The Sir George Robey

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Coordinates: 51°33′47″N 0°06′26″W / 51.5631472°N 0.1072636°W / 51.5631472; -0.1072636
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Sir George Robey
a pub with no roof or windows
The pub standing derelict and roofless, in July 2008
Map
Alternative names
  • The Powerhaus
  • Robey
General information
Type
Locally listed

The Sir George Robey was a mid-19th century

Finsbury Park, North London, England.[1][2] It was named in honour of the music hall performer Sir George Robey (1869–1954) in 1968.[1][3][4]

The pub's 'Meux's Original London Stout' plaque

The pub was a

Meux's house, and was noted for a plaque advertising their Original London Stout, which remained on the building until its demise,[1] long after the brewery's closure in 1921.[5]

During its time as a music venue, artists who performed at the Sir George Robey include

Carter USM, Desmond Dekker, Fairport Convention, Gong, Hawkwind, Bert Jansch, Roy Harper, Ralph McTell, They Might Be Giants, Squarepusher, Fugazi and Tunnelmen.[1][2][4][6] Blur's Damon Albarn recalled:[7]

That was right at the start of Blur. Graham [Coxon] and Alex [James] were still at Goldsmiths so we were just doing our first gigs. First on the bill at an indie all-dayer at the George Robey pub in Finsbury Park which meant we were on at eleven in the morning and just got pissed for the rest of the day, taking advantage of the beer coupons.

Live albums recorded at the venue include

Steve Marriott's Packet of Three's Live at the Sir George Robey 23-10-85.[8] The pub also hosted punk and ska all-nighters, and 'Club Dog' acid-house nights.[9]

After being renamed The Powerhaus in March 1996, when it was taken over by the

Mean Fiddler Music Group,[1][2] and later named Robey,[10] it closed in 2004.[1][8][11]

Despite being

locally listed,[12] the building was demolished in 2015,[13] after a period standing derelict, during which it was occupied by squatters[6] and had its interior fittings and floors removed.[8][10] A Premier Inn
hotel now occupies the site.

The pub was directly opposite another, larger, music venue, the Rainbow Theatre.[8]

The fictitious venue The Harry Lauder in Nick Hornby's book High Fidelity was based on The Sir George Robey.[4] Near the end of Irvine Welsh's novel Trainspotting the characters Sick Boy and Begbie visit The Sir George Robey.[14]

References

  1. ^
    BBC History Magazine
    . Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  2. ^ a b c O'Connor, Joe (3 July 1999). "Jigging in the park". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  3. ISBN 978-1-84022-266-1
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-1-905211-43-2
    .
  5. ISBN 978-0-7190-3032-1
    .
  6. ^ a b Dean, Jon (20 April 2015). "Squatters evicted from famous Finsbury Park pub". Islington Gazette. Archived from the original on 4 May 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  7. ^ Mash, Julian. "Book Extract – Under The Westway with Damon Albarn". Q Magazine. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  8. ^
    ISBN 978-1-4456-5820-9
    .
  9. ^ "A Cosmic Dog". Record Collector. No. 448. Christmas 2015. pp. 54–60.
  10. ^
    CAMRA
    . Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  11. ^ Other sources give dates from 1996-2002
  12. Haringey Council
    . April 2013. 3.5.14. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  13. ^ "Derelict London - London's Lost Music Venues". Derelict London - Photography, Social History and Guided Walking Tours. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  14. ISBN 978-1-906000-85-1
    .

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Sir_George_Robey&oldid=1214433732"