Gun, but not forgotten: Remembering East London’s favourite music pub

Art & Culture

Written by Rosie Ama Cain

I can’t remember the first time I set foot in The Gun. I certainly have no memory of leaving – a scenario that would play out regularly over the following seven years.

It was always difficult to “pop in” to the Well Street boozer. My declarations of swinging by for a pint were more often than not met with sniggers and choruses of “good one!”

But such was the draw of that place. It always promised a fucking good time – a mantra that Nick Stephens, Landlord and friend to us all, lived by.

Lovingly known as the vortex (for reasons I don’t think I need to explain), to many people The Gun was more than just a pub.

Nick and his wife Hanna created an environment where strangers quickly became friends, where you could get downright silly, and where – if you were lucky enough to DJ in that teeny, tiny booth – playing the weird and wonderful wasn’t only welcomed but encouraged.

Nick and Hanna opened The Gun in 2014 with their friend Olly Dixon. From the first viewing they knew it had bags of personality, but serendipitously a few other things sealed the deal.

It was two minutes from where Nick grew up and the word ‘Mackeson’ was emblazoned behind the bar; the nickname his gran gave his grandad after his chosen tipple.

It was smaller than your average pub but they had a feeling there was something special about the place. In fact, the size of it became a huge part of its charm.

“It was tiny,” Nick chuckles. I sat down with him a month or so after the pub closed to reminisce. “But because it was so small, I knew that everything would be amplified. I think that’s why it was special; if it was good, it was fucking amazing.”

Of course music played a central role in creating that atmosphere. On any given weekend you could rock up and see Vladimir Ivkovic, Jonny Rock, Lena Willikens or Dresden stretching out across five hours.

Steamed up windows, everybody dancing on the seats underneath that red neon haze, one of Nick’s infamous speeches… There were more than a few difficult Mondays after those Sunday sessions.

This combination of really fucking good music and the pub’s ability to only fit 90 people inside stood it apart from your average watering holes.

“It had no right to work,” Nick exclaims. “The DJ booth shouldn’t have been there, it’s too small to have DJs in. It’s so absurd therefore it appeals to the sense of absurdism. It shouldn’t work but it really did. We tried to do things beyond our means, I like to think. Like getting up on a Saturday was beyond my means a lot of the time… and Sunday. That’s why we never opened on Monday, ‘cos we were all in A&E.”

“Anyone who walked through the doors of The Gun had the potential to become a friend to us, or each other.”

When DJs weren’t dropping in from overseas, Friday through Sunday Nick drafted in a lengthy list of returning characters to provide the weekend soundtrack; Nathan Gregory Wilkins, Scott Fraser, Tia Cousins, Proteus and Daniel Avery being just a handful.

But it wasn’t just the music that was lovingly curated, Hanna and Nick somehow managed to do the same with the punters.

“Every pub always has its own unique community, but ours really did feel special.” Hanna says. “Anyone who walked through the doors of The Gun had the potential to become a friend to us, or each other. I now think of so many people I met through the pub as my family, and I know that is a feeling that so many people share.“

The staff have also played a central role in shaping the place over the years. Nick can’t sing their praises enough. Especially long serving members Josh and Thom, and the rest of the line up who ‘stood tall’ with the pub to the bitter end.

“There’s a cheesy thing we used to say to the staff: the pub is only as good as the people in it.” Nick adds. “It helps if it’s a good pub, don’t get me wrong, but it’s the people that create the energy.”

That feeling is mutual. The community has rallied for, and thanks to, The Gun a few times over the years. Between 2016 and 2018 Nick brought businesses and locals together for ‘Well Street Against Racism’, a street party that aimed to raise money for anti-racism charities. But the moment when the strength of the relationships they’d built through the pub really became clear was the launch of their Fundraiser during Covid.

It’s a moment that stands out for Hanna. “I knew how much The Gun meant to us, but seeing it tangibly expressed by so many who chose to help save us, at such a stressful time for everybody, meant more to me than I’ll ever be able to properly express.”

They raised a whopping £30,000, smashing their original target in just 23 hours.

“We basically thought we were gonna get three or four grand.” Nick remarks. “We said for every grand we get we’ll have a pint. We put the keg on and we were hammered by about 3 o’clock ‘cos it just went bananas. The next day, I’ve never been so happy and so hungover in my entire life; I’ve never been in so much pain and so much joy.”

