The Fighting Cocks

This place was my regular about five or six years back; boy, has it changed! The person managing it back then has since moved onto the Black Heart (and so have I, haha). Back then this place was great to drink in, friendly staff, really great service and an awesome selection of tunes on the jukebox. Not to mention the great array of gigs I attended here; the gig venue out back is SO small and some of the bands I saw here are huge now, so I’m glad I had those experiences, as they were genuinely once in a lifetime. Based on just that, I’d happily give this pub five stars.
However. the person that took over a few years ago has completely run this place into the ground. The drinks are too expensive for this part of London (well, it’s technically Surrey, so not London at all) and the crowd it attracts is just awful. No attention is paid to craft beer or ale anymore, the whole pub has lot it’s soul and personality. All of the gigs put on here now are terrible. Good for shooting pool, rubbish for anything else.

Quite simply my favourite gig venue in the UK.
Pub-​wise, it’s a ‘rock pub’, but it’s all amazingly friendly and the landlord Josh is just a great bloke. It’ll be full of guitar based music fans, so if that’s not your thing, probably avoid, but it’s a great place to drink otherwise.
The venue round the back is something special. Don’t think I can really do it justice, to be honest. All gigs should be in this tiny sweatbox with zebra print on the wall and a «come one, come all» attitude.
Fantastic place.

The biggest alternative location in Kingston, these days. It has managed to overthrow The Peel for this right, and it does it well. The staff are all great and friendly, as are most of the patrons. Who, for the record, are generally truly regular. It has a VERY reliable crowd, who will stick up vehemently for it.
And quite frankly, how can you resist a pool table with a leopard print cloth?
As previously mentioned, this bar is extremely safe — I have never heard of any trouble. It’s fairly well placed for travel — countless buses a couple of minutes away, parking on street if you’re lucky, and a train station nearby. It’s in a residential/​shopping road of Kingston, with a fairly half ‘n half split of the road, and so they have (and muchos respect for it) a no drinks outside rule. Keeps things nice and tidy, and most rowdiness inside.
The venue for live music is behind and down the stairs, with UV lights lining the stage/​pit area, and seats/​tables just outside it for those who just want to relax a bit, or chill and listen. There are loads of gigs going on, and not purely metal/​heavy rock, so their mailing list is worth being a part of/​band list keeping a watch of.
Most of the people there are, yes, tattood. When you consider that it’s next door to a tattoo parlour, and the intermingling (I heard something about the same owner, or owners going out, or something, I don’t really know) between them, it is to be expected. In fact, they’re basically the same crowd who frequent both. Some really nice designs, and people will be glad to show you them, along with their hair style, if you’re nice.
Don’t be afraid. Rock on til the break of dawn!

The fighting cocks is another one of those bars on the cusp of Kingston that is a really good place to go for a drink. The crowd is eclectic and the atmosphere at the weekends is always lively. They have a varied range of beers, wines and sprits and pool tables.
The real plus of this venue is that they have a side club that hosts live music and comedy. Russell Brand and Frank Skinner have, on regular occasions, done stand up here. Check out their webby for more details:

The Fighting Cocks is a place where most of the people we know go to hang out, meet up with friends and many of their bands play there too. There’s a real dirty, good old fashioned rock vibe about the place and it’s somewhere where you can go to chat to the staff and the regulars, since many people who frequent there really have made their own little scene of it.
I think the pub itself is pretty cool, it’s relaxed and there’s no pretensions at The Fighting Cocks at all. I love the late 80s /​early 90s rock vibe and the neighborly feel of the place.
The venue is host to many of the rock /​hardcore bands of the local scene. The venue is situated behind the bar and has it’s own little vibe where you can stand or sit and watch bands and share a drink.
Although there’s nothing wrong with this place, it’s a little out of the way for me. Unless my friends are down there or I’m in Kingston shopping or meeting someone, then there’s no real reason for me to go there really. There are lots of even better little music venues in central London.
A one-​off is fine, but perhaps not somewhere to go especially to have a drink…

The Fighting Cock rocks!!! Be sure to say this while you are making the devil sign with your fingers and thrashing your hair forward in a headbanging style.
I am the first to admit it; I am not your typical customer of The Cocks. Its crowd is heavily tattooed, and when I say heavily, I mean hardly anyone has any untouched skin. (And I only have the one little tattoo, it doesn’t even count). There are some seriously crazy hairstyles going on, punk, rockabilly, a lot of bleach and gothic style. The music is a mixture of headbanging and rock and roll. Oh and the crowd is great. Good fun, really nice people. In fact, while a couple of pubs in this area can occasionally have trouble from local rude boys, this place is as safe as a village fête.
There is always a great atmosphere here, and the place is usually packed. One of the centre pieces of the bar is the pool table, which you will have to patiently wait your turn to get to. When you have had a couple of drinks to warm you up, head into the next room which is done out for live music. It is worth mentioning that this place regularily gets voted as one of the best live music venues in Surrey. The accoustics are brilliant. The music varies every night, but generally you can look forward to a mixture of rock, indie, ska, and the occasional 70’s tribute prog rock band, which I found myself inexplicably watching last week.