The Bridge House, Canning Town: Memories Of A Legendary Rock & Roll Hangout
by Terence Murphy

Welcome account of an important London venue

The Bridge House was a tough pub in a rough area of East London, but during his tenure as landlord, from 1975 to 1982, former boxer Terry Murphy turned it into a major live music venue. Throughout that time the Bridge House hosted early gigs by acts as diverse as U2, Iron Maiden, Cockney Rejects, Depeche Mode, The Damned, Dire Straits, Secret Affair, the Tourists and Chas & Dave. It was a big boozer, holding up to 1,000 punters at times, but Murphy had no trouble keeping order, with his sons Terry Jr, Glen, Lloyd and Darren, all typical East End hard cases (Glen, of course, later became an actor and rose to prominence on TV in London’s Burning). Terry Sr tells the story of the Bridge House in an entertaining manner, taking in its innovative in-house record label and memories of the bands that played there, as well as the difficulties he encountered along the way. There are some mistakes (John Cooper Clarke is given Liverpool as his birthplace, for example), and tighter editing might have made for a slightly less confusing read, but it’s certainly a very enjoyable account of yet another historic venue now shamefully reduced to rubble.

3 stars 3 stars 3 stars

ISBN 9781906015022

Reviewed by Shane Baldwin
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