Earlier this year news that the pub was at risk of closure again started trickling out amongst its regulars. This time there wasn’t a permanent solution, rising rent and costs had made the business unsustainable. On March 16th, following the send off to end all send offs, The Gun shut its doors for good.

“I think while it was incredible for that time, it’s an interesting template for our times now that a business can just flip very quickly.” Nick ponders. “What we need is digits, less money coming out of the accounts. If they do this again, if Trump’s lunacy affects next year’s budgets…” he trails off. “I just wanna wait and see what happens because it’s basically batten down the hatches time.”

“I’d like to think that people who went there will remember it and go ‘that was fucking great, we had a good time there, that was a special place.’”

This kind of situation isn’t confined to The Gun, it’s an example of a much wider problem affecting the hospitality and nightlife sectors. Nick’s also noticed the knock on effect on people’s spending habits.

“People don’t have the money and people get older; they don’t use pubs the way they used to, and they’re more aware of the effects it has on their bodies. I’m aware of what we peddle, and it’s not for five-day consumption.”

The budget and rising costs may have been at play in The Gun’s closure but Nick’s conscious that positioning themselves as a “music pub” also had its hindrances.

“We ended up becoming too night-focused, and then when we tried food the area just didn’t have the money to go out to The Gun to eat. We’d cemented our business so much as that late night place that we sort of parted our way out of a successful business model.”

The doors of 235 Well Street have closed but Nick’s making sure The Gun lives on in name.

The pub’s football team The Gun FC are still going stronger than ever and, as well as plans to share some of the final DJ sets and another merch collaboration with ACMH (formally Magic Castles) in the works, this summer they’ll be hosting takeovers at Love International, in partnership with Ransom Note, and at Field Maneuvers, with Vlad and Lena at the helm. They’re also planning a series of one off events.

“We’ve still got the Gun logo, but we’re thinking of changing it slightly and calling it Gun Club or The Gun Club, and just doing different things here, there and everywhere, because we wanna keep it alive.“

“The spirit of the Gun will hopefully endure, and we’ll take that with us wherever, but I’m not gonna force a music pub into a pub that isn’t ready for it. We’ll see where we are and we’ll see what’s right. If it feels right, it’ll be right.”

As we wrapped up our chat I asked Nick and Hanna how they hoped the pub would be remembered.

“I hope it’s the friendships and relationships that were born. I watched so many beautiful beginnings,” Hanna says. “Now it’s over, I feel like we’re all bonded even more because we shared a special place at a special time.”

“I’d like to think that people who went there will remember it and go ‘that was great, we had a good time there, that was a special place,’” Nick agrees.

“I loved it, I loved every minute, even when we knew we were making no money. I loved all the people there; I loved how it felt when it was just coming alive; I love that people loved it. It just made me happy and I’m pleased it made other people happy.”

As Nick and Hanna have said, ‘the pub is only as good as the people in it’, and when it came to the Gun, it was filled with the best of the best. So here’s a few words, fragments, stories and, unsurprisingly, some first class music from its nearest and dearest…

Photos from the last night at The Gun by Kate Green.

Topics

Closure Community Nick Stephens The Gun

LISTEN

Car Crash Set - Fall From Grace

Selected by Nick Stephens and Hanna Sinclair

This track resonates for me, first off because it’s a banger.. but there are certainly other factors. We first heard this when Jean Young & Alex Hall used to play it in the first year we opened, its synonymous with the magic we realised was unfolding (with the crowd & atmosphere) in front of us… we really hadn’t anticipated it being quite that wild.

Also I really love that lo-fi, synth-heavy sound. The song manages to straddle being really upbeat and emotional whilst the production, and certainly the vocal, keep it beautiful and grounded rather than cheesy. The lads would play it at the end of the night and everyone would go nuts.

The boys played it their last set on Friday 14th June – and I played it in the last five tracks ever on the very last night…

Car Crash Set - Fall From Grace

Selected by Nick Stephens and Hanna Sinclair

This track resonates for me, first off because it’s a banger.. but there are certainly other factors. We first heard this when Jean Young & Alex Hall used to play it in the first year we opened, its synonymous with the magic we realised was unfolding (with the crowd & atmosphere) in front of us… we really hadn’t anticipated it being quite that wild.

