We LOVE the traffic, the noise, the sirens at 4am in the morning.
We LOVE being woken up by the first train.
We LOVE Regeneration Chic: the boots, the broken nails.
We LOVE showering twice and still feeling dirty, the perpetual grime.
All you hard hats, we want to have your babies.
We LOVE doorstep sarnies crammed with succulent roast pork and an apple sauce to die for.
We LOVE nursing cups of strong, hot coffee on miserable winter mornings – especially if we had too much to drink the night before.
We LOVE Polish builders!
We LOVE the congestion charge, the one way system, fighting with posh dudes for cabs in the rain.
We LOVE it when your oyster card won’t swipe.
We LOVE little freebies.
We LOVE real ales, the perfect pint. Enterprise Inns!
We LOVE walking into warm, friendly bars on cold, grey days.
We LOVE good music, world music, live music.
We LOVE the Kings Cross Hot Club! (We would LOVE them to play here every month!)
We LOVE not quite knowing when we’re going to open (16th, 20th?).
We LOVE a challenge!
We LOVE Islington Borough Council, their clean street policy.
We LOVE cheerful friendly people - as well as the ones that have just had a fight with the missus.
We LOVE being human.
We’d LOVE you to hold your yoga/pilates/[please insert] here! Can we join in?
We LOVE lost Aussie backpackers.
We love socialising, parties, banquets..
We LOVE nibbles, sharing, using your fingers.
We LOVE you! We’d LOVE you to come and eat our gorgeous food. Real food made every morning with fresh, seasonal - sometimes organic - well & locally sourced ingredients.
Could we cook eels out of the canal?
We LOVE creamy chowder, sweet and sour creole chicken, lentil burgers WITH FLAVOUR, salads that aren’t wilting, treacle tart and real Austrian apple strudel, finishing a plate of food and feeling like you’ve eaten.
We LOVE vegans. We LOVE vegetarians. We LOVE all you wonderful people on weird diets and with odd intolerances – especially when you give us notice.
We LOVE smokers that show consideration for other diners.
We LOVE Hungarian Beef Goulash – chunks of lean beef marinaded in red wine, doused in paprika and garlic and cooked until tender with tomato, shallots & sweet red peppers – with wedges of home made bread and butter.
WE’d LOVE a family to sit around a table the way they do at home without having to worry about anything. We especially LOVE your well behaved kids.
We’d LOVE you to love us.
Music
Our stage has seen the likes of Alabama 3, Fourtet, The Foals, The Popes, Black Kids, Misty’s Big Adventure, The Bobby McGees, Little Fish, Metronomy and Peyoti for President tread it’s boards - among a host of opera singers, harp players, skiffle bands and the odd gospel choir!
Wanna join the list? Contact spoon@thecrosskings.co.uk
wanna play here ? we don't book bands directly but most of our regular promoters are in our top friends... alternatively email Spoon for a list of promoters' email addresses...
...and if you want to put on your own night, Spoon's dying to hear from you...
A few people that have played here..
8th Hour // 8 YEAR OLD MUM // Action and Action // Adam McBride Smith // Adrian Northover // Adrian Owusu // Aghast // Agnes Meadows (poet) // Aidan Andrew Dunn // Aidan Smith // Alan Eason // Albion Free State //
Alexander Tucker // Alex Maguire // Alex Pyper // Alison Blunt // Ali Whitton // Amit Chadda // Amy Botfield //
Andrew Collins (comedian) // Andrew O'Neill (comedian) //
Andy McFarlane // Angel Anderson // Annette Walker (poet) // Aoife Mannix (poet) // AUDIO MASTER // Auto Karaoke // AUTOROTATION // Batrider // Bathroom Sally //
Ben Allen Roebuck // Ben Chancer // Ben Dunderdale & The Douglas Riot // Benin City // Beth Dariti // Billy Hill //
Bimmys, The // Blabbermouth // Black Labels // Blue Bambinos // BLUE ROSE CODE // Boningen // Box Monster //
Brown Bear // Butler-Williams // Captain Strange // Carolyn // Cesarians // Charlie Costello // Chefa Alonso // Chicago Street Sweepers // Chris Tye // Christopher Cundy // Clarkson // Corinne // Cougars, The //
