From Damien Hirst to a man called Jesus, London is defined by its faces

IN the same way that Damon Runyon's characters leapt off the page and became part of the popular imagination, so every city needs its heroes and its faces-mythical and legendary. London is no different, and if you've lived here for any serious amount of time, you will have accumulated a number of people who define the city.

- Dylan Jones

It might be your local publican, might be the bloke who works in the greengrocers down the road, or the barrister you always end up talking to at the football, or even the journalist you've befriended in your neighbourhood cafe. For years there were half a dozen chaps I was on nodding terms with, who worked in various record shops around town; I never really knew them, but they were always around. It was confusing when they drifted away.

I spent years going to nightclubs and knew dozens of people only by their Christian names; never knew what they did, didn't matter, I didn't care. Years ago there was a character called Jesus who used to turn up naked to festivals and gigs in London. He was so famous that if you went to a gig and he wasn't there, you'd inevitably be disappointed. He was a part of the fabric of London. He was a genuine London face (and actually a kind of London backside, too). London is full of faces. The fashion designer Paul Smith can still be found in his Notting Hill shop at the weekend, looking after his customers, checking on trade and feeling the buzz.