Also I really love that lo-fi, synth-heavy sound. The song manages to straddle being really upbeat and emotional whilst the production, and certainly the vocal, keep it beautiful and grounded rather than cheesy. The lads would play it at the end of the night and everyone would go nuts.

The boys played it their last set on Friday 14th June – and I played it in the last five tracks ever on the very last night…
Freak Heat Waves with Cindy Lee - In A Moment Divine

Selected by Casper Clark

Nick and I met in 2006 when we were cutting our teeth at the similarly legendary Camden boozer, The Lock Tavern, where he was the manager and I was programming the music. So it’s pretty surprising that I only got around to playing my first Gun gigs in the last few months before its premature curtain-call, following a few years in the musical wilderness and several more in a teutonic techno-miasma.

I have a lifetime of (hazy) memories of my time spent under that red glow, stomping and swaying to the sounds that we came to jokingly refer to as ‘music without joy’ (credit resident selector and mint-millinery purveyor, Jean Young for that quote!).

I wanted to choose one of the more optimistic tracks that I played at my first all-nighter and, coincidentally, Nathan Wilkins also chose as one of his last ever Gun selections. Like my most cherished memories of the pub, this track instills a warm, wooly feeling and the sense that everything MIGHT just be alright.
Lambchop - Flotus

Selected by C.A.R.

The first time I played was a woozy Sunday afternoon, back in errrrr definitely the early years (if not the first). I was so nervous but when I put this track on, Nick came running over with a huge grin on his face. I instantly felt at home.

There would be many more nights, either rolling about in the red corner, smooshed on the stairs, lost in the attic +++ or when I got lucky, lodged behind the CDJs. Sometimes on a busy Saturday I’d bottle it and bash out (kinda) bangers, but it was the more restrained, unexpected sets I enjoyed the most. Turns out those went down just as well as the more obvious selections, no matter who was in there.

I can’t thank Nick enough for creating such a supportive, enriched environment for counter-culture. Long live The Gun!
Leornard Cohen - Iodine

Selected by Nathan Gregory Wilkins

The Gun was unique, I can’t quite stress how important it was to me. Nick and Hanna created something very very special. I met countless new friends beneath its intoxicating neon glow, and had more thrilling music nerd conversations than I can recollect. And it’s open minded music policy was truly second to none in London.

I DJ’ed at The Gun (AKA the Vortex) on its opening night. And there is a very funny story about that (ask Nick). But the following story is one that always especially makes me chuckle.

A few years into my decade plus long residency a couple (male and female civilians) that had quite clearly popped in by mistake, were both asking me if I could play something “funky.” They were mildly annoying but I was dealing with them quite satisfactorily using my Brummie charm. My dear friend Nick Stephens caught wind of this minor outrage and stepped in with the speed of a panther, he wasn’t having any of it!!! So he physically ejected the male civilian, prompting the female civilian to throw her drink all over Nick. It was all very “Eastenders.” Nick clearly took the open minded music policy very very seriously and I was extremely impressed. I miss The Gun very much indeed. Xxx

I would often play ‘Iodine’ from the killer Phil Spector produced Leonard Cohen album “Death Of A Ladies Man” as my last track. It’s an absolute beauty, and the fact that it worked in that room really sums up the wonderful open mindedness of the crowd that The Gun attracted.
Graham Nash - Better Days

Selected by Josh Corbett

Having worked for Nick and Hanna at The Gun over the past five years, I can say the pub has been something of a liferaft while the unexpected choppy storms of life come along. One memory sticks out the most and that was at the beginning of the pandemic, when that cold realisation sank in that all of our worlds were about to get turned upside down, were about to change and become very strange for a while.

