Almost 70 years worth of live music could be coming to an end at an iconic Kingston pub - depending on what direction a new landlord wants to take the venue. 

Richard Fletcher, landlord of the Grey Horse in Richmond Road, will be retiring after 15 years running the town centre pub that has drawn music-lovers for years.

He will be moving to Kent in January and the pub is expected to undergo refurbishment for some months after.

Rumours have been circulating for months that the venue will be revamped into a gastro pub when Mr Fletcher leaves, potentially bringing the curtain down on the Grey Horse's long history of live entertainment.

But this week Mr Fletcher said: "Everybody is asking me whether the live music is closing - that’s the million dollar question that people keep asking me.

"It is down to whoever takes over the pub what they want to do with it. At the moment I don’t know if anybody has been found.

"It would be a shame because there has been live music here for nearly 70 years. Now that The Peel is gone, our live music venues are down."

The Sir Robert Peel, in Cambridge Road, had seen the likes of The Vaccines, Jamie T, Gallows and John Newman perform there before it closed on April 27 and has since been demolished.

Musician James Goldsmith wrote on the Grey Horse's Facebook page: "It's a tragedy for music and culture in Kingston that the time has come for last orders.

"Whatever the reasons, I want to thank you sincerely for providing local (and not so local) artists with a platform to develop and perform."

But Mr Fletcher said: "If people were visiting the venue then it would not be changing."

Banquet Records co-founder Jon Tolley who runs a number of live music events in Kingston, including the weekly new Slang night at McClusky's, said: "Any live music venue closing is bad but if that’s market forces then that’s what it is."

Young’s area manager Jeff Bygraves said the company was "hopeful" any new tenant would want to continue with live entertainment, but added: "The live music aspect of the pub will really be in the hands of the operator. "

He said: "We have had quite a lot of interest. At the moment we have got a number of people who are looking at it but as of yet we have no fixed plans for the pub."

The Grey Horse will "most definitely" continue as a pub, he said.

The Grey Horse’s famed Crack Comedy nights which have brought in comedians such as Michael McIntyre and Dara O’Brien could also be under threat.

It is also unclear what will happen to the Ram Jam Club, a small live venue at the back of the Grey Horse, which hosts gigs, film nights and philosphy groups.

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