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THE DUKE 020 8469 8260 125 Creek Road, Deptford, London SE8 3BU |
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| The Duke - A Musical History |
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This old pub was an integral part of the legendary Deptford music scene in the 70's and 80's, hosting performances by numerous local bands including such notable acts as Squeeze and Dire Straits. It was even temporarily renamed 'Nail in the Heart' in honour of the musical staged at the Albany by members of Squeeze in the early eighties. |
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Responsible for all was Erich Höfer, much loved landlord from 1977 to
2000 and immortalised in this Crossfields mural painted in 1982 on
the side of Cremer House by Claire Humm (now living in Hastings).
That's him, behind the bar, of course. A small number of the pub's
pictured clientele still live on the estate, or in the area. Erich
died in November 2010 and was seen off in style - at The Duke of
course. (Extracts from the memories of local musician and former Bluebird, Bobby Valentino) '... Local band The Bluebirds (later becoming the Electric Bluebirds) started as a Sunday night acoustic band in 1979 at The Duke. At that time Deptford enjoyed an almost legendary status, especially the 1930’s council-run Crossfields estate. Due to the ominous presence of a dual carriageway running through the middle, the council had a policy of only letting to young single people and couples without children. This duly attracted students and artists of all sorts to run-down Deptford. In those days there were many local bands: Dire Straights, Squeeze, the Fabulous Poodles, The Realists and Mark Perry & ATV. In fact the line-up for the Crossfields Free Festival - back in ‘78 or ‘79 - was all of the above and more, performing on a makeshift stage on a perfect Sunday afternoon, with long extension leads coming from Mark Knopfler’s ground floor flat powering a makeshift PA. At the heart of the Bluebirds for those Sundays in The Duke was The Realists, a hard working, inappropriately-named local band whom Stiff Records had evinced some interest in, releasing a single “I’ve Got A Heart”, hoping it would stick against the wall. The line-up and repertoire could definitely be called eclectic. There was a trumpet, Rowan on the clarinet, the occasional sax, Jim Bamber ( Uncle Bulgaria from the Wombles) scraping washboard as taught by Derek Guyler, and Alan Dunn would sometimes bring a hammer dulcimer and a glockenspiel along as well as the accordion. A variety of guitarists would be there including - intermittently - local heroes Mark Knopfler and Tom McGuinness. The most “musicians” that ever performed in the corner of what was then a very small pub, was fourteen. The “divvy” of the £30 fee didn’t come anywhere near the refreshment expenses. The audience often included other famous locals like Glen Tilbrook (who was later to produce a couple of tracks for the band), Albert Lee, and the above mentioned guitarists. The place became so packed (it just could have been the number of muso’s) it was pointless having a break since no one could get to the bar, and the beers had to be passed forward overhead. The South East London Mercury when reviewing an evening likened it to “...sharing a train compartment with the cast of the Muppets”...' |
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A little later the Duke was at the centre of a
theatrical production called 'Labelled with Love'. Local
writer and performer John Turner took songs from the most successful
Squeeze LP, East Side Story, into a musical production called
Labelled with Love, which opened in February 1983 at the Albany
Empire in Deptford. The script was written and the company assembled before the two songwriters (Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbook) became involved, but on discovering Turner's plans, they threw themselves whole-heartedly into the project, adding a couple of new songs, helping with the arrangements and the stage sound, and promoting the event. |
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The setting is a pub called The Nail in the Heart after Squeeze's "Another Nail In My Heart." We are told that it used to be called the Queen of Hearts until lightning destroyed half the sign and left the remainder hanging on one nail. It was not hard to identify the true identity of The Nail as The Duke if only because of the larger than life character Eric the Landlord stood firmly behind the bar. |
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The Duke 125 Creek Road, London, SE8 3BU Telephone 020 8469 8260 |
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