I didn’t know Nick or Rusty too well at this point, but we’d found sanctuary by the neon glow in the corner or the pub, trying to make sense of it all. Out of nowhere, either Nick or Rusty played ‘Better Days’ on the turntable, and we all just stopped talking and listened. Whenever my world feels uneasy or like it’s on the brink of falling apart, this record resurfaces and never fails to shine a light when it’s dark. There are loads of musical memories from The Gun that I could choose from, but this one stands out the most.
Aphex Twin - On

Selected by Scott Fraser

(Ripped from the 12” by me at 33 ⅓ RPM)

I met Nick thanks to Iain Bogg (Or Boggy to many, not sure if he likes that but it’s going in anyway)… He booked me to play at ASBO at the Lock Tavern, a legendary Sunday night smash up of note to many in the music business that I had heard all sorts of good things about… I’m in for sure then Ian. While I was DJing, at various points Nick (The General Manager I would later find out) would bounce over and keep the bevy flowing whilst asking me about various tunes – this was a strategy that I would see deployed with deadly precision on many occasions over the following 11 years on Well Street, with some of the best names in the business, particularly before Shazam took off and even after as generally the good shit isn’t on there anyway. Nick was aware of this based on the calibre of people he managed to cajole into the world’s smallest DJ booth over these last 11 years… This, I thought, is a man I can be friends with.

We ended up having a lock-in with just myself and Nick still standing – more of that would come too. He told me that he was going to buy a boozer with his mate Oli and would I come and be a resident DJ… “absolutely Nick, I certainly will.” “One rule”, he said, “no crap tunes. And so it began… I actually did Sundays for eight or maybe nine years and always loved that more than anything in there, Sunday Service became a thing and so did completely ruining my Mondays. There was always some hilarious occurrence happening in there as most of the punters didn’t mind ruining their Mondays along with us either. All of those stories I will keep in the memory bank forever. One particular Sunday Service favourite was when my friend Simon arrived after the final Soft Cell gig at the O2 with a new friend from LA on the promise of a good time and a late drink. Lewie (then Manager) and Declan (bar guy and all round belting guitarist) would feature heavily, as would the Landlord’s after closing party starter, Wham’s “Everything She Wants” which would take things up a notch too far with the new friend from LA… I’m going to leave it there though as the rest of it is completely unprintable.

The Gun holds a very special place in my heart for many reasons, but mainly because of the friendships I have made and the amazing community that Nick and Hanna have built around that place. We have laughed, cried, had mutual life therapy sessions, made records, posters, ate incredible food and laughed some more until the cleaner arrived (errr maybe start upstairs first again)… I have got to know every manager and member of staff over these 11 years, each and every one of them incredible people to have met, worked with and learnt their many colorful life stories. Cheeky Tuesdays are just never going to be the same… Long live The Gun Club!
Orange Juice - Rip It Up

Selected by Rosie Ama

I went to order an Uber home the other day and the two default destinations in my phone are my home address and The Gun. I bloody loved the place.

I met so many good friends there, heard countless hours of incredible music, killed many a brain cell… I’m very thankful I got to be part of something so special and I’ll treasure those years of debauchery underneath the neon.

There are a lot of tracks that remind me of the pub but this one sticks out. I played it as the last track on a couple of occasions, including the final send off, and I know Nick loves this one.

Oh to be sucked into that vortex once more…
Secondo - Coro Delle Lavandaie by Roberto De Simone

Selected by Jody Moss

Unlike most, I was a latecomer to The Gun as I’d moved from London to Brighton in 2003. My first visit was an invite to Sunday lunch in January 2024 from my old pals Rusty, Rotter and Lizzie, and I remember thinking ‘how and why have I not been here before?!’

The Gun to me was more than a pub… it had a beautiful almost mystical and strangely nostalgic atmosphere, a place where I could go and see my closest friends but also spend hours talking about vinyl to people I had never met before. It was a super hub for the best possible wonky musical brains.

I only played at The Gun three times – it was the ultimate space where I could play all the weird-ish things that I felt I could only really play in my shed. My memory of putting ‘Coro Delle Lavandaie’ on at Nick’s birthday is indelible. I see him coming down from upstairs, arms pumping in the air with that huge smile and beautiful quizzical look on his face. A truly wondrous place x
Sopwith Camel - Fazon

Selected by Jack (Bloody) Bishop

One day Nick decided to put the greatest pub in the world in between my flat and Tesco. We were doomed to fall in love. The second phase of his covert plan was to give me a set of keys and let me use the upstairs (pre-renovation) as an art studio. The overt part of his plan was literally picking me up over his shoulder when ever I tried to leave the pub.

