The Cart And Horses, Stratford

Oooh - forgot to mention we didn't actually believe all the "Iron Maiden's first gig stuff anyway, having been fans for many years, but what sealed it was the picture of "Nikko McBain" - I kid you not!!! We couldn't stop laughing :)

26 Mar 2015 18:25

The Cart And Horses, Stratford

I went to this pub with a friend on Saturday 21st March because we'd been told about all the Iron Maiden memorabilia and the link with their early days. Having looked at previous reviews it seemed like a good rock pub so we decided to give it a go. The website had mentioned a live band that might, so we were looking forward to some rock.

It had a good selection of beers and cider, so no problems there. We got there shortly after 7 and there was sport on and MTV blaring out plastic pop. It remained very empty though, with just us and about 20 locals (who left by 10pm) and one slightly bemused foreign couple who had clearly arrived on the same premise as us. After an hour we started to wonder whether the band would be playing or not, but decided to have another pint and wait. Finally about 9.45 the band came in and began setting up, starting to play at about 10.30. Sadly we had to leave about 11.15 to get our trains home.

It seemed a shame that the place was so empty on a Saturday night, and that instead of having the band start about 9 which would be a good way to get people in, they started late. We were told that this was due to having a licence until 2.00am, so bands "obviously" play late - OK for locals (none of whom turned up!) but not for anyone else. It's a shame to see what is actually a decent pub and a great music venue (once the band actually started!) being let down by a lack of foresight and punters, regular or otherwise.

26 Mar 2015 17:57