Last orders at Soho rock pub

The Intrepid Fox in Wardour Street, patronised by the likes of Sir Mick Jagger and Ewan McGregor and a haven for fans of live rock music, is to cease operating as a venue on 11 September.

It is understood the site is to be sold to property developers. Owner Mitchells & Butlers, which manages pub chains including All Bar One and O'Neill's, has told landlord Pat Begent and his nine staff the Fox will shut.

It has been sold along with 20 other central London pubs as part of a £53 million deal.

Mr Begent, who has run the Fox for 15 years, said: "It is a travesty. This pub is part of the cultural history of Soho. It is a musical institution and the list of bands who have launched albums or been customers here is enormous. It is famous the world over. Most of the stories that have happened here are unprintable.

"The Fox has been at the heart of this area and its closure will destroy the alternative music scene. It is another step towards the homogenisation of Soho as just another bland, faceless residential area.

"We've had little notice to mount a campaign. If we had known the pub was being sold we could have presented a business plan to the new owners. This is a vibrant, healthy business but there seems little hope now of keeping it open."

Mr Begent, 41, and wife January, who live above the pub, have been given less than a month to leave.

The Intrepid Fox was founded by Whig leader Charles James Fox in 1784 who promised to give free beer to anyone who offered him electoral support.

In more modern times it was the favourite watering hole of London's rock elite and a big tourist draw. Mick Jagger and Rod Stewart are rumoured to have come close to trading punches there after the former tried to poach Ronnie Wood - then in Stewart's band The Faces - for the Rolling Stones. The late hellraising actor Richard Harris was a regular and Mel Gibson has been a customer.

Malcolm McLaren, who used to drink at the Fox with Johnny Rotten and the other Sex Pistols in the Seventies, has backed a campaign to save the pub, having once named it one of the five best in the world.

A Mitchells & Butlers spokeswoman said: "The Intrepid Fox has been sold as part of a package to investment companies and pub operators.

"The 21 pubs were all prime locations but quite small, with average weekly sales of £7,000. The rest of our pubs have average weekly sales of £16,000."

The Campaign for Real Ale, which supports traditional pubs, has called for Westminster council to reject any application for a change of use of the site.

A Camra spokesman said: "There are too many cases of developers targeting pubs to make a quick profit by converting them to flats. Whoever has purchased the Fox should listen to those campaigning to save it and should either continue to run it as a pub or sell it on to someone who will."

The planned closure follows news of a campaign to save the 2,000-capacity Astoria - another of Soho's historic music venues. The Standard reported last week that 15,000 people have signed a petition to stop the building being turned into flats and shops.

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