The Fighting Cocks is a music venue built prior to 1890[1][2] active since the 1930s and located in Kingston upon Thames, the administrative centre of the Royal Borough of Kingston, southwest London, England.[3][4][5][6] It specializes in rock and roll, punk, metal, folk,[7] ska, alternative, rockabilly, electro, comedy, and cabaret performances.[8] It was conspicuous for hosting touring jazz acts[9] in the late 1930s and in the 1940s.[10][11][12] It is now a standard on the London live circuit.[13] It was a popular watering hole, and host to many jam sessions including such artists as Eric Clapton, Shirley Collins,[14] Frank Turner, Gallows, The Stupids,[15] June Tabor[16] and The Rolling Stones. Since 1992, it is also a live-audience training platform and term assessments venue for Kingston University's drama and music students.[17][18][19]

The Fighting Cocks
The venue in 2016
Map
Address57 Old London Rd
Kingston upon Thames
England
Coordinates51°24′37″N 0°17′58″W / 51.4103°N 0.2995°W / 51.4103; -0.2995
Public transitKingston railway station – Travel Card Zone 6
TypeMusic hall
Productionrock and roll, punk, metal, ska, alternative, rockabilly, electro, comedy and cabaret performances
Construction
Built1891
Years active1930 – present
Website
TheFightingCocks.co.uk

History

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Unsigned, underground, as well as established artists have been invited to perform. The last management of the Cocks opened its doors in 2000. The Fighting Cocks is cooperating with Banquet Records promoters based a few minutes walk away in the town centre, formerly part of the Beggars Banquet Records retail chain. Banquet Records is also home to Gravity DIP music management.[20]

Comedy performers

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The music venue has a long history of comedy performers especially since it has transformed into the award-winning Outside the Box comedy night on Mondays.[21] Comedians who have performed there include:[22]

Comedy couple Lucy Beaumont and Jon Richardson first met one another at the Kingston venue's weekly comedy night.[26]

Music performers

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Past performers include:

Performers Country Performers Country
Andrew Koji Shiraki   : United States Polar   : Norway
Crossfaith   : Japan The Peacocks   : Switzerland
Cancer Bats   : Canada Fucked Up   : Canada
Gay for Johnny Depp   : United States New Found Glory   : United States
The Stupids   : England The Flatliners   : Canada
Frank Turner   : England Hundred Reasons   : England
Lower Than Atlantis   : England Rolo Tomassi   : England
Voodoo Glow Skulls   : United States Marmozets   : England
Guttermouth   : United States Johnny Foreigner   : England
Gnarwolves   : England Lonely The Brave   : England
The Menzingers   : United States The Skints   : England
Against Me!   : United States Every Time I Die   : United States
Polar Bear Club   : United States Strung Out   : United States
The Unseen   : United States Municipal Waste   : United States
Teenage Bottlerocket   : United States Star Fucking Hipsters   : United States
Four Year Strong   : United States Knuckle Puck   : United States
Cerebral Ballzy   : United States Walter Schreifels   : United States
H20   : United States Letlive   : United States
Terror   : United States Madball   : United States
The Blackout   : Wales Time Again   : United States
Anti-Flag   : United States The Hard Ons   : Australia
Hot Club De Paris   : England Gallows   : England
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly   : England The King Blues   : England
Jim Jones and The Righteous Mind   : England Young Guns   : England
Drenge   : England The Wedding Present   : England
Blood Red Shoes   : England Blitz Kids   : England
Capdown   : England Sonic Boom Six   : England
Wargasm   : England Therapy? Northern Ireland

[27]

The Fighting Cocks on film

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The Fighting Cocks was featured as a filming location in Season 2 of Disney's Loki television series. In it, Hiddleston’s Loki catches up with his old star-crossed lover Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) to discuss a return to the Time Variance Agency. Regulars might be perplexed by the décor: the pub is actually standing in for a watering hole in 1980s Oklahoma – though the leopard print and pool table will ring some definite bells. The pub has put a plaque down to mark where the God of Mischief once propped up the bar and sipped a bourbon. [28]

Sources

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  1. ^ A Pictorial and Descriptive Guide to London and Its Environs. Ward, Lock & Company, limited. 1913.
  2. ^ The General Evening Post: 1758. 1758.
  3. ^ Carr, Anne (11 August 2015). Linked: Stories from One of a Family's Parts. FriesenPress. ISBN 978-1-4602-6838-4.
  4. ^ Finny, William Evelyn St Lawrence (1902). The Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames, Ancient and Modern, with Notes Upon Surbiton and Its Surroundings ... Homeland Association.
  5. ^ Bibbings, Lois S. (26 March 2014). Binding Men: Stories About Violence and Law in Late Victorian England. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-30970-1.
  6. ^ Ltd (Londres), Ward, Lock & Co (1819). A Pictorial and Descriptive Guide to London and Its Environs: With Two Large Section Plans of Central London... Ward, Lock & Company, Limited.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ The Folk Directory. English Folk Dance and Song Society. 1979.
  8. ^ Sampson, June (1972). The Story of Kingston. Michael Lancet. ISBN 978-0-900245-04-6.
  9. ^ Larkin, Colin (2004). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz. Virgin. ISBN 978-1-85227-183-1.
  10. ^ The Folk Directory. English Folk Dance and Song Society. 1979.
  11. ^ Briain, Dara O. (1 October 2009). Tickling the English. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 978-0-14-193257-6.
  12. ^ Howe, Zoe; Whitby, Michele; Platt, John; Way, Gina; Davis, Peter (3 December 2013). The British Beat Explosion: Rock 'n' Roll Island. Aurora Metro Publications Ltd. ISBN 978-1-906582-52-4.
  13. ^ "Fighting Cocks pub: fears over its closure allayed as development plans reveal music venue will be even bigger". Surrey Comet. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  14. ^ Collins, Shirley (2018). All in the Downs: Reflections on Life, Landscape and Song. MIT Press. ISBN 978-1-907222-41-2.
  15. ^ Allen, Carl (15 April 2016). London Gig Venues. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-4456-5820-9.
  16. ^ Bean, J. P. (4 March 2014). Singing from the Floor: A History of British Folk Clubs. Faber & Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-30546-9.
  17. ^ Richardson Andrews, Charlotte (10 June 2014). "The gig venue guide: the Fighting Cocks, Kingston upon Thames". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  18. ^ Chilton, John (1 May 2004). Who's Who of British Jazz: 2nd Edition. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8264-2389-4.
  19. ^ Larkin, Colin (2000). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Brown, Marion - Dilated Peoples. MUZE. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
  20. ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (28 September 1985). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  21. ^ McGillivray, David (1994). McGillivray's Theatre Guide. Rebecca Books. ISBN 978-0-9518922-2-0.
  22. ^ "Tim Vine: 'I sang karaoke in New Malden on my own' | Your Local Guardian". 26 September 2018. Archived from the original on 26 September 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  23. ^ Briain, Dara O. (1 October 2009). Tickling the English. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 978-0-14-193257-6.
  24. ^ "Kingston Performers". OutsideTheBoxComedy.co.uk. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  25. ^ "Reginald D Hunter to headline comedy night in Kingston as well as TWO New Year's Eve shows". Your Local Guardian. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  26. ^ Bennett, Steve. "Lucy Beaumont: My bizarre first date with Jon Richardson : Punching Up 2021 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  27. ^ Kevan (16 April 2018). "Fighting Cocks History". PubsHistory.com. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  28. ^ Semlyen, Phil de (6 November 2023). "Tom Hiddleston has claimed this London pub for the Marvelverse". Time Out London. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
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