Now you’ll rightly hear tales of The Gun as a bastion of wonky frazzling electronic music but it was a lot more than that. Wham! Made just as much sense on the sound system and I’ve seen a proper Sunday wig out session in there lose their shit to Barry Manilow. But the music and the pub wasn’t just for the weekend, so I’ve picked a tune for a Wednesday at The Gun, sat on my stool eating a köfte wrap, arguing with Nick about the best Cold War film. (It’s Rocky IV btw).
Scott Fraser - A life of Silence

Selected by Harri Pepper

Nick and Hannah always made me feel like family! Performing for the Gun was always something I would be buzzed about, the love and the freedom the Gun gave was like no other, so many silly memories, with the love for music at its core!
Tommy Wright III - Meet Yo Maker

Selected by Cherrystones

So many tracks I’d like to suggest but this one was always a firm house favourite through the years. This (no pun intended) was always a sure shot as much as a switch the feel “let’s go” tune! Seeing Nick’s face whenever this was dropped was always a sight to behold, eagerly pumping the air fists clenched whilst that 808 did the talking…

Anecdote-wise, again too many, hazy nights in red light laughing with Scott & Nick, amongst others, talking about Stooly D and other secret code names as Reeechard and other fine wines! How much fun? How many headaches incurred… it was all in the name of music and meeting new people. Tthe Hive was not just allocated to the rooftop. Thanks for Bee ing there.
Jackson Jones - I Feel Good, Put Your Pants On (Pilooski Edit)

Selected by Paul Day

Me and Nick’s paths have zig zagged wonkly across the past 20 plus years. Going back to The Lock Tavern and Defecters Weld days, and So on hearing that The Gun on Well Street was his new venture in 2014 was literally music to my lugholes!, and even though I only got the chance to play a dozen times or so it was always a joyous occasion.

I remember this track by Jackson Jones always bringing a big smile to Nick’s face whenever I played it.

Thank you Nick and Hanna for always making me feel welcome. The Gun… A Wondrous Place
Khia - My Neck, My Back (Lick it)

Selected by Kate Green

So track wise this is a very recent one. Nick rang me up and asked if I’d be up for playing 4 tracks at the Gun on that Saturday before Christmas when most people have fucked off home. Staff and regulars, 4 bangers was the brief and having never even touched a CDJ in my life I obviously jumped at the chance. This was the only one I couldn’t find, so I sent it to Nick to find for me. When I arrived he said you’re not seriously thinking about playing that first are you? After a Stephens sabotage of the third one it went down pretty well at the end.

Memories? Wow, where do I start? What a special place, so many friendships formed in that tiny pub. You can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep and everyone Nick introduced to me too made that place what it was. Speeches, Sweating, Dancing on the bar, Dancing on tables, Late nights, Early mornings, Nonsense, Birthdays, Bants and the Breaking of the Neon (only once by me contrary to popular belief) Sundays will never be the same again.
Theo Muller - Wild Washing

Selected by Daniel Avery

This track, first played to me by Nick, perfectly encapsulates the smutty strut we all regularly felt when walking through the door of The Gun, a place where you’d add a new favourite song to your collection on every visit.
William and the Young Five - Cost of Living is Too High

Selected by Frank Merritt

Miss that place. I can’t quite get used to the fact that it isn’t there anymore. I first went to Gun shortly after it opened. I was living off Well Street then. I used to walk my boxer ‘Roy’ down there and we would hang out with whoever was there. Roy was the original ‘Gun Dog’. Roy would sit on the benches and we would always make new friends. When he got old and his time was coming to a close we held a goodbye party for him. All his friends came on a Sunday to say goodbye. Fifty of us all took photos with him and made a fuss of him one last time. The Gun was the only place I would ever have wanted to do something so sad and personal. At The Gun, you were always amongst friends.
The Lines - Raffle

Selected by Proteus

<a href="https://thelineslondon.bandcamp.com/album/hull-down">hull down by The Lines</a>

I remember playing Nick this track and he lit up. It’s underground post punk, banging synth breakdowns and lamenting vocals fit down the line for the Gun’s love of weird. It’s the only pub that’s let me play industrial music with full support, curiosity, care and all the love. Up The Gun and RIP!
Jungle Boy - Flame Fortune (Negativ Magick Edit)

Selected by Ivan Smagghe

“If I remember it, it did not take place at The Gun” would be quite accurate really, albeit a lack of respect to all those wasted hours. I actually thought the other day that The Gun could well be the last drinking den for people who strongly refused to be adults and watch Countryfile.

