’s later recordings, but his influence is undeniable.
Santana’s 1970 cover of Black Magic Woman, originally written by Green in 1968, became one of their biggest hits and a staple in their set list.
Green’s influence even reached The Beatles with George Harrison admitting that Sun King on Abbey Road was inspired by Fleetwood Mac’s reverb-soaked sound on Albatross.
a well of inspiration
Oh Well was a Green-penned hit and its heady blues-rock riff is one of our favourites to play at KitchenJam.
Comprising two parts it’s a mini-epic in E minor.
At just over two minutes, part one ricochets with breakneck riffs, then simmers into the melancholic E Minor and D-chord chimes that signal part two, a passage of folk and classical-inspired music in stark contrast.
Once you get the main riff under your fingers, you’ll find plenty of inspiration from Green’s fusion of American blues with east London grit to infuse into your own playing.
key details: KitchenJam
KitchenJam offers guitar lessons rooted in musical connection and community from its studios in Canary Wharf and Stratford.
In the first of a series of regular collaborations with Canary Wharf’s guitar school, KitchenJam, we take a look at the history of a track with a local link and deliver some tips on how to play it
KitchenJam founder Darryl Powis has created a video tutorial to help Wharfers get their fingers around the riff that drives Rebel Rebel. Simply follow this link to get playing
To play the whole track you’ll need the chords below:
All the chords you’ll need to play Rebel Rebel by David Bowie – image by Wharf Life
looking back on the history of the track and its link to Docklands
BY ZAINAB HASSAN
Picture this – it’s early 1990, and David Bowie has just announced the Sound+Vision tour, a series of gigs where he’d play his biggest hits live for the very last time.
Rather than choose the setlist himself, he handed the decision to his global fanbase through telephone voting.
Dial 1-900-2-BOWIE-90 on your landline, and you were taking your chances at getting your favourite track onto the bill.
As calls flooded in from every corner of the globe, Bowie built the setlist from a mix of UK votes, American votes, and requests from everywhere else in between.
It was a truly global selection, curated to reflect what the world wanted to hear.
echoing on the island
For three nights that March, the tour landed in the capital at the London Arena, an indoor venue on the Isle Of Dogs that held up to 15,000 fans.
Demolished in 2006, the landscape is markedly different to when Bowie’s genre-shifting hits were last played, but the echoes of his riffs still resound in the hands of guitarists to this day.
Sit down with that six-string and get strumming – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life
glam rock swagger
The Sound+Vision tour setlist was shaped with deep cuts standing shoulder to shoulder with Bowie’s biggest hits.
One such song, Rebel Rebel, came early in the setlist. Salvaged from a scrapped Ziggy Stardust musical, it was the lead single for 1974 album Diamond Dogs and was the last of Bowie’s singles to swagger with true glam rock bravado.
Deceptively simple, yet roaring with a Rolling Stones-esque ferocity, the main riff loops around three chords – D, A and E – and an unrelenting descending melody that’s as instantly singable as it is impossible to shake.
the end of two eras
As a swan song to glam rock, Rebel Rebel was the end of an era for Bowie.
The Sound+Vision tour was the end of another, as he retired the hits from his live sets for good.
Two farewells, made decades apart, overlapped for three nights at the London Arena.
But all these memories remain in music. Just listen to that rebellious opening riff – it all comes flooding back.
For those who’d like to know more, east London is also now home to the David Bowie Centre in Stratford.
Based at the V&A East Storehouse, the collection includes more than 90,000 items from the artist’s archive and is free to visit.
key details: KitchenJam
KitchenJam offers guitar lessons rooted in musical connection and community from its studios in Canary Wharf and Stratford.
It started in March 2025, with the opening of Wayne Hairdresser Salon and now it’s complete.
This month, Osteria Al Molo opened its doors at 8 Harbord Square, the last of 10 independent businesses to launch in the Wood Wharf building with its ground floor now completely filled.
Their presence is the result of a collaboration between CWG and Tower Hamlets Council to offer east London firms affordable commercial space.
The project has seen The Flower Club, Awe London, Omnifix, Kitchen Jam, Ong Lai Kopitaim, Supershakes, Pawsome Pet And Grooming Spa and Cafe Seek all become a part of the fabric of the neighbourhood just as it welcomes new residents into its Charter Street buildings through Vertus’ rental homes.
They’re just in time to sample a glass or two at the latest arrival.
“This is my third opening in Tower Hamlets,” said Giuseppe Pollifrone, owner of Osteria Al Molo.
“My first was a wine bar and shop in Roman Road called Vinarius and then another wine bar, this time with a kitchen, called Symposium.
“We are passionate about wine and the idea has always been to have places where you can leave everything behind when you walk through the door.
“I opened them because I couldn’t find the wine and food that I liked.”
Osteria Al Molo owner, Giuseppe Pollifrone – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life
the flavours of Italy at Osteria Al Molo
Italian by birth and initially a physicist by trade, he moved to east London in the late 1990s to take up a post at Queen Mary University following a spell in Switzerland.
Wine has always been a passion, however, and his move into hospitality came alongside a career in finance, with roles on the Wharf at the likes of Credit Suisse and more recently JP Morgan.
“I also knew people who were opening at Wood Wharf, such as the team behind Signorelli,” said Giuseppe.
“What we want to offer people here is a taste of the real Italy.
“We want customers to be relaxed and happy – to leave with a smile on their faces.
“We have the knowledge and experience, but we’re not over-explanatory.
“If customers want to know more, they will ask.
“The idea is to showcase small producers – perhaps 80% will be Italian, but we’re not averse to including other areas.
“With the food, there will be things everyone is familiar with and also others they won’t have encountered.
