The Hope and Anchor is a pub on Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington, and first opened its doors in 1880.
During the middle 70s it was one of the first pubs to embrace the emergent phenomenon of pub rock. During the years, this pub went on to become a leading venue in the punk and rock movement.
The Hope and Anchor is still an operational pub and live music venue today, owned and operated by the Greene King brewing company.
Since 1880 when the building was built, this place has own music history. Tally Ho in Kentish Town decided to switch this place from rock music to Irish music. The Hope and Anchor pub became a place where nights were special under the stewardship of managers.
In January 1976, the venue was acquired by Albion Management and Agency, who installed John Eichler as the landlord. In the light of numerous threats of closure, John organized various benefits in order to keep the pub in life with bands which performed live and some of those bands had their first steps at the music stage right in this pub.
In 1977 between Tuesday, 22 November and Thursday, 15 December – Hope and Anchor made first “The Hope & Anchor Front Row Festival” with list of 22 bands and all of those bands had played already at the pub previously. New rock and punk bands and groups take their wave and played on this event. Some of them later in years became most successful and world known bands.
One of those bands are Dire Straits with Knopfler brothers, John Illsley and Pick Withers. Dire Straits had their pre-album concert show and they performed “Eastbound Train” song on 9 December 1977. The recordings were issued as a live double album of the same name, which reached No. 28 in the UK Albums Chart.
Bands which performed on this venue: Dire Straits, Joy Division, The Keepers, The Clash, The Cure, The Jam, The Police, The Ramones, The Saints, Squeeze, The Stranglers, The U2’s in the time later U2, XTC, Joe Jackson and many others.
This pub is still an operational pub and live music venue today in owns by the Greene King brewing company. The pub is improved via refurbishments over the years.
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