The Fighting Cocks
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]
.jpg.webp) The venue in 2016 | |
| Address | 57 Old London Rd Kingston upon Thames England |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51.4103°N 0.2995°W |
| Public transit | Kingston railway station – Travel Card Zone 6 |
| Type | Music hall |
| Production | rock and roll, punk, metal, ska, alternative, rockabilly, electro, comedy and cabaret performances |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1891 |
| Years active | 1930 – present |
| Website | |
| TheFightingCocks.co.uk | |
History
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]
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The Stupids in 2009..jpg.webp)
Comedy performers
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]
Music performers
Past performers include:
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Sources
- A Pictorial and Descriptive Guide to London and Its Environs. Ward, Lock & Company, limited. 1913.
- The General Evening Post: 1758. 1758.
- Carr, Anne (11 August 2015). Linked: Stories from One of a Family's Parts. FriesenPress. ISBN 978-1-4602-6838-4.
- 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.
- Bibbings, Lois S. (26 March 2014). Binding Men: Stories About Violence and Law in Late Victorian England. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-30970-1.
- 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) - The Folk Directory. English Folk Dance and Song Society. 1979.
- Sampson, June (1972). The Story of Kingston. Michael Lancet. ISBN 978-0-900245-04-6.
- Larkin, Colin (2004). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz. Virgin. ISBN 978-1-85227-183-1.
- The Folk Directory. English Folk Dance and Song Society. 1979.
- Briain, Dara O. (1 October 2009). Tickling the English. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 978-0-14-193257-6.
- 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.
- "Fighting Cocks pub: fears over its closure allayed as development plans reveal music venue will be even bigger". Surrey Comet. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- Collins, Shirley (2018). All in the Downs: Reflections on Life, Landscape and Song. MIT Press. ISBN 978-1-907222-41-2.
- Allen, Carl (15 April 2016). London Gig Venues. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-4456-5820-9.
- Bean, J. P. (4 March 2014). Singing from the Floor: A History of British Folk Clubs. Faber & Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-30546-9.
- Richardson Andrews, Charlotte (10 June 2014). "The gig venue guide: the Fighting Cocks, Kingston upon Thames". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
- Chilton, John (1 May 2004). Who's Who of British Jazz: 2nd Edition. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8264-2389-4.
- Larkin, Colin (2000). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Brown, Marion - Dilated Peoples. MUZE. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
- Inc, Nielsen Business Media (28 September 1985). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.
{{cite book}}:|last=has generic name (help) - McGillivray, David (1994). McGillivray's Theatre Guide. Rebecca Books. ISBN 978-0-9518922-2-0.
- "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.
- Briain, Dara O. (1 October 2009). Tickling the English. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 978-0-14-193257-6.
- "Kingston Performers". OutsideTheBoxComedy.co.uk. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
- "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.
- Kevan (16 April 2018). "Fighting Cocks History". PubsHistory.com. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
External links
- The Fighting Cocks on Instagram.
- The Fighting Cocks at Time Out.
- The Fighting Cocks at Mayor of London's 'Visit London'.