The Old Fox

My attendance at concerts these days is getting more and more infrequent due in no small part to the fact that the artists in the bands that I like are getting older and older, Ozzy Osbourne for example has officially been an old aged pensioner for almost a year !! This means occasionally I have little alternative, if I want to see live music, than to listen to newer bands. A line up of Australian AC/DC wanabees Airbourne supporting American rockers Black Stone Cherry was too good an opportunity to miss.

I had arranged to go with my mate from work Bill to the gig that was being staged at the LG Arena (that's the NEC in old money). Getting back home from the NEC after a concert is a logistical nightmare for me so I had booked myself into a hotel in Birmingham city centre for the night, £21.95 got me a penthouse suite (erm, okay so I'm exaggerating a bit) at the Ibis Budget hotel on Bristol St. It maybe isn't the ideal destination for a romantic night with a loved one but it did the job for me.

After quickly getting changed back at the hotel the plan was to meet Bill in The Shakespeare in town before catching the train but Bill's poor timekeeping is legendary so it was no surprise when I received the call to say he was running late. I decided therefore to call in to a pub featured in the latest edition of the Good Beer Guide that was on route and which I hadn't visited in a while namely The Old Fox.

The route to the pub required me to pass through Birmingham's gay district so I tried to be as hetrosexual as possible as I made my way to the pub by looking mean and moody. I think I may have overdone it slightly as a very camp gentleman passed me and said 'Cheer up young man, it might never happen' !!

Situated opposite Birmingham's Hippodrome theatre The Old Fox is a traditional pub which is steeped in history. It is claimed that Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin are amongst those that have drunk in the venue. A fact celebrated in the sign to the loos..

As you would expect there is a great selection of real ales with me choosing a very acceptable pint of Slaters bitter, I took a seat and waited for Bill to call with an arrival time...

The walls of the pub are adorned with pictures of acts that have performed at The Hippodrome, many big stars have appeared at the theatre over the years as have some lesser known individuals. Did you know for example that Kriss Akabusi starred in panto there a few years ago?! Oh yes he did !!

Thankfully Bill called to say that he was on his way to The Shakespeare so I finished off my pint and went to meet him. It was a good job in all honesty, the song that was playing on the pub's jukebox as I was leaving was Chesney Hawkes's woeful One and Only, hardly ideal preparation for a rock concert !!