Remembering The Intrepid Fox

Well, I hope it’s not going to happen, but it looks like it could. The Intrepid Fox, the most famous pub in London for Punks and Rockers, is due to be demolished (subject to planning approval). The pub at its home in the heart of the West End (St Giles’ Circus) has been bought by property developers, who have quickly announced demolition plans and an application to turn one of London’s few remaining rock landmarks into housing.

But first let’s wind the clock right back, I was there at the very beginning.

My calendar gets a bit mixed up here, but I think it was either very late 1986 or early 1987 that I stood in The Intrepid Fox on Wardour Street (its original home) talking to the owner. The pub then was much the same as other pubs in the area. Nice enough, but nothing to distinguish it from others around. The owner (as far as I recall, a portly guy in his 40s) stated that he was going to turn The Intrepid Fox into a full on rock pub. Didn’t quite believe it, of course, but it was enough to start me and my friends drinking in there… read more >