So yes, Sundays really, the last days of Hackney as we knew it and a resurgence of what Paris or London were at the turn of the century, call it whatever you want.

Memories? Too many, too blurred and singling one out (even that infamous CCTV video) would be betraying the loosest red atmosphere of the place. Those who were there will know anyway. As far as music is concerned, anything goes was the only rule and it is a tribute to the freedom instilled by Nick (we salute you) that my gun hit was not even on Youtube. Quite the sleazy backstory too obviously.
The Undisputed Truth - Ball Of Confusion (That's What The World Is Today)

Selected by Rusty

The first time I went to The Gun was with Nick, maybe 2014, asking me to come and have a look at this pub that would be soon be coming on the market that he was interested in. It was a really grim, drizzly old late January night… proper London weather.

We walked in and I’m not sure whether the atmosphere was more grim inside or out, really unwelcoming and horrible… possibly worse than The Slaughtered Lamb in ‘An American Werewolf’ except this wasn’t make believe. We got a pint of some kind of piss and sat in the corner… where the now legendary ‘Seceret Plans, Clever Tricks’ neon would come to be (and break often), and many a vortex session would unfold.

Somehow, Nick saw the potential, and where others would have run a mile his infectious enthusiasm and optimism, as we’ve all come to know and love, convinced me that this indeed was a go-er. Within six months, The Gun, in its new incarnation was open… and ‘100% committed to breaking even’.

Immediately it felt like home, fast became mine and many others Cheers, except in Hackney, not Boston… and with Nick Stephens at the helm, certainly funnier and arguably more handsome than Sam Malone.

Ahhh the memories, if only I could rememeber them. Seriously, there were so many highlights, the meeting new people and others I hadn’t seen for some time, on both sides of the bar that have gone on to become firm friends… off the scale DJ sets that ripped off roofs, only to be replaced and ripped off again… ‘that’ first pint after covid restrictions were lifted… the birthdays…

In 2024 my girlfriend Lizzie asked me what I wanted to do, half asleep I replied ‘I wanted to walk into my favourite pub, see as many pals that could make it, with ‘Where Everybody Knows Your Name’ (The Cheers theme tune) playing, with Bez sitting at the bar so we could have a pint’ (I don’t know him, but our birthdays are on the same day). I walked in’ ‘Where Everybody…’ blasting out, everyone in there holding up facemasks of me and Bez, and little Grateful Dead party cakes! No Bez unfortunately, but thanks to Andy Bell it very narrowly nearly happened… I got a birthday video message from him instead and much fun and hilarity ensued!

For a track, I am choosing The Undisputed Truth’s ‘Ball of Confusion’. There was a Gun radio show takeover and there was a few of us in attendance, a good mix of The Gun’s eclectic sound – I believe it was Jean Young, Cherrystones, more than likely Scott, maybe Nathan Wilkins? Nick, Josh and myself… I dropped this stone cold slice of psychedelic soul… that incomparable Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong production. It bounced around the place like a tennis ball on Mistubishis in the breakdown… and Nick screaming at me “What the FUCKING HELL is this track!”
Red Axes - Spicy Stick

Selected by Olly Dixon

As a good friend said, “The Gun will never be forgotten, but only vaguely remembered”. For that reason a lot of my clearest memories are pre-opening. Nick and I would have lengthy discussion on light fittings, wall paper, stools, music policy and of course the neon. If you’re going to put a massive obnoxious neon on the wall, it needs to say something good. After agonising on this for weeks and stepping down from some fairly pretentious waffle, we decided to use the repeated line from Roald Dahl’s kids book ‘The Enormous Crocodile’. I’m not really sure why, but we felt his words would balance the red glow somehow. After we opened the pub, my mum sent me my copy of the book from when I was a kid. It was signed by Roald Dahl and it turns out I had met him when I was eight, but no one remembered. A little more cosmic justification perhaps.

Right back at the beginning, we had been to see several potential pubs and none had seemed right, then we heard about The Gun. I went to see it early on a frosty Saturday morning. It was in a sorry state and had already shut down, so all I could do was press my face against the window. The backbar with the Whitbread signs in red, the mirror, the weird ceiling, the bar shape. I was in love, I had butterflies. I just knew we had to make it happen. I phoned Nick and said ‘this is the one’. We got the keys two weeks later.