Country Dad // Crane Brothers, The // Crossfader // Dan Hartland // Dan Sandman Band // Dante’s Ascension // Darius // D.A.T.A // Dave Draper // Dave Fowler // Dave Hayley // David Goo // David Gunn // Dear Thief // Definity, The // Diana Mavroleon // Diggy // Dimbleby & Capper // DJ Dags Dave // DJ Dodo // DJ D Zine // DJ Freakytrigger // DJ Flying Chillis // DJ Grae // DJ Penny Metal // DJ Rajinald Perrin // DJ Splintz // DJ Team Megamix // DJ Wavy Davy // Dzifa Benson (poet) // Dromomaniac // Ed Bell // Ed Sheeran // Elliot Levin // Elova // EMIT BLOCH // Esther Poyer (poet) // Fabulous Fuckerettes, The // Fast Reaction // Fiona Bevan // Foals, The // Fourers, The // Fragile Lovers, The // Furbelows, The // Fuzzface // Fuzztone Lily // Gary Curson // Ghostfire // Gideon Conn // Giles Perring // Glenn Hodge // Goodtimes Goodtimes // Graham Elder // Graham Painting // Grand Central // Green Rock River Band // Grizla // Grood // Guitar Fever // Gypsydelica // Gypsy Girl // Hadar Manor // Hannah Marshal // Hannah Silvester // Harrisburg // Heather Taylor (poet) // Hillbilly & The Bonfire // Hobo Chang // Honeymoon Suite, The // Hooverville // Hot Head Show // How To Cure Dyslexia // Ian McLachlan // I Said Yes // Island Line // Isobel Anderson // Ivor Kalin // Jair-Rohm Parker Wells // James Dunn // Janett Plummer (poet) // Jaqueline Saphra (poet) // Jasmine Cooray (poet) // Javier Carmona // Jen Charlton // Jeremy Mendonca & Friends // Jerry Bird // JESS BRYANT // Jessica Fostekew // Jesters Dead, The // Jim Dvorak // Jim Lebaigue // Joel Dommett // Joe Wilkinson (comedian) // John Callaghan // John Edwards // Jonas Marczy // Jonny Berliner & The Freewheelers // Jonny Taylor // J-Treole // Julia Doyle // Kah // Kal Lavelle // Karen Grace // Karen McCarthy (poet)// Katherine Blake // Kat Flint // Kay Grany // Kerfunk // Kerry Leathem // Kevin Molloy & The Nearly Band // Kevin Nolan // KEVIN PEARCE // Kids Love Lies // King Knob // Kinzli // Kite Season // Kiran & The Night Owls // Kit Richardson // Komon // Kurt Driver // Lail Arad // Lester Clayton // Lettie // Liane Carrol // Lindha Kallerdahl // Liz Bently // Local Girls // Lol Coxhill // Long John and Sons of Y. Fronts // Long Knives // Lot Lizards // Loverman // Lyla Foy // Lyrebirds // Madam // Mafia Lights // Makkelae's Trash Lounge // Malika Booker (poet) // Mark Fletcher // Matt Hegarty // Malcolm Bruce // Marcio Mattos // Mark Restuccia // Mark Sanders // Maybe Myrtle Tyrtle // McGoozer // Melv // MICRO WAVE MEDITATION // Mike Brightly and the Nocturnal Hurdles // Mike Walter // Milltown's Grace // Minus IQ // Misty’s Big Adventure // Monkfish // More Story Fours // MORI TATSUKI CLUB // Morris English // Mozzy Green // Mr. B the Gentleman Rhymer // MULDOON AND THE OTHER // MySoiree // Naomi Woddis (poet) // National Snack // Nearly Band, The // Neil Cameron // New Fangled Disasters // New Town Kings // Niall McDevitt (poet) // Niall Spooner-Harvey (poet) // Nick Ewans // Nick Mulvey // Nick Stephens // Nicky Francis // Niel Metcalf // Noah and the Whale // NO CARS // Nony Ardill // Northern Celts // Note To Self // Ntshuks Bonga // OneKingPoets // One True Dog // ORLANDO SEALE // Out of Site // Oystar // Patricia Foster (poet) // Paul Hawkins and Thee Awkward Silences // Paul Shearsmith // Petronella // Peyoti for President // PiP Poets // Pocketbooks // Poeticat // Popes, The // Post Abortion Stress // PRINCE KATOCO // Propeller // Proving Kate Wrong // Pull in Emergency // Raid on the Arcade // Ray Warleigh Duo // Red Atlas // Red Fishes, The // Reginald D Hunter (comedian) // Ricardo Pejer // Richard Herring (comedian) // Richard Tyrone Jones // Rick Jenson Trio, The // Ricky Russell // Rob Cowen // Robin Grey // Robin Ince (comedian) // Rob Mills // Rob Newman (comedian) // Rosalie Bevan // Rude Mechanicals // RUIDOSA INMUNDICIA // Ruskin // Russell Joslin // Ruth Marshall // Sadie Edginton // Samantha Whates // Sam Evans (film) // Sara-Mae Tuson (poet) // School // Sean Taylor // Sexy Kids // Show Without Punch // SIMON & ELIZA // Simon Feilder // Skints, The // Snish // Soapbox Story // Son of Blues // Sophia Blackwell // SORO // SOTATILA // Soulscience // SOY UN CABALLO // Spiderbaby // Spin Spin the Dogs // Stanley // Stanton Delaplane // Stars of Sunday League // Stephen Long // Stephen Merchant (comedian) // Steve Holmes // Steve Noble // Steve Straw // Steven