Louis Mark Dunford (born 20 January 1992) is an English singer songwriter. The son of actress

Linda Robson Linda Patricia Mary Dunford ( Robson; born 13 March 1958) is an English actress and television presenter. She is best known for playing Tracey Stubbs in the sitcom '' Birds of a Feather'' (1989–1998, 2014–2020) and her appearances as a weekl ...

, he is known for writing the song '' The Angel - North London Forever'' which in 2022 became an anthem for Arsenal F.C. and Arsenal F.C. supporters.

Early life

Louis Mark Dunford was born on 20 January 1992 in Camden,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He is the son of English actress and television personality

, best known for her role in the sitcom '' Birds of a Feather'' and being a panellist on '' Loose Women'', and her husband Mark Dunford. Dunford was a school friend of

Ben Kinsella Ben Michael Kinsella (27 October 1991 – 29 June 2008) was a 16-year-old student at Holloway School who was stabbed to death in an attack by three men in June 2008 in Islington. The significant media attention around his murder (the 17th st ...

, and was present at the scene when he was fatally stabbed to death in Islington in June 2008.

Career

Dunford is from Islington in North London where he began playing the piano aged 15 after his family moved into a house which happened to have a piano already in it which he then had to persuade his parents to keep. He started playing Elton John songs and then began to mix music with his own poetry. He learnt to play guitar because the piano was too loud to play late at night in the house. He played his first gig at a pub called ''The Library'' and afterwards he said to his father he would eventually sell out '' The Union Chapel'' venue opposite it, which he did in 2022. In 2012, Dunford and

Charlie Quirke ''Birds of a Feather'' is a British sitcom originally broadcast on BBC One from 16 October 1989 to 24 December 1998, then revived on ITV from 2 January 2014 to 24 December 2020. The series stars Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson, with Lesley ...

alternated playing the role of Travis Stubbs in the stage version of their mothers' comedy television series '' Birds of a Feather''. Dunford's music was discovered by

Jamal Edwards Jamal Edwards (24 August 1990 – 20 February 2022) was a British music entrepreneur, DJ and founder of the online R&B/Hip-Hop platform SB.TV. Edwards was an ambassador for the Prince's Trust, a youth charity which helps young people set up ...

in 2014 through hearing his song ''When We Were Hooligans'' on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

. Dunford has said he writes songs about the area around him, his experiences and his friends. His first EP ''The Morland'' chronicled life on the Morland Estate in Islington as he saw it. The first single from that EP ''London's Requiem'' was a version of the first song he ever wrote. In 2021 Dunford signed with

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainme ...

and released a cover of

East 17 East 17 are an English pop boy band started by Tony Mortimer, Brian Harvey, John Hendy, and Terry Coldwell in 1991. As of 2020, the group consists of Coldwell, Robbie Craig, and Joe Livermore. East 17 have undergone multiple lineup changes, wi ...

's hit single '' Stay Another Day'', the video for which featured Dunford wearing the white fur trimmed parka jacket visible in the 1994

Christmas number one In the United Kingdom, Christmas number ones are singles that top the UK Singles Chart in the week in which Christmas Day falls. The singles have often been novelty songs, charity songs or songs with a Christmas theme. Historically, the volume ...

song video. In 2022 Dunford supported

Jake Bugg Jake Bugg (born Jake Edwin Charles Kennedy on 28 February 1994) is an English singer-songwriter. His self-titled debut album, '' Jake Bugg'', some of which was co-written with songwriter Iain Archer, was released in October 2012 and reached num ...

on tour. Dunford's second EP ''Popham EP'' contained the song '' The Angel - North London Forever'' which has since become an anthem for the fans of Arsenal F.C. and has begun to be played in the pre-match of every home game Arsenal play at the Emirates Stadium. Dunford himself is an Arsenal fan and wrote the song as a paean to the culture and sense of community in North London. Dunford and the song were featured in the Amazon Original documentary series All or Nothing: Arsenal about the

2021–22 Arsenal F.C. season The 2021–22 season was the List of Arsenal F.C. seasons, 136th in the history of Arsenal F.C., Arsenal Football Club. It began on 1 July 2021 and concluded on 30 June 2022, with competitive matches played between August and May. This was Arsen ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunford, Louis 1992 births Living people English male singer-songwriters English singer-songwriters 21st-century English singers 21st-century British male singers Singers from the London Borough of Camden Singers from the London Borough of Islington Arsenal F.C. mass media