The opening night is a bit of a blur, but it was sunny and people spilled out onto the street. It felt like a really special moment, a community pub and a place to have a party. This became the alchemy of The Gun, the pub you want to hang out in, that shifts to the party you don’t want to leave. Nick and Hannah created the best house parties you’ve ever been to, pretty much every weekend. I DJed quite a lot when we first opened and I remember playing “Red Axes – Spicy Stick”, there was a wave of togetherness as the evening shifted from pub to party and this track helped to bridge that gap. That magic transition, that alchemy; this is what Nick and Hannah did so well. I’m not sure anywhere else does this in London anymore or ever will. RIP.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Dropping Bombs on the White House

Selected by Manfredas

Finally a space to say how crushed I am by the fact that the last thing I ever played at the gun was something by Diana Ross, so let’s make this about that. Of course I did not know that it was my last Sunday on the Well Street ever, but I’m having nightmares about it because it was always about the last track of the night. Magic moments and last jams were plenty, but I think the one that unlocked one of the sweetest friendships I have, granted me all the free guinesses and got me playing after the closing time was The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Possibly because it was also the night Nick and Hanna received some very beautiful news. Bless them.
Unit Moebius Anonymous – SD23

Selected by Vladimir Ivkovic

The best pub in the world. Countless hours, wonderful memories lost and found, friends for life and amounts of exceptional music that to me was only known from Salon des Amateurs. When I close my eyes and take a deep breath there is not one track but a sequence of tracks from this double 12“, all on wrong speed, inwards euphoria, massive gravity pull and something that felt like a portal to… Shoulder to shoulder with Nick, who came to show appreciation and got pulled into preservation of all the music and all the encounters – for 40 minutes. Being aware that the language for The Gun still has to be found and that all the above sounds like a fever dream: check that hidden life of the record.

Listen to the full record.
DFA - 3/5 Human

Selected by Matteo Casati

Since I started working at The Gun, not a single shift has passed without me having fun while working and listening to lovely tunes.

One of my favourite memories about it is with this record. I remember when I first heard Scott Fraser playing this towards the end of his set, and I was blown away by such a deep, emotional track. I remember dancing while pouring pints alongside my colleagues, bouncing our heads at the hit of the kick. I felt a strong sense of belonging and pride in being part of such a special space, where I have always seen everyone having a great time with great music, and I’ll be forever grateful for it.

Long live The Gun!
The Leather Nun - FFA

Selected by Tia Cousins

I have very, very hazy memories of The Gun, so this was a bit more difficult to write than expected. I feel very lucky to have been part of The Gun fam – so many beautiful friendships were formed under the glow of the neon red & many margaritas were consumed. Feel like pure shite just want The Gun back xx
Fingerprintz - Wet Job

Selected by DEBONAIR

I didn’t immediately grasp how lucky I’d landed to move onto the arse end of well street as I hadn’t been to The Gun before I started living right by it but, after being introduced by Casper. Nick immediately welcomed me to the street and I was bemused by how quickly it became a key component of my waking hours, and generally involved a heavy dose of raucous behaviour… it was a time.

Quite early on though, Nick asked me to bring some records down and play on a Sunday afternoon. I came through and really wasn’t sure what to expect, but was really taken back by how, this one time, usual pub deviants behaved, and The Gun transformed into a really beautiful listening session as I shared many of my favourite records. I’ve got a thing where I won’t share my most sacred music unless the moment feels right, so’s not to tarnish them, but a very delicate energy took over that afternoon and I then grasped what a special place this truly was. There was real soul under the silliness.

Wet job by FINGERPRINTZ is one of the records I played that day and I know Nick loves to play it out regularly as well now; it’s just so precious to connect on that level 🩶
Laura Branigan - Self Control

Selected by Johnny Mellor

There was nowhere quite like The Gun. Tucked away in the heart of Hackney, it wasn’t just a pub—it was a portal. A place where the night didn’t feel like an escape, but a return. When I think of The Gun, I think of this track—Self Control by Laura Branigan. That glittering, shadowy energy. That pull between losing yourself and finding something deeper.

For me, The Gun was where I started to feel like myself again. It dragged me back into the night—not in a reckless way, but in a way that reminded me of who I really was. The music, the people, the chaos and clarity of it all. I owe a lot to that place.

Gun too soon.