Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl reflects on his favourite nights in London's legendary metal bar while asking, "What world do we live in where there could be no Crobar?"
As the #CroFund campaign continues to gather momentum and fans pledge to help relaunch Soho's legendary Crobar when the pandemic is over, Dave Grohl has told Kerrang! about some of his wildest nights at the London metal bar while reflecting on what a loss it would be if the venue was gone for good.
“I’ve had some pretty extraordinary experiences that I’ll never remember at the Crobar,” the Foo Fighters frontman recalls. “One of my favourites was with Cronos from Venom, Lee Dorrian [Napalm Death, Cathedral], and Greg Anderson from Sunn O))) on our Probot promotional tour.
“But then I’ve had some other very random nights…” he laughs. “I think it might have been the last time I was there: the Foo Fighters were in town to announce that we were headlining Glastonbury, and we were going to play a secret gig [in 2017]. We were told to stay in our hotel rooms – ‘Don’t go out, because will see you’re in town and they’ll know that something is up!’ So I was sitting in hotel room and I thought, ‘Fuck this, I’m going to the Crobar.’
“So I put on a hoodie and walked from our hotel down to the Crobar, made my way in the front door, got belly up to the bar, ordered a pint and a shot of Jägermeister, and the bartender looked at me and said, ‘Dave!’ and I said, ‘Shhh, I’m gonna go sit in the corner.’ So I went and sat in the corner, did my shot of Jäger, started drinking my beer… and within 45 minutes the hoodie was off, I was back at the bar, I don’t remember walking home… I’m sure most people have similar experiences at the Crobar!”
So far, the bar has raised over £40,000 of an overall goal of £95,000 to relaunch in London when the time is finally right again. And, as Dave continues, there's something for all rock and metal lovers at Crobar – and it simply has to be rescued in whatever way it can.
“Everyone talks about the jukebox, and the jukebox was legendary, but most of all there was a feeling of community that I loved,” he says. “There were times when I would walk in to the bar and the most hardcore, grim fucking doom metal dude would look at me and go, ‘Urgh, god, the fucker from the Foo Fighters is here…’ But at the end of the night, we’d be arm in arm, drinking shots of fucking gin or whatever it was! There was a feeling of community that I loved about that place, and I can’t imagine that the Crobar will disappear forever. I just can’t. What world do we live in where there could be no Crobar? There has to be another – and I’m sure there will be someday.”
See Dave and some other famous faces at Crobar below (photos via Crobar):
New documentary Crobar: Music When The Lights Go Out premieres this evening, January 27, at 8pm GMT:
Foo Fighters new album Medicine At Midnight is due out on February 5 via Roswell Records/Columbia Records.
Read this: Farewell to Crobar: The beer-soaked jewel of London’s metal community
