AMP Kingston: Heritage Trail

8. The Fighting Cocks

“The Cocks is proudly independent, open seven days a week and is a haven for the inked, the pierced and the damned.” The Guardian

With a musical history dating back to the 1930’s, The Fighting Cocks has been a standard on the London live circuit, attracting internationally acclaimed entertainment acts to Kingston for almost a century. A popular stop off for touring Jazz acts during the 30’s and 40’s, and a hub for the emerging hardcore rock scene from the ‘80’s and ‘90’s, musical heritage is seeped into the floorboards and walls of the building, which harks back to at least 1776. In that year the Bailiffs’ Books reported a thief being chased there after stealing from the Queen’s Head on the Market Place – perhaps it has been a “haven for the damned” ever since…

Built originally as a stables on the site of a former Roman pig farm, The Fighting Cocks was rebuilt as a public house after a fire in the early 1800’s, with rumours that its name had its origins in headmasters of Kingston Grammar School organising cock fights here. When former landlord Jamie O’Grady received the original deeds back in 2013, he was thrilled to find the huge stack of documents were written with a quill!

From the 1930’s through to the 1950’s, the venue became a hotspot on the Greater London jazz scene, hosting esteemed local acts such as The Canal Street Band, Bill Brunskill and benefit nights for New Orleans greats, Punch Miller and Kid Sheik. The Cocks also benefitted from proximity to the Eel Pie Island Jazz Club in Twickenham, famed for drawing some of the biggest names in jazz and early R&B, including Howlin’ Wolf, Sandy Brown and Buddy Guy. As the notoriety of ‘Eelpiland’ grew, it would host residencies for The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, The Yardbirds and Rod Stewart but to name a few. Becoming a favourite, neighbouring watering hole and host to many jam sessions, the Rock ‘n’ Roll status of The Cocks was sealed.

The Bill Brunskill Band outside The Fighting Cocks, 1964. Photo: Ron Drakeford
London Society of Jazz Music card. Photo: Don Drakeford.

After almost twenty years of loyal custom, drinking in the pub and building friendships across the local community, Adelaide native Jamie took over the lease of the venue in 2000. He had come to know The Cocks through his friendship with the band, Objects of Desire, who had formed at Richmond College and had a residency at The Grey Horse – another legendary Kingston venue. 

They began to play more regularly at ‘Rock the Cockpit’ at The Fighting Cocks, a heavier, punk-goth night in the back room of the pub. A few years later, they would go on to become Kula Shaker, one of the most successful bands of the Brit-Pop era, notching up a strong of Top 10 UK hits, including “Tattva”, “Hey Dude”, “Govinda”, “Hush”, and “Sound of Drums”.

Jamie recalls this being the start of a developing alternative and goth scene in the late ‘80’s, centring around The Cocks, as an additional platform for new live bands, and a welcoming place for the ‘misfits’ to get together. As a unique blend of traditional Chelsea pub and alternative hang-out, The Cocks attracted an oddly harmonious blend of old-time locals and the underground crowd of skinheads, rockers and punks that remains to this day. 

Recounting some heavy jazz sessions which would ‘go off!’, with patrons jumping and dancing the tables- even on a Sunday afternoon- Jamie recognised a thirst for more live music in the area, and set about engendering a thriving live music programme from The Cocks when he took over the lease in 2000.

It was his friendships with local bands, Fletcher, Jerry Built and Beyond Reasonable Doubt, which led him to discover the burgeoning hardcore scene in Central London; one that he knew would go down well with the crowd at The Cocks. Immediately after booking bands for the venue, he recalls: “It went nuts. All of a sudden, we had a mental hardcore scene in Kingston. And literally, within two or three months, it was slammed. That was where live music at the Fighting Cocks really restarted. That was the springboard.” 

Meanwhile, the Kingston live music scene continued to grow- in part due to the visionary and diverse events programme of Banquet Records and their partnership with the Fighting Cocks and other venues such as nightclubs The Hippodrome and PRYZYM.  The Cocks’s unique character assured it as a favourite drinking spot for gig- goers across genres as diverse as rock, punk, metal, folk,  ska, indie, rockabilly, electro and also comedy. Both unsigned and established acts, booked to headline the major venues in London would look to Kingston, and the reputable scene of The Cocks, to try out new material for an intimate crowd. 

