If you were a music-loving Londoner who came of age in the 2000s, it was a rite of passage to make a pilgrimage to Camden. In your formative years to buy incense and Dr Martens from the market and later it’s likely it was your main stomping ground for gigs at Barfly, The Good Mixer and Electric Ballroom, as well as club nights at Koko. But the ultimate symbol of the inner London borough’s status as the centre of British music at the time? The Hawley Arms.
The former biker pub turned indie haunt was frequented by everyone from Pete Doherty and Kate Moss to Razorlight. More random sightings at the bar include David Gest (who was a confidant of Amy’s according to NME headlines of the time) and Kirsten Dunst (she briefly dated Johnny Borrell in 2007). Though it was best known for its patron saint, Amy Winehouse. She is so synonymous with the venue that ahead of the 10th anniversary of her death in 2021 a mural appeared in the alley behind the pub in homage. So it feels absurd that The Hawley Arms is reportedly the absent character in Back to Black, starring Marisa Abela as Amy and Jack O’Connell as Blake Fielder-Cyvil.
Especially as the mise en scène — in so far as it depicts Camden in that era — is apparently otherwise brilliantly accurate. The Good Mixer and The Dublin Castle feature. Amy’s famous line from her speech at the 2008 Grammys is used to make her allegiance to the area clear: ‘This is for Camden, Camden Town ain’t burning down’, which refers to a fire that had broken out in the market the night before, threatening to wipe out her beloved pub, which was severely damaged.
Positioned opposite the market, and around the corner from Amy’s Prowse Place flat, The Hawley Arms became the epicentre of indie-ness after it was taken over by Ruth Mottram and Doug Charles-Ridler in the early Noughties. Some legendary gigs happened there, including Razorlight playing on the roof to launch their third album.
Even at the height of Amy’s fame, when the surrounding streets came under constant surveillance by paparazzi due to her headline-making misbehaviour, she remained a regular at The Hawley Arms. Her order of choice was unique to the venue, the Rickstasy. Three parts vodka, one part banana liqueur, one part Southern Comfort and one part Baileys, for anyone who thinks they could stomach it. She was known to get behind the bar to pull pints for punters. Though on a darker note, one pub-goer remembers her being egged on to down a line of shots by regulars pre-lunchtime.
Anyone who went there in those days is likely to have absorbed an Amy anecdote, and years on her presence remained strongly felt; an Amy silhouette was displayed in an upper window for years. The indie scene might have been fading when Amy passed away, but the pub’s music credentials have endured. This month, Yungblud was photographed there after announcing his new festival, Bludfest, with a gig in the market. He also announced he’ll create a replica of the pub at the event.
Plus, unlike many venues from Amy’s era, it remains open. It has risen from the ashes twice since the fire over the years. In 2019, Ruth and Doug successfully fundraised to purchase the pub and save it from the hands of developers. It was in part, posthumously, thanks to Amy, as a piece of her memorabilia was auctioned to fundraise; a signed gig set list. The Hawley Arms also endured Covid’s crippling restrictions to stay afloat and continues to host live music.
It remains a must-visit for fans wanting to see where the then-Queen of Camden hung out. The borough has changed a lot since, but everyone still knows this was Amy’s pub. At least I thought they did.
