The Primrose Hill set is a name applied to a group of celebrities in the 1990s, who were based in

Primrose Hill Primrose Hill is a Grade II listed public park located north of Regent's Park in London, England, first opened to the public in 1842.Mills, A., ''Dictionary of London Place Names'', (2001) It was named after the natural hill in the centre of ...

, near

Camden Town Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as o ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

, and had, in the words of Andrew Johnson writing in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' in 2010, a reputation for "having a whale of a time with drink, drugs and bed-hopping".

History

The core members of the group had lived close to each other in the Primrose Hill area of north London, as well as in neighbouring

Belsize Park Belsize Park is an affluent residential area of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden (the inner north-west of London), England. The residential streets are lined with mews houses and Georgian and Victorian villas. Some nearby localities ar ...

and

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

; however, the social focus for the group was really the

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...

area, several miles away in west London. The term grew in use in the

British media There are several different types of mass media in the United Kingdom: television, radio, newspapers, magazines and websites. The United Kingdom is known for its large music industry, along with its new and upcoming artists. The country also has a ...

to identify the group as socially homogeneous and also as a convenient label, similar to the

Young British Artists The Young British Artists, or YBAs—also referred to as Brit artists and Britart—is a loose group of visual artists who first began to exhibit together in London in 1988. Many of the YBA artists graduated from the BA Fine Art course at Goldsm ...

and

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...

labels of the same period.

Supernova Heights Supernova Heights is a house on Steele's Road in the Belsize Park district of the London Borough of Camden. The terraced property is most known for being the home of Oasis singer songwriter Noel Gallagher in the late 90s, and as a place of 'non- ...

, Noel Gallagher's Steele's Road home, was associated with the Primrose Hill set, and gained a reputation as a place of non-stop parties, and excess. Many of the group's members appeared with each other in film and television productions in the mid-nineties, and later cast each other in their own productions. The films Final Cut and

Love, Honour and Obey ''Love, Honour and Obey'' is a 2000 mock gangster film starring several members of the Primrose Hill set. It was jointly written and directed by Dominic Anciano and Ray Burdis (who also appear in the film) as a follow-up to their 1998 film '' ...

both comprised several 'Primrose Hill set' members, although these films were neither critical nor commercial successes. Several members of the 'set' formed production company

Natural Nylon Natural Nylon was a British film and theatre production company, in operation from 1997 to 2003. It was officially formed in 1997 by Jude Law, Sadie Frost, Jonny Lee Miller, Ewan McGregor, Sean Pertwee, Damon Bryant, Bradley Adams, and Geoff D ...

in 1997. This went on to produce several films, notably David Cronenberg's eXistenZ in 1999, Nora in 2000,

Owning Mahowny ''Owning Mahowny'' is a 2003 Canadian film about gambling addiction with a cast that includes Philip Seymour Hoffman, Minnie Driver, Maury Chaykin and John Hurt. Based on the true story of a Toronto bank employee who embezzled more than $10 millio ...

and

To Kill a King ''To Kill a King'' is a 2003 English Civil War film directed by Mike Barker, and starring Tim Roth, Rupert Everett and Dougray Scott. It centres on the relationship between Oliver Cromwell and Thomas Fairfax in the post-war period from 1648 unt ...

in 2003, and

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow ''Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow'', often shortened to ''Sky Captain'', is a 2004 science fiction action- adventure film written and directed by Kerry Conran in his directorial debut, and produced by Jon Avnet, Sadie Frost, Jude Law an ...

in 2004, the final film production of the company. While some of the Natural Nylon films received good notices, there were no notable box office successes. The company enjoyed some success with theatrical productions, co-producing an acclaimed adaptation of ''Dr Faustus'' at the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 201 ...

in 2002. The 'set' began to break up in 2003, with the acrimonious break up of the marriage of key members

Jude Law David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He received a British Academy Film Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, he received an Honorary Césa ...

and

Sadie Frost Sadie Liza Frost (née Vaughan; born 19 June 1965) is an English actress, producer and fashion designer, who ran fashion label Frost French (until its closure in 2011) and a film production company (Blonde to Black Pictures). Early life Frost ...

. With the 'set' splintered, Natural Nylon then also folded in 2003. The demise of Natural Nylon, and with collaborations between the 'set' falling off, the term 'Primrose Hill set' went into decline, to be revived from around 2017 on, under headlines of the 'new Primrose Hill set', featuring offspring of the original 'set'.

History

Members

Core Members

Other Members

References