Some pubs define towns. They are a community hub where generations make memories and talk about them for years after the place has actually closed. Croydon's The Greyhound was one of those places. The unassuming-looking venue in Park Lane played host to rock gigs, Christmas parties and work dos for generations and many Croydon folk still remember it with misty-eyes.
But this place had the added bonus that just about everybody who became anybody in music played there before they got too famous. Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath, Rod Stewart, Elton John, Supertramp and Status Quo are just some of the names former customer like to drop. This was no ordinary live music venue!
Here was a pub with a big history too. The Greyhound Hotel had dominated the High Street since the 1820s and became a magnet of the town's social life.
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Clearly in Victorian times lots of gentlemanly pursuits went on there including staging plays. As the Stage magazine reported in April 1928: "The Greyhound Repertory Players commenced their season on Monday, when they presented John Galsworthy's drama "Loyalties."
In September 1900 a writer in the Croydon Chronicle gushed about the pub: "The Greyhound Hotel, Croydon, is among the most lemons (best) of south country hostelries. Centuries ago it was visited by royalty; it was always a favourite house of call on the road to London in the coaching days."
Many yeas later, as reported by the Layers of London website, every Sunday, the "Croydon Blues Club" would hire a large function room (with separate bar) and put on live music.
The venue attracted a lot of massive names, mainly before they got really big. The most famous line up was David Bowie supported by Roxy Music. Other acts included Supertramp, Elton John, Status Quo (regular appearances), Curved Air, Edgar Broughton, MC5, Stray and many, many others.
Local Christmas parties seem to be particularly fondly remembered as well as leaving drinks for those who worked at the nearby Nestle factory. David Thorne recalls the oldest days of the pub. he wrote: "Back in the day this was a lovely old coaching inn, they had a great dining area upstairs, and we went to quite a few dinner dances. Really comfortable bars and meeting areas.
"It was a disaster when they tore it down, when you consider that thousands of visitors go to York every day to see The Shambles, Croydon had just as many old buildings, but all demolished in the name of modernity."
Lynne Case said: "I only went there once because South London Press held a big competition for brides to be and I was there to dress them in wedding dresses and it was a bit like a beauty pageant I suppose. It was a great night."
Sam Corps recalls somewhat bitterly: "Going there when 14 and my friend's mum was there telling bouncer we were too young to go in." And Anna batten adds: "I saw Rod Stewart there before he was famous, along with many other people."
Another former customer recalls a special night when Black Sabbath rocked out there. He writes: "Cant remember the exact year, probably 1969-71, but performing was Black Sabbath at the Greyhound, Croydon. Extremely loud. Stood somewhere at the back and could only hear the guitars. Most vivid memory was lots of blokes sitting on the floor cross legged right in front of the stage shaking their heads to beat of Paranoid!"
Well we could go on and on. The pub was eventually refurbished and turned into the - also legendary - Blue Orchid night club. It's now been torn down to make way for the St George's Walk development. But here is a pub that is truly truly missed.
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