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London · Venue

The Water Rats

A compact King’s Cross pub-and-stage room with a long paper trail of first gigs.

Upcoming shows
55
Capacity
200
Address
328 Gray's Inn Road, WC1X 8BZ London
Phone
020 7833 3312
Next show
Fri, 9 Oct 2026
Official siteDirections
The Water Rats in London

About The Water Rats

The Water Rats is a 200-capacity live-music venue in London’s King’s Cross, combining a pub at the front with a performance room at the back. That two-room setup makes the experience feel direct: drinks and conversation occupy one end of the building, while the stage sits beyond it. Its sharpest historical calling card is December 1962, when Bob Dylan made his UK debut performance here.

A music-hall conversion and a second opening

The present building dates from 1878 and traded as the Pindar of Wakefield; it hosted regular old-time music hall entertainment until the 1980s. In 1986, the Grand Order of Water Rats, a showbusiness charity, bought the premises and gave it its current name. The resulting venue has a concise record of arrival moments: Dylan’s 1962 UK debut and Oasis’s London debut in January 1994 both took place here. Those dates explain the appeal better than a long roll call of alumni. A difficult 2014–15 period led to a new lease in August 2015, when nightlife operator Sally Fox took over from the Grand Order. The venue reopened in October 2015 following refurbishment, retaining live music as part of its late-night use.

The room on a show night

The Water Rats runs a broad-format calendar: alternative, pop and electronic bills sit alongside theatre, comedy and fringe events. For music, the room offers a large stage, stage-lighting rig and D&B PA; artists can also request house backline including drums, bass amplification and guitar amps. The physical flow remains simple and useful for audiences: bar first, stage room second. It suits listeners seeking a close-range club show, plus a drink or meal before doors.

Sources

  1. History — The Water Rats
  2. The Water Rats — Wikipedia
  3. So you’ve never been to… The Water Rats? — Time Out
  4. The Water Rats gets a new lease of life — Evening Standard
  5. The Water Rats — The Water Rats

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