N-Dubz vs S-Dubz: London's north-south celebrity divide

If the Beckhams are about to be south-west London’s latest super-couple, can trendy north-west London take the heat, asks Susannah Butter
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4 February 2013

The battle lines have been drawn. As reports emerge that the Beckham family are targeting Twickenham for their new London home, the trendy north-west has been left quivering in its tree-lined enclaves. Is the equally leafy south-west about to be the new quarter to be in? It seems those in the N-Dubz set — who reside from Highgate to Kensal Rise — now face competition from the newly dubbed S-Dubz set — whose territory spans Richmond to Fulham. Let the battle of the super sets begin

THE SCENE

S-dubz

South-west of the river it’s all meadows, buttercups and outdoor pursuits as the Thames rolls by — making S-dubz a good place to bring up children. Richmond has five times as much green space as the average London borough. Closer into town, top male supermodel David Gandy is buying a house in Fulham, while the Party Prince, young Harry, was seen leaving a house in Fulham at 10.30am last Sunday. Expect all the refinement of central London but without the grime and crowds. Hip Argentinian steakhouse Gaucho has a branch in Richmond and there’s Petersham Nurseries, the restaurant which has a Michelin star under Skye Gyngell. It has a hippy but expensive garden-centre-by-the-river feel.

To live here you have to be financially secure. Once you’ve got past the age of quaffing rounds of champagne at Eight over Eight in Chelsea, retire to one of the many organic cafés full of yummy mummies sipping soya flat whites and whining about the cost of their Eastern European help.

N-dubz

A collection of slowly gentrifying mini-villages. The hipcats of east London are moving into Kentish Town, where Pizza East recently opened, as well as Chicken Shop and Dirty Burger. Space NK, Matches and Madonna are on their way to Primrose Hill. Meanwhile, in Kensal Rise and Queen’s Park, there’s Scarlet and Violet florists, who did Kate Moss’s wedding flowers, and Chamberlayne Road, which Vogue bizarrely voted the most fashionable street in Europe. It’s heaving with media types who occasionally escape their Farrow and Ball-painted domestic bliss to relive their Ibiza days by doing a DJ set in town.

THE STYLE

S-dubz

Predominantly boat shoes, polo shirts and chinos for men kicking back after a hard week in the City. Longchamp bags for their Boden and Jigsaw-clad wives and Mini Boden or babyGap for the bambinos.

N-dubz

A Bugaboo pushchair is a given. The Cuban-heeled black boot is a must — they’re perfect for complementing your J Brand Houlihan jeans. Baby wipes, Sunday papers, make-up and organic snacks for the kids go into a Marc Jacobs bag. For the men it’s either the Jamie Hince rock look or channelling Tom Sturridge’s shabby chic ensemble of flannel shirt, beard and beanie. After all, they don’t want to get cold on Hampstead Heath.

THE RESIDENTS

S-dubz

David Beckham may be staying in a hotel when he starts playing for Paris Saint-Germain but Victoria and the kids won’t be joining him — they could be settling into life in St Margarets, Twickenham, judging by reports of them house hunting in the area. The Beckham clan could have Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie nearby — the Hollywood stars bought a £10 million mansion called Whornes Place in Richmond last year. It has an indoor pool and topiary elephants in the garden. A source said Brad and Anj think Richmond is “a beautiful part of the world, perfect for bringing up children”. Rumour has it Brad’s ex, Jennifer Aniston, is also looking at properties in the area.

Richmond has always been rock royalty territory — Pete Townshend of The Who lives in a house on Richmond Hill called The Wick, bought from Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood. Mick Jagger’s ex Jerry Hall still lives in their 18th-century Richmond pile. But don’t think it’s not attractive to the younger generation too. Video blogger Charlie McDonnell, aka Charlieissocoollike, recently used the money he’s made from his YouTube channel to buy a house here.

Zac Goldsmith’s family home is a Queen Anne pile in Ham and, since divorcing his wife Sheherazade in 2009, the MP for Richmond Park and North Kingston and his girlfriend Alice Rothschild have a four-storey terrace in Barnes worth £2.5million. Sister Jemima Khan lives nearby.

N-dubz

Too many glam people to choose from. Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw has introduced One Direction’s Harry Styles to the delights of the Lansdowne pub in Primrose Hill. Tulisa Contostavlos, whose hip hop band N-Dubz plan to reunite next year, is a Camden girl while Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman lives in Queen’s Park near Sienna Miller, Tom Sturridge and their new baby, Marlowe. Sophie Dahl and jazz pianist husband Jamie Cullum reside in K-Rise while in Hampstead you can’t move for Nineties pop royalty — the phone book must read like the track list of the Now 36 album. Presumably Victoria Beckham wants to stick to the south-west to avoid any awkward encounters with former bandmate Mel C and ex-chart rivals Nicole Appleton and Liam Gallagher.

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