The Falcon, Camden

The Falcon

A photo of the pub from 2012, closed and converted to a residential property.
Location	234 Royal College Street, Camden Town, London, NW1
Capacity	150
Closed	2002

The Falcon, later The Camden Falcon, was a pub and music venue located at 234 Royal College Street, in the London Borough of Camden, North London.

History

19th century

A pub on that spot dates back to at least the late 19th century. In 1896 a pub by this name listed at 234 Great College Street, the name of the street prior to the Veterinary College there being awarded royal charter, had an accepted tender "for alterations" reported in the construction trade periodical The Builder.^[1]

20th century

The pub went from hosting low-key gigs in the late 1980s to becoming one of the most influential music venues of the 1990s, and a hub of London's Britpop and Shoegaze scenes.^[2] During this time it was owned by Baxter Mitchell and Alexis Hunter.^[3] It was also a fringe theatre for a short time.^[4]

The band Hopper outside the pub.

Bands and musicians such as Blur (then named Seymour), Pulp, Lush, Slowdive, Inspiral Carpets, Suede, The Stereophonics, Feeder, Doves, PJ Harvey, Travis, Muse, Catatonia, Teenage Fanclub, and Coldplay all played there early in their careers.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10]}

The Sundays and Lush played their first concerts there (on separate occasions) in 1988.^[11][12]

Ivo Watts-Russell signed Lush and Pale Saints to 4AD after seeing them both on the same bill there in 1989.^[13]

Heavenly's second time performing was at the pub, supporting The Television Personalities, and it was there that Sarah Records offered to release the band's recordings.^[14]

The Verve's second time performing in London was at the pub.^[15]

Alan McGee's first time seeing Super Furry Animals was at the pub in 1995, after being brought there by Creation Records A&R Mark Bowen, this led to the label signing the band.^[16]

The Barfly originally started as a series of concerts there, with disputes with the local authorities about crowd capacity eventually leading it to move to the Monarch in nearby Chalk Farm.^[2] The founders of The Barfly also started The Fly magazine, initially as a listings leaflet for their own events. Their offices were above the pub until 1997, when a fire was caused by an employee staying in the office during a power cut falling asleep with a candle still lit.^[17]

Simon Williams first approached Coldplay about releasing on Fierce Panda Records upon seeing them play at The Falcon in 1998.^[6] Steve Lamacq was also in attendance that night.^[18]

See also

• The Barfly

References

1. "Tenders - London". The Builder. Vol. 67. 14 November 1896. p. 416.
2. Talling, Paul (2008). Derelict London. Random House. ISBN 9781905211432.
3. Morris, Lynda (11 March 2014). "Alexis Hunter obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
4. Sullivan, Edward (1998). Evening Standard London Pub Bar Guide 1999. Simon & Schuster. p. 73. ISBN 9780671022044.
5. Allen, Carl (2016). London Gig Venues. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 9781445658209.
6. Williams, Simon (2023). Pandamonium!: How (Not) to Run a Record Label. Nine Eight Books. ISBN 9781788707299.
7. Owens, David (2011). Cerys, Catatonia And The Rise Of Welsh Pop. Ebury Publishing. ISBN 9781448116362.
8. Allport, Robin (30 January 2014). "Slowdive: Some Comebacks Matter More Than Most". Clash. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
9. Sturdy, Mark (2009). Truth And Beauty: The Story Of Pulp. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857121035.
10. "$tar $igns". The List. 16 July 1993. p. 11.
11. Young, Rob (2006). Rough Trade. Black Dog. p. 121. ISBN 9781904772477.
12. Sonya Shelton (December 1994). Angela M Pilchak (ed.). Contemporary Musicians. Vol. 13. Cengage Gale. ISBN 978-0-8103-5737-2. Retrieved 17 August 2024 – via Light From A Dead Star.
13. King, Richard (2012). How Soon is Now? The Madmen and Mavericks who Made Independent Music 1975-2005. Faber & Faber. ISBN 9780571278329.
14. White, Michael (2015). Popkiss: The Life and Afterlife of Sarah Records. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 170. ISBN 9781628922233.
15. Baker, Trevor (2008). Richard Ashcroft. John Blake. p. 28. ISBN 9781906191023.
16. McGee, Alan (2013). Creation Stories: Riots, Raves and Running a Label. Pan MacMillan. ISBN 9780283071782.
17. Khomami, Nadia (26 January 2014). "Little music fanzines making a big noise". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
18. Bendoris, Matt (2 February 2023). "THE GIG'S UP Indy venues made singers like Lewis Capaldi and Ed Sheeran stars, we must save them – says DJ legend". The Scottish Sun. Retrieved 12 November 2024.

51°32′36″N 0°08′22″W