suburb of London vs. suburb from London

[Torsten]

Just listened a very early interview by Dave Gahan in which he says 'We live in a suburb from London'. Was that a slip of the tongue?

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[Mordant]

Without hearing it, I would guess so. Towns are not from anywhere; people are. Perhaps he blended two ideas in his head at once: his current or original place of residence and the town's relation to London.

[Torsten]

Hi Mordant, you can hear the phrase in this video at approximately 1:37

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[Mordant]

I still guess it is a slip of the tongue. It's not very sensible.

[Alan]

Hi Torsten,

I would never call Basildon a suburb of or from London. In UK geography terms it's some way from London - about 25-30 miles. I think that the young chap wanted the interviewer to think he was 'from' London because he assumed that she hadn't heard of Basildon. He hesitates and says a suburb from London and then says Basildon. As you know I live some 20 miles from London and I would never call the place where I live a suburb of London.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
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[Mordant]

You probably hit the nail right on the head, Alan.

[Torsten]

Hi Alan and Mordant, thank you very much for clarifying this point. Can you please also tell me you think he repeats his name at the very beginning of the interview? Does he think the interviewer didn't get his name right before is he trying to make a joke?

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[Alan]

Hi Torsten,

I think he's just a bit nervous and doesn't understand her accent because she has just introduced him in her language to the audience. I would say it's more of a nervous laugh than anything else.

Alan
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English as a Foreign Language
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[Torsten]

Alan, what I find so amazing about this interview is it shows how much self-confidence and charisma David Gahan has developed since it was recorded. Last year I was a concert where this guy held about 60.000 fans enthralled for more than 2.5 hours!

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