The Squirrel: Joe Strummer’s favourite pub in London
The streets of London have been weathered by a countless array of historical events. From the days when William Blake detailed the “chartered streets” of the city, to the recent years of skyscrapers and gentrification, the city never lost its penchant for one thing: drinking. There is scarcely a street in the city that has not, at one point, housed an honest London boozer – some more honest than others. The drinking holes of the city have provided a home to a variety of notable characters over the years, including the punk rock icon Joe Strummer.
It should come as no real surprise that Strummer held a deep appreciation for the pub. After all, punk rock in the UK has its roots in the pub rock scene of the mid-1970s, in which groundbreaking groups like Dr. Feelgood would lay the foundations of the genre within the small stages and backrooms of London’s dingy pubs. Strummer got his start in that pub rock scene before becoming a legend of punk through fronting the groundbreaking group The Clash. Although they drew from many different avenues of inspiration, The Clash were a group firmly rooted in the streets of London.
The band regularly celebrated the city that had birthed them, most notably on the track ‘London Calling’, from the 1979 album of the same name. Although they might have had their issues with the direction of London, as shown by their rejection of the Americanisation of the city on ‘I’m So Bored of the USA’, they became as intrinsic to the cultural fabric of London as fish and chips, red phone boxes, and overpriced tourist traps. Every great artist needs a great pub to decompress within and, throughout his life, Strummer held a candle for one historic pub in London.
A stone’s throw away from the iconic Maida Vale studios sat The Squirrel pub, an old-school London watering hole dating all the way back to the 19th century. The Squirrel – once called the Skiddaw – had seen a countless array of notable figures come through its doors over the years; it was said to be a favourite of the Victorian poet Francis Thompson and was even mentioned by Martin Amis in a 1989 novel. Strummer found a natural home in the pub, frequenting it often during the early days of punk due largely to its proximity to the squat where he was residing at the time.
Despite the importance of the pub to the cultural landscape of London, it recently fell victim to the changing tides of the city. In 2018, it was announced that the pub would close its doors, to make way for residential flats. Of course, this is not the first time iconic venues have been converted into expensive digs; The Haçienda in Manchester being another prominent example. Of course, by that point, Strummer was not around to fight for the existence of The Squirrel, but many local residents protested against the closure.
Eventually, the protests caused Westminster council to refuse the planning permission to convert the historic pub into flats. However, you still cannot visit The Squirrel and see where Strummer liked to drink all those years ago. The pub remained closed amid the protests, and then the Covid-19 pandemic provided the final nail in its coffin. In 2022, the boarded-up remains of Strummer’s favourite pub were displayed on Google Maps before being converted into a swanky pharmacy.
The closure of a local pub like The Squirrel is always a tragedy. After all, pubs are not just businesses; they are cornerstones of the community which must be preserved. Think of all the people that had frequented The Squirrel since the 1800s, and how much it meant to all those individuals, including the likes of Strummer. Pharmacies simply do not inspire the same emotions.
