Call to turn Crown pub into city’s ‘Cavern Club’
‘Birthplace of heavy metal’ is now grade II listed – but empty
IT’S been a month since Birmingham’s Crown pub was given grade II-listed status – and the “birthplace of heavy metal” was secured.
The Station Street pub, at the back of New Street Station, is famous for the spot where Brum rock legends Black Sabbath played their first ever concert when they were called Earth.
Only six per cent of listed buildings are grade II-listed, which means they’re deemed “particularly important” and “of more than special interest”.
Exactly what this means for The Crown is not yet clear and many locals have recently expressd strong support for protecting the pub and road, with a petition, as reported in the Post.
Birmingham Music Archive founder Jez Collins, said it was a venue that deserved its place among other listed buildings, but that more work was needed to bring it to life.
Mr Collins said: “To have a government body recognise that a pub in Birmingham that’s been closed for 14 years is nationally important because of the music that took place there – whether it’s Ian Campbell, Black Sabbath or GBH – is amazing and, hopefully, it’s preserved now for future generations. The next thing now is getting the thing open.”
The Crown is owned by Toyoko, a Japanese company that opens budget hotels near transport hubs, as is Shaftesbury House next door and the car park at the rear.
“The pub is up for sale but, as it stands, only to someone who will buy all three together,” Mr Collins said.
“As a building, The Crown is worth very little as there’s so much work that needs doing on it.
“Shaftesbury House is apartments and the car park could potentially be the site of a 30-storey building, so that’s really valuable.
“I feel that I’ve done so much to protect the building but what I need to know is if the will is there to create a coalition or a collective that will purchase it and reopen it?
“That could be developers, Birmingham Open Media, the mayor’s
If the pub was open, it’d do a really good trade judging by how many people go through New Street a day. Jez Collins
office, the city council, Historic England or interested people. I would love someone invested in Birmingham, who’s made their money, to put it in to get The Crown open.
“If the pub was open, serving nice food, it’d do a really good trade judging by how many people go through New Street a day. Then you think of the heritage of it and it could be a massive hotspot.”
He added: “I’d love to see The Crown open as a thriving, cool bar and food place during the day, to have a heritage museum element. “Imagine having Black Sabbath holograms on the stage like they have at the ABBA Museum in Stockholm? So you could go up and perform with them?
“You’d show off all the original punk graffiti from the 1970s, which is rare to see, and next door there’s an old boxing hall which could be a live music venue.
“Upstairs there’s four or five rooms, they could be a really boutique Black Sabbath hotel.
“I think so many people would come through to where Sabbath had
their gigs, play on stage with them and stay over.”
One local music fan, Kevin O’Connor, looked to Merseyside for inspiration, saying: “This pub should be turned into Birmingham’s version of Liverpool’s Cavern Club.
“It will never, unfortunately, be successful enough as a stand alone ‘rock pub’ again and as part of a large chain will lose its identity. Turn it into a museum, bar and live venue and it will thrive.”
Home of Metal, which hosts exhibitions and events about Birmingham’s heavy metal history, was also suggested by many as an organisation that could take the pub on.
Serenity Mason wrote on a Home Of Metal website: “I would absolutely love it if Home of Metal set up a metal museum on the premises.
“That would be absolutely brilliant for Birmingham and its tourist trade.”
Paul Brush added: “Like it or not it’s part of our recent history. Something like a Hard Rock cafe with memorabilia from metal bands.
“Black Sabbath are a worldwide phenomenon, tourists would love it.”