In 2005, The Fighting Cocks also launched ‘Outside The Box’, in partnership with comedian Maff Brown. This award-winning weekly comedy night contributed to a bustling comedy circuit in Kingston, still thriving today as a platform for both emerging and high-profile comics, including Bill Bailey, Sarah Pascoe and Lee Mack. 

Dara O'Briain at The Fighting Cocks, 2014
Bill Bailey at the Fighting Cocks

Kingston’s geographical location continued to bring good fortune when it came to attracting high profile, international artists. Often, when playing the central London headline venues, they had to sign contracts to not play anywhere else within a certain radius, and Kingston often fell just outside that zone. If a band were booked to play one night in London and one night in Brighton, says Jamie, “Nine times out of ten, The Fighting Cocks would fall smack bang in the middle. And this happened a lot!”.

In 2020, Jamie made the decision to return to Australia. Determined to keep The Fighting Cocks as a live rock music venue – despite countless offers from developers – he handed the reins to Matt Barnwell and Ali Parcell who would carry the torch for The Cock’’s ethos and bring a fresh vision for its future. 

Matt, a musician and hospitality consultant, and Ali, a digital marketing specialist, bonded over their love of rock, and came to the Fighting Cocks for their very first date! They saw skate punk band Knucklepuck, which Ali recalls being incredible. “Just the energy. Seeing a band like that in such a tightly packed venue-  it just went off!” 

Working closely with Banquet Records, Matt, Ali and Promoter Natasha Grosvenor have continued to develop The Cocks’s diverse entertainment programme, keeping it future-focused and community centred. Alongside names such as Gallows, Marmozets, Wargasm, Frank Turner or Tankus The Henge, the Cocks’s extensive live music programme is complemented by a range of events that caters to all members of its community,  with quiz nights, LGBTQ+ events ,  family and child-friendly parties, and most recently acoustic nights at the newly acquired sister business, OLR Cafe. 

Ali even made the pub available for film shoots, with an advert catching the eye of Disney Execs: in 2023 it was booked as a location shoot for the filming of Marvel’s second series of Loki, ensuring The Fighting Cocks is not just a stop on the musical heritage map, but also a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe! 

Fostering community remains central to The Cocks, building partnerships with local businesses such as Old London Road Tattoos, suppliers such as Bone Idle Gin, and promoters such as Loud Women, who put on femme-fronted bands. Having seen friendships, proposals, marriages and babies born from the relationships forged here, The Cocks remains a stalwart of the local community, bringing people together through music. 

With its notorious leopard print decor and iconic jukebox, the venue retains its unique character and energy, always promising a wild night. In a time where UK venues are increasingly under threat, it continues to fly the flag for grassroots live music, fostering a welcoming, inclusive environment for people to come together to share banter, a bop and a pint. From the footstomps of the Victorian horses, through to the moshpits of Gallows and Fucked Up, The Fighting Cocks is here to stay.

For upcoming events, visit their website.

Interviews

Hear more about music at the Fighting Cocks from the people who were there.

Jamie O’Grady ran The Fighting Cocks for 21 years, from 2000 to 2021, ushering in a distinctive and iconic era at the pub. Recalling how he took control of what was then a much more traditional outfit, he spoke to AMP about instilling a welcoming culture for all – where ‘men with mohawks and a bolt through their nose banter with businessmen in pinstripe suits’ – whilst developing a music and comedy culture that makes it one of Kingston’s most treasured spots today.

Ali Parcell took over the running of the Fighting Cocks with her husband Matt Barnwell when Jamie O’Grady moved back to Australia in 2021. She spoke to AMP about how Jamie was adamant that the pub would never be taken over by the kind of landlord that would abandon its ethos. Instead, her and Matt maintain the Cocks’ reputation for raucous live music and high profile comedy acts, whilst still adding their own touches – and even finding themselves part of the Marvel universe! 

Jamie O'Grady
Matt Barnwell and Ali Parcell

AMP Kingston:
Art, Music, Pop Fashion

The AMP Kingston Heritage Trail explores and celebrates Kingston’s rich music heritage from the 1960’s to the present day at key sites across the town.

Find out more and explore the map of venues.

Continue the heritage trail

7. Nipper Alley

9. Kingston Museum