Contrary to popular belief, Scottish alternative rock group Teenage Fanclub had Britain's street lighting in mind when they wrote Sparky's Dream. The song tells the story of a young electrician who, in 1872, had a dream about a city in which all the gas lights had been replaced by electric ones.
The electrician, whose name has been lost in time, like tears down the drain, gave a presentation about his dream to the Royal Society, using a very early version of PowerPoint. This led to experimental arrays of arc lamps being used to light Holborn Viaduct and the Thames Embankment in London, this was in fact the first electric street lighting in Britain.
Sparky's Dream only reached number 40 in the UK singles charts but it did receive extensive airplay all over the world. This led Kurt Cobain to describe Teenage Fanclub as "the best band in the world", reflecting Cobain's love of electricity or, as he called it "electrickery".
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