Hope and Anchor, Islington
Encyclopedia
The Hope and Anchor is a public house
on Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington
. During the mid-1970s it was one of the first pubs to embrace the emergent, but brief, phenomenon of pub rock
. With the decline of this movement, the pub went on to become a leading venue in the punk rock
movement.
The Hope & Anchor Front Row Festival
, which took place between Tuesday 22 November and Thursday 15 December 1977, featured numerous pub rock, punk, and new wave groups. The recordings were issued as a live double album of the same name, which reached No 28 in the UK album chart.
The actual performance space at the Hope and Anchor was, at the time, a spartan and rather grubby basement space, alternately dank or overheated, and always smoky, but this in many ways suited the anarchic ideals of late-'70s live music. It was here that The Stranglers
recorded their album Live at the Hope and Anchor
.
The English group Keane made its debut at the Hope and Anchor the 13 July 1998.
The Hope and Anchor is still a pub and venue today, though facilities have been improved. It also has pool tables on the first floor and a jukebox in the main bar. The pub was featured in the 1980 film Breaking Glass
.
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
on Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington
London Borough of Islington
The London Borough of Islington is a London borough in Inner London. It was formed in 1965 by merging the former metropolitan boroughs of Islington and Finsbury. The borough contains two Westminster parliamentary constituencies, Islington North and Islington South & Finsbury...
. During the mid-1970s it was one of the first pubs to embrace the emergent, but brief, phenomenon of pub rock
Pub rock (UK)
Pub rock was a rock music genre that developed in the mid 1970s in the United Kingdom. A back-to-basics movement, pub rock was a reaction against progressive and glam rock. Although short-lived, pub rock was notable for rejecting stadium venues and for returning live rock to the small pubs and...
. With the decline of this movement, the pub went on to become a leading venue in the punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
movement.
The Hope & Anchor Front Row Festival
Hope & Anchor Front Row Festival
Hope & Anchor Front Row Festival is a hit double-LP of live recordings taken from various bands – mainly Power pop, Pub rock, Punk, and New wave groups - that played the Front Row Festival at Hope and Anchor, Islington between Tuesday 22 November and Thursday 15 December 1977...
, which took place between Tuesday 22 November and Thursday 15 December 1977, featured numerous pub rock, punk, and new wave groups. The recordings were issued as a live double album of the same name, which reached No 28 in the UK album chart.
The actual performance space at the Hope and Anchor was, at the time, a spartan and rather grubby basement space, alternately dank or overheated, and always smoky, but this in many ways suited the anarchic ideals of late-'70s live music. It was here that The Stranglers
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...
recorded their album Live at the Hope and Anchor
Live at the Hope and Anchor
Live at the Hope and Anchor is a live album by The Stranglers. It consists of an entire set from a concert at the Hope and Anchor pub in Islington, North London, recorded on 22 November, 1977. This particular concert took place on the opening night of the "Front Row Festival", a series of shows by...
.
The English group Keane made its debut at the Hope and Anchor the 13 July 1998.
The Hope and Anchor is still a pub and venue today, though facilities have been improved. It also has pool tables on the first floor and a jukebox in the main bar. The pub was featured in the 1980 film Breaking Glass
Breaking Glass
Breaking Glass is a 1980 British film starring Hazel O'Connor, Phil Daniels and Jonathan Pryce. The film was co-produced by Dodi Fayed and written and directed by Brian Gibson. The film was screened out of competition at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival....
.