“My chef, Alessandro Marino, is from Sicily, so there will be dishes from that area such as the Cannolo Sicilian with ricotta, pistachios and chocolate, and others from different areas of the country.
“It’s not on the menu yet, but it’s likely he’ll cook a dish with couscous, which is traditional due to the island’s proximity to North Africa.”
The wine bar also offers a selection of authentic dishes from around Italy – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life
the food and the wine
Osteria Al Molo, which more or less translates as “wine bar on the Wharf” will be under Juri Moro’s day-to-day care in the role of general manager.
“I’ve been in hospitality for more than 20 years and I love the concept of the osteria,” said Juri.
“It allows you to offer something different, to show our love for the little producers and to change the menu frequently.
“People can come simply for a glass of wine, for a bite to eat or for a full dinner.
“The food we’ll be serving is super regional.
“We’ll be making use of fish from Billingsgate as the menu features seafood and also more unusual ingredients such as samphire to go with prawns.
“My personal favourite is the Pasta Con Le Sarde – I’m from near Florence, but my father was from Sicily and this dish is from that area.
“It’s lovely and rich, a mix of sweet and sour flavours.
“We want to be known for our food and wine, but also the atmosphere and as a place that’s friendly.
“Osteria Al Molo isn’t a place to feel inhibited.
“There are lots of things to try and explore.”
Giuseppe added: “My choice on the menu is the Coda Di Rospo All’Acqua Pazza from Naples. It’s poached monkfish in broth with olives, capers and tomatoes.
“I’ve been friends with Juri for years and loved the idea of working together on this.
“I just thought it would be lovely for the Wharf to have a neighbourhood place like this.
“The important thing is to maintain a level of authenticity.
“We want this to feel like a safe place for people to come and really enjoy the wine and the food.
“We are offering something truly different – these are not wines you’ll find on the supermarket shelves.
“If I had to pick one bottle to try, it would be Ciro Riserva Piu Vite, produced by Sergio Acuri in 2018.”
Juri added: “For me it’s the Punset Barbaresco, which isn’t something that’s widely available locally. It’s exceptional.”
The venue is currently in a phase of soft opening, but when fully up and running will be able to accommodate about 40 people.
There are plans for food and wining evenings and tastings with producers as well as the offer of free delivery to anyone living in Harbord Square.
key details: Osteria Al Molo
Osteria Al Molo is located on the corner of 8 Harbord Square and Union Square.
These nine other independent businesses are now also welcoming customers on the ground floor of the Wood Wharf building:
A pup is pampered at Pawsome – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life
Pawsome Pet Grooming And Spa
Founded by Valeriia Istratova, this establishment offers a wide range of services and products for four-legged Wharfers. The aim is to offer a similar level of quality to luxury health spas for humans. Expect specially curated music and a playpen for pups to relax in between treatments.
Kitchen Jam’s fully-equipped 8 Harbord Square studio – image by Jon Massey / Wharf Life
Kitchen Jam
Offering a fresh approach to teaching guitar in a space that comes complete with a Triumph motorbike, Darryl Powis’ music school offers players of all levels the chance to make some serious noise together. The fully-equipped studio comes with everything Wharfers need to become six-string legends.
The Flower Club sells fresh cut flowers and offers floristry services – image supplied by The Flower Club
The Flower Club
Find fresh cut flowers, plants and gifts at Julia Knyazevich’s business. Inspired by her grandmother’s garden in the mountains of Ukraine and the displays at Petersham Nurseries in Richmond, this business sells a wide variety of bouquets with an emphasis on striking arrangements. It supports events too.
Ong Lai Kopitaim is known for its Nasi Kerabu blue rice – image supplied by Ong Lai Kopitaim
Ong Lai Kopitaim
Modelled on a traditional Malaysian cafe, Robert Ngo’s restaurant delivers exactingly cooked food in bright colours with plenty of potent flavour. Known for the blue Nasi Kerabu rice, which gets its colour from the butterfly pea flower, the venue serves a wide range of dishes with varied and intriguing cocktails.
Awe London’s pedicure facilities – image supplied by Awe London
Awe London
Opened by Kamden Monplaisir, this salon delivers manicures and pedicures in a beautifully designed, relaxing environment. Clients will find a wealth of nail art options to suit a wide range of styles, all delivered by a friendly, professional and creative team. Appointments can be booked online.
Savoury treats at Cafe Seek – image supplied by Cafe Seek
Cafe Seek
Already a firm favourite with Wharfers, Pinky Chan and Emily Leung’s Japanese bakery blends French patisserie techniques with Asian flavours to enormously popular effect. The busy cafe serves up sweet and savoury treats, while the kitchen team work to produce more next door. Go early in the day…
Supershakes delivers whipped-up nourishment – image supplied by Supershakes
Supershakes
Serving up shakes packed with nourishing, healthy ingredients, Daniel Bull’s cafe and takeaway space was inspired by his own approach to nutrition while studying for an MBA. Alongside the core offering, expect cold-pressed juices and brunch (for when your mind wants a croissant).
Omnifix offers repairs and tailoring as well as fashion design – image supplied by Omnifix
Omnifix
Founded by fashion designer Asya Ter-Hovakimyan, this brand offers a range of repair and alteration services to keep Wharfers’ clothes looking and feeling their best. The company’s approach is rooted in a deep respect for making and craftsmanship, with real pride in attention to detail.
Wayne Hairdresser Salon at 8 Harbord Square – image by Wayne Hairdresser Salon
Wayne Hairdresser Salon
Opened by Wayne Zukauskas, the first business to launch at 8 Harbord Square offers a full complement of services for men and women as well as haircuts for children. With a catchline of “elevate your look”, the team at this salon offers cuts and styling with 10% off for new customers on their first visit.
