Bare cheek: Hove factually

Five things you never knew about fantabulous Hove

1 Like the Isle of Man, Hove has its own distincitve breed of cat – the Hoven Cat. Unlike the Manx cat, where its tail should be is a small navvie’s tattooed arm holding a portable TV aerial.

2 In 2002, independently of Brighton, Hove launched its own rival bid to become European City of Culture. While Brighton’s efforts saw giant replica nose-studs and other body-piercings adorn its landmark buildings, Hove answered with an enormous artificial hip joint in the middle of the Coral Stadium and an over-sized truss wrapped around the Co-op on Blatchington Road.

3 Controversy came to Hove in September 1983 when the Aldrington Company of the Boys’ Brigade raised over fifteen thousand pounds for that year’s Blue Peter Appeal by holding a slave auction.

4 Nico from The Velvet Underground used to run a DVD stall on BHASVIC car boot.

5 The last man publically hanged in Hove was one Ernest William Borrow, a pump attendant at the Esso near Hove Station, for the crime of hocking up into their collectable glass tumblers.

First try lyrics

A fascinating insight into the creative process as we examine the original drafts of those famous songs that didn’t get it quite right first time.

I DON’T WANT TO SET THE WORLD ON FIRE – THE INKSPOTS
I don’t want to set the world on fire;
I just want to start
A fire in your house.