The Golden Eagle was a 1930s

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, England, which became known as a venue for live music. The pub stood on Hill Street, in Birmingham City Centre, between Victoria Square and the western end of New Street Station. It closed in January 1984 and was demolished soon afterwards.

Architecture

The building, commissioned by the

Holt Brewery Company Holt or holte may refer to: Natural world *Holt (den), an otter den * Holt, an area of woodland Places Australia * Holt, Australian Capital Territory * Division of Holt, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives in Vic ...

(and later operated by their successors,

Ansells Brewery Ansells Brewery was a regional brewery founded in Aston, Birmingham, England in 1858. It merged with Taylor Walker and Ind Coope in 1961 to form Allied Breweries. The brewery remained in operation until 1981, after which production transferred ...

), in

art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style was clad in black stone, with a

bas relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

carving of a stylised

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...

, by sculptor

William Bloye William James Bloye (8 July 1890 – 6 June 1975) was an English sculptor, active in Birmingham either side of World War II. Life Bloye studied, and later, taught at the Birmingham School of Art (his training was interrupted by World War ...

, over the main entrance. It was erected in the 1930s on the site of an earlier pub of the same name.

Music

It was at the Golden Eagle, in 1963, that

Spencer Davis Spencer Davis (born Spencer David Nelson Davies; 17 July 193919 October 2020) was a Welsh singer and musician. He founded The Spencer Davis Group, a band that had several hits in the 1960s including "Keep On Running", "Gimme Some Lovin'", and ...

met brothers Steve (then aged 14 and still at school) and

Muff Winwood Mervyn "Muff" Winwood (born 15 June 1943, Erdington, Birmingham, England) is a British songwriter and record producer, and the older brother of Steve Winwood. Both were members of the Spencer Davis Group in the 1960s, in which Muff Winwood play ...

, performing there as the Muffy Wood Jazz Band, resulting in them forming the

Spencer Davis Group The Spencer Davis Group were a British band formed in Birmingham in 1963 by Spencer Davis (guitar), brothers Steve Winwood (keyboards, guitar) and Muff Winwood (bass guitar), and Pete York (drums). Their best known songs include the UK numbe ...

. The Spencer Davis Group made their debut at the Eagle, and subsequently had a Monday-night residency here. Other bands who played there before going on to bigger things include

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

and U2. For a year from June 1973, the pub was home to a

folk club A folk club is a regular event, permanent venue, or section of a venue devoted to folk music and traditional music. Folk clubs were primarily an urban phenomenon of 1960s and 1970s Great Britain and Ireland, and vital to the second British folk r ...

, run by resident Birmingham folk/rock band Scotch Mist and, from 1976 to 1979, a

club night Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

, "Shoop Shoop", held on Thursdays. Shoop Shoop was run by Mike Horseman and Pete King, the latter of whom went on to manage

Steel Pulse Steel Pulse are a roots reggae band from the Handsworth area of Birmingham, England. They originally formed at Handsworth Wood Boys School, and were composed of David Hinds (lead vocals, guitar), Basil Gabbidon (lead guitar, vocals), and Ron ...

Legacy

In August 2018, Birmingham-based Two Towers brewery launched a "Golden Eagle" ruby ale, in their "Gone but Not Forgotten" range, to commemorate the pub. The site of the pub subsequently became a car park.

References

External links

'Birmingham Music Archive' page

(includes picture)
'Keith Jones Music' page
with a picture showing the Bloye carving {{Buildings and structures in Birmingham, England Pubs in Birmingham, West Midlands Music in Birmingham, West Midlands Art Deco architecture in England Former pubs in England Buildings and structures completed in the 1930s Demolished buildings and structures in the West Midlands (county) Buildings and structures demolished in 1984