Mind the gap
"Mind the gap" is an audible or visual warning phrase issued to rail passengers in the UK (and elsewhere) to take caution while crossing the horizontal, and in some cases vertical, spatial gap between the train door and the station platform.
The phrase was first introduced in 1969 on the London Underground in the United Kingdom. The phrase is also associated with souvenir T-shirts that Transport for London sells, featuring the warning printed over the network's roundel logo.
Origin of the phrase
The phrase "Mind the gap" was coined in around 1968 for a planned automated announcement, after it had become impractical for drivers and station attendants to warn passengers. London Underground chose digital recording using solid state equipment with no moving parts. As data storage capacity was expensive, the phrase had to be short. A concise warning was also easier to paint onto the platform.
The equipment was supplied by AEG Telefunken. According to the Independent on Sunday, sound engineer Peter Lodge, who owned Redan Recorders in Bayswater, working with a Scottish Telefunken engineer, recorded an actor reading "Mind the gap" and "Stand clear of the doors please", but the actor insisted on royalties and the phrases had to be re-recorded. Lodge read the phrases to line up the recording equipment for level and those were used.
Mind the gap (disambiguation)
Mind the gap is a common safety announcement on the London Underground railway system, warning of a gap between the platform and train.
Mind the gap may also refer to:
Entertainment
Music
Mind the Gap (song)
"Mind the Gap" is a song by Danish singer Nabiha, released as the lead single from her second studio album of the same name. She wrote it with Michelle Escoffery, Carl Ryden and Will Simms. The name was inspired from warning signs on the London Underground station, while it also refers to the gap between her front teeth, meaning good luck. The song has been a hit on various charts in UK. Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Bulgaria, Poland and Hungary, and has also been positively received by music critics.
Background and composition
"Mind the Gap" was written by Nabiha, Michelle Escoffery, Carl Ryden, and Will Simms, with both Ryden and Simms handling production of the song. The entire song was recorded, produced and mixed by Ryden at Make Music Studio in London, and was mastered at Metroplis in London. The track was released as the lead single of her second studio album of the same name, where it is the third track, on 10 September 2012.
"Mind the Gap" is a funky soul pop song that plays for a duration of 2 minutes and 46 seconds.Instrumentation includes lead vocals, backing vocals, keyboards, guitar, and programmed drums. The backing vocalist for the song was Terri Walker. The title and concept of the song came from seeing warnings at the London Underground station on numerous trips to the studio, which read "Mind the Gap". It also comes from the space between her front teeth, and her experience with other people looking at her. According to Nabiha, "It is a huge part of me, and in many African countries it symbolizes ‘good luck’. So the message is that we must take care of each other and ourselves, so everybody arrives safely to their destination."
The Dj
[Intro: KRS - talking]
Yes, KRS. Revolution. You know what this is
We back in the building, straight up
Yo, look at 'em. Look at 'em runnin'
Look at 'em runnin' already. Out the door
Let's go. This is raw. Y'all know what time this is
[Verse 1:]
When KRS-One comes to spit
You DJ's with no breaks, I don't wanna hear that shit
The radio?
I can't even bare that shit
Gucci/Prada, I don't even wear that shit
I'm in the streets, holla, but y'all fear that shit
We blue collar DJ's, we're here to rip
900 number, we got two pairs of it
MP3 shit, I'm not sharin' it
Classic samples and loops, we not clearin' it
The life of DJ, there's no comparin' it
Many wanna be but many more are scared of it
Before they start they already plan to quit
The music? They no longer fans of it
They wanna use it, so they can get a grand and shit
The program director is handin' 'em strips
Make 'em play wack shit and lie from they lips!
[talking: DJ Premier]
You see, there's times like this.
When you need real motherfuckers like us to let you know what a DJ is
Listen man, I gotta pay you to play my shit? Check this out
My shit's already hot so I ain't gotta pay for shit
You can't tell a DJ what to do. We tell you what's really good
DJ Revolution, I got you. Fuck these clowns
[Verse 2:]
So, you wanna be a DJ live on the set?
Can't be travellin' back again, you should not forget
The beats in the street and you have been elected
To carry the tradition of records being selected
Check it
Your job is to break new records
Go to the club, get on man and wreck shit
Seemless mixin', blends undetected
The true DJ and MC are connected
Like me and DJ Revolution
Look at what we usin'
Beats and rhymes, no confusion
Who's in the house?
If my crew's in the house?
100's of people be groovin' it out
Cuttin', mixin', scratchin' non-stop
Party rockin', two hours non-stop
If you got Serrato
Bravo
But if you can't cut vinyl records, you won't be able to follow
A true MC, not a new MC
Fuck the computer it's you and me
And the crowd
And oh yes they want it loud
At the tombstone of Scott La Rock, I vow
Never to let a wack DJ mix me
And I'll be spittin' this way past 60
Ain't nothin' changed but the format
Funk, soul, jungle, maaaan, you gotta play all that
Mix it up, not lick it up
The mix, a DJ should pick you up
KRS-One
DJ Revolution
Tell me, what's the solution?
[Scratch chorus: "The DJ" - Common]
[Verse 3:]
Yeah, you're a D dot J dot, man don't even say that
We real in the field, y'all pressin' play back
DJ Revolution, watch how you say dat
Y'all gonna respect this DJ from way back
Yo, hey Jack, this the payback
Y'all far from home and forgot your way back
So bein' I'm the teacher and all this
Me and DJ Revolution put together this short list
For DJ's
So you can get on your job
A DJ is not an Ipod
A DJ is not a jukebox, fuck your requests
You come to hear the DJ rock
Just because you got 20, 000 songs in your computer and you call on them
Doesn't mean you should bore the crowd
Be selective, you don't have to play all of them
I really shouldn't have to say this
But don't build your set from your P.D. playlist
DJ's across the nation
What you play in your ride, play on the station
Needless to say
DJ's must love the music they play
And Mix
If you're good
Just because you can scratch doesn't mean you should
Cuttin' and scratchin' is seasonin' when you use it
Rock it, but people wanna hear the music
So #7
Let's get into this
Don't ever start a mix you can't finish
At #8
For DJ's to hear it
Don't shout your name over other rapper's lyrics
Or rhymes
Keep the party movin'
Play up to two verses only, keep the party movin'
Find a friend
A true MC that down with you till the end
Someone who can explain what you doin'
Sorta like KRS with DJ Revolution
What are we provin'?
DJin' with MCin' together is hip hop's true fusion
"The DJ"
[talking: KRS One]
Stand up for the culture. Don't just grab a check
These motherfuckers won't be here next year
What you gonna do when they fire yo' ass?
Man, you better stand with the people. DJ Revolution. The originator