White City

White City is a namechecked on The Who's 'Dogs' single, and was later the title of a Pete Townshend solo album.

It's not actually a city, but an area of London just North of Shepherd's Bush. It took its name from the whitewashed palaces and buildings constructed upon the site in 1908 to house the Franco-British exhibition, a showcase for British and French cultural and industrial achievements which was attended by more than 8 million people.













In April of 1908 White City Stadium was opened on the site, specifically to to host that year's summer Olympics. It's a reference to this location which appears in 'Dogs'.


















"Yes, I know, it's a good dog, I saw it run at White City,
Just last week, broke the record, Yellow Printer,
Nice dog, yes, lovely form, lovely buttocks."

The stadium was constructed to Olympic standards, with running and cycling tracks, a swimming pool, and a football pitch. It had a capacity of 150,000 and cost £80,000 ($160,000) to build. At the time it was the largest stadium in the world. However, once the Olympic games finished the site fell into neglect, until the advent of the First World War saw it being utilised to build fighter planes.

In 1927 it was taken over by the Greyhound Racing Association, who regularly hosted events at the venue for the next 50 years - with a brief interuption during the Second World War when it served as a parachute factory.






















In September 1984 the last greyhound race took place at White City, and just days later the demolition crews moved in, obliterating all trace of the stadium.

The BBC's Wood Lane Television Centre now stands on the site.

















White City stadium was in Wood Lane, Shepherds Bush, London. The nearest tube is White City.

The storyline of the Pete Townshend solo album 'White City' centres on the rundown White City Estate, which is located next to the stadium site.











And for those of you who have ever wondered, Yellow Printer was a real Grehound who raced and won many times at White City Stadium. He was born in 1966, and is considered by Greyhound aficiandos to have been the fastest racing dog ever.












In 1970 he was taken to the USA to serve as a stud, being the first such dog to command a $500 fee. His later years were spent as a domestic pet, and he passed away peacefully in 1978, aged 12.