Last orders as old pub to be flattened for HS2 line
ALANDMARK Birmingham pub made famous by pop band UB40 will be demolished to make way for the new HS2 railway line.
The Eagle and Tun, in Digbeth, was famously the setting for the group’s Red Red Wine video. In August pop superstar Ed Sheeran also used the pub to shoot a music video and was pictured enjoying a pint at the bar.
The red-brick pub overlooks the building work at Curzon Street Station, where HS2 will eventually terminate.
Now the pub’s owner, who wishes to remain anonymous, has revealed that the pub will close on January 4.
He said bosses at HS2 contacted him several weeks ago to confirm the pub would be bulldozed as part of a compulsory purchase order.
He said: “It was a huge shock at first. I have owned the pub for the last ten years and was aware of its incredible music history when I bought it.
“Everyone knows the music links to UB40 and the famous Red Red Wine video. Then Ed Sheeran visited us in August. The pub has become a magnet for famous musicians and to see it close will be heartbreaking.”
The owner urged music fans to visit the pub in New Canal Street before it shuts its doors for the last time and make memories by taking pictures.
He added: “Every night until we close on January 4 will be like a party. We are going to make the most of it and I would urge music fans to pop in, take some pictures and make some memories before it closes and is demolished.”
UB40 fans visit the Victorian pub from around the world and many of the original founding members of the reggae band including Jimmy Brown, Robin Campbell and Brian Travers paid a return visit to the pub three years ago.
The Eagle and Tun shut down in 2008 at a time when there was huge demolition and building work around it as part of the Eastside development. It reopened with a new owner in 2016.