Finn // Stuart Wilding // Sue Lynch // SUN // Surprise // Synthetic // Tabitha Benjamin // Tailors, The // TEN DAYS MORE // That Fucking Tank // The Long Weekend // This Club // This That and the Other // Timmy Manners // To Arms Etc. // Tom Scott // Tony Marsh // Trent Miller // Tris Harris // Trombonepoetry // Tropics Of Cancer, The // Unrecorded, The // Untouchables, The // Valeria Melchioretto // Velveteens, The // Veryan Weston // Victor Talking Machine // Virginia Macnaughton // Walki’s Monster // Warsan Shire (poet) // Whisky Before Breakfast // WHOLE SCHEBANG // Widows // Will Connor // With Stones in His Pockets // Wolf Saxon // Wonk Unit // YANEKA // Young Sensation // Zena Edwards (poet) // Zolan Quobble, Elwell & Paul Trio // Zuzushii Monkey
Movies
Duke Mitchell Film Appreciation Club
FREE Cult Film Club - Last Monday of Every Month
Television
You can see Cross Kings previewed on Rockfeedback TV, Channel 4 at some ungodly hour of the morning..
Do you have an idea for a club night that's just a little bit off the wall? Let us know.. Our venue offers a platform to otherwise ignored artists who just can't quite think inside the box.
CROSS KINGS is looking for someone to run an open-mic night... view more
From down under to up and coming, The Cross Kings, formerly known as the Backpackers, is now a quirky off-beat venue specialising in quality entertainment and the best of food and drink.
Fighting its way through the hoards of polish builders, hard hats and mountains of scaffolding that demonstrate the bustleness of Europe's largest regeneration area, emerges the jewel in the crown, a bright and feisty spark which is leading this transition period. Welcome to The Cross Kings. Step inside to find a colourful haven in which to laugh, drink, eat and be entertained. Discover the main bar, ideal for relaxing, or swirl downstairs to the more psychedelic basement. Created by the leading London caricaturists Simon and Sheba Cassini, going downstairs is like plunging into a 3D comic strip.
So whether it’s Russian music, the latest in indie, flourishing comedy acts or a quality screening we have everything you could possibly need.
A little bit hip, a little bit hop, The Cross Kings is more than a venue, it’s a way of life.
The Foals Secret Gig
"Imagine walking in on a party hosted by Pete Doherty and Kate Moss, where everyone was welcoming and before they trashed the joint and you'll get a fair idea of the atmosphere that awaits you at the Cross Kings." View London
Wild Beasts @ Club Rockfeedback
"The Cross Kings is a venue which truly has it all… one of the few really diverse and all-encompassing venues in London." London Tour Dates
Magdalena @ David Goo's Open Mic
"Great little venue" Visit London
Puffin Boy Album Launch
"4 out of 5 pints"
"Top 10 Pubs in London April 07" fancyapint.com
Laura Imbruglia @ Electroacoustic Club
"Fantastic venue.. A cultural hot spot" fluidfoundation.com
IK:TOMS Wired Festival
(of the Jester Bar) "..a sex dungeon created by Beano" Stephen Merchant, Comedian
Bo Ningen @ Far East Psychadelic
"I absolutely love the Cross Kings. If you're bored of the same old chain bars or faceless pubs then give it a go as it's really nice to go somewhere that tries to offer something a little different. And the Cross Kings certainly is different. It's so good though!"
"It's not often you get real ale and food this good in a supposedly fashionable place like Kings Cross, however, the Cross Kings (see what they've done?!) does both. And it's fantastic for it."
"Top Open Mic Night in London: No.4" London Paper (David Goo's Open Mic Nights - Every Sunday from 7pm)
"Cracking venue - once a notorious Aussie riot ball of a boozer, now a bohemian, welcoming ground floor pub with a decent sized stage. Through the almost secret door you'll find a great big scuzzy pit of a cellar bar. And only an (increasingy gentrified) 5 minute walk down the side of Kings Cross Station, it's one of the best venues in town." Organ March '08
Thank you for adding us! May we be a useful source of information on the free world of the Arts! freedom in art, freedom in society, this is the double goal towards which all consistent and logical minds must strive. Victor Hugo
