Hope & Anchor, Islington, N1

First visit for 40 years but probably not much changes.Music pub then.Got hammered on last visit,smoked some dope then got violently sick.Great night.Not so good now.Quiet.Only the ghastly imo Green King family of beers inc GK -Rumrunner and Belhaven -Old Gold.Still got a bit of the old grunge style.

This is, at first glance, a pretty unremarkable street corner pub, just a few minutes from Highbury and Islington tube station. The interior has a typical bare boarded main room, modernised in recent years, but still with a few hints of a traditional layout. The servery is located in the rear right corner of the ground floor room, which has been filled with standard tables and chairs, excepting a few banquettes around the perimeter. Large arched windows flood the front and side of the pub with plenty of light and the décor is fairly low key, with patterned wallpaper on the walls to the rear and a couple of framed LP's on show on the back wall. Stairs lead up to an art-house theatre, whose productions were being heavily promoted throughout the pub. In lieu of a traditional rear garden, a few picnic benches have been set out on the quiet side street running down the left hand side of the pub. Arriving late in the evening, loud music could be heard emerging from a basement bar below, and it is this long established venue that turns an unmemorable visit into something of a pub history lesson. With virtually nothing to give the game away in the main bar, The Hope and Anchor played a huge part in the 1970's London music scene, paving the way for 'Pub Rock' acts, before becoming a champion of the emerging Punk Rock scene of the late '70's. The Strangers recorded a live album here and a compilation album recorded in late 1977, featuring the likes of XTC, The Only Ones, Wilko Johnson and, bizarrely, Dire Straits, reached number 28 in the UK album charts. Many household names appear to have played here down the years and Madness filmed their 'One Step Beyond' video in the pub. A trip up the staircase to the toilets reveals a smattering of memorabilia, from which I spotted old tickets to a Skids concert and a framed record titled 'Don't Let the Hope Close Down', featuring The Pogues among others, which was recorded back in 1984 in reaction to plans to shut the venue down. Back in the bar, reeling from the surprise at finding such a rich history in such a bland pub, a pint seemed like the best plan, so it was a bit of a let-down to find Morland Old Golden Hen, Greene King IPA and Elgoods CXXX as the only ale options. The latter was a fairly uninspiring pint of best bitter poured in comical fashion by a rather inept barmaid. I found it remarkable that the pub doesn't make more of its musical heritage, especially as it is still putting live music on, but perhaps that's a sign of the quest for a bland corporate approach to pub design that the likes of Greene King strive for. This place is interesting, but only when you're imagining what it was like 30 years ago. In the hear and now it's just another average London pub and that is a real shame.