Louis Dunford has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame in recent years since his song The Angel (North London Forever) was adopted as an unofficial club anthem by Arsenal.
The track was originally released in February 2022 and details Dunford’s experience of growing up in north London.
Lyrics contain references to areas close to the Emirates Stadium including the Gunners’ former home of Highbury, as well as the nearby spots of Kings Cross and Caledonian Road.
After being played Arsenal at home games before the end of the 2021-22 season, the song’s chorus, which features the refrain ‘North London Forever’, is played before every home game at the Emirates.
Dunford, 33, has seen his profile increase dramatically since Mikel Arteta’s side used the single on matchday – going on to sell out venues across the UK.
But the Camden-born singer had a tough start to life, as he witnessed a heartbreaking incident at the age of just 16.
Louis Dunford has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame in recent years since his song The Angel (North London Forever) was adopted as an unofficial club anthem by Arsenal
Louis Dunford was with Ben Kinsella the night he was stabbed to death – with the pair being childhood friends and having studied at Holloway School in Islington, north London, together
After finishing his GCSEs at Holloway School, now known as Beacon High, Dunford went out to celebrate at Shillibeers Brasserie Bar (now called The Depot N7) with some of his friends on June 29, 2008.
Following a row that broke out between Dunford’s friend Alfie and a man named Osman Ozdemir over the phrase ‘What are you looking at?’.
With Dunford that night was Ben Kinsella, who was stabbed 11 times after becoming separated from his friends and cornered by three men, who wrongly believed he was involved in an earlier argument in which they were ‘disrespected’.
One of Ben’s killers, Jade Braithwaite, was heard saying: ‘Tell your boy if he wants trouble, I’ve got my tool on me and it will open you up.’
Michael Alleyne, 18, Braithwaite, 20, and Juress Kika, 19, were jailed for life, with a minimum sentence of 19 years, after being found guilty of Ben’s murder.
Kinsella was the 17th teenager to be killed in London that year.
Just months before his death, Kinsella wrote a letter to the-then Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in which he called for the Government to do more to tackle knife crime.
Dunford – who held Kinsella in his arms as he lay dying – subsequently raised £10,000 for the Ben Kinsella Trust charity through selling t-shirts at his concerts.
Dunford – who held Kinsella in his arms as he lay dying – subsequently raised £10,000 for the Ben Kinsella Trust charity through selling t-shirts at his concerts
Louis Dunford pictured with his mother Linda Robsom
The charity, which campaigns against knife crime, also has permanent exhibitions installed in Kings Cross, east London and Nottingham.
Dunford also wrote a song about the attack, titled The Ballad Of Benjamin, which was released last year.
Louis details the scenes with the lyrics: ‘And I was there when you fell to your knees/ And I held you in my arms, and we collapsed upon the street.
‘And I said, “Ben, don’t you worry son, I’m gonna take you home”/ And I was there, I swear I tried my best.
‘To stop the bleeding from the holes in your chest/And I screamed, “Ben, please just stay awake, I gotta get you home”’.
He has also paid tribute to him in numerous posts on social media, writing on the 14th anniversary of Ben’s murder: ‘I think of him everyday. I always will.’
