hope and anchor can trace its history back to when the building was built in 1880. when the tally ho pub in kentish town decided to switch from showcasing rock music to irish music, hope and anchor became the venue to go to in north london. the nights grew and developed under the stewardship of managers fred grainger and dave robinson, both of whom later moved on to other things (fred to open a nightclub in brighton, dave to co-found independent record label stiff records with jake riviera).