Eel Pie Club

Eel Pie Club is a 120-capacity Twickenham venue in The Patch, the upstairs room at The Cabbage Patch. Its defining feature is a deliberate connection to the British rhythm-and-blues circuit that flourished around nearby Eel Pie Island in the 1960s: this is a contemporary club carrying that lineage into a pub-based live room. The room’s standing limit makes for close-range shows, with the audience gathered around a dedicated music space instead of a sprawling hall.

A club built from a local musical inheritance

Gina Way, Warren Walters and guitarist Tom Nolan formed Eel Pie Club in 2000 to preserve and continue the area’s UK rhythm-and-blues heritage. Its first home was The Fox in Church Street; after quickly outgrowing that space, the club moved in June 2000 to The Patch above The Cabbage Patch, where it remains. Nolan moved away in 2010, leaving Way and Walters to run the club.

One early night captures the scale of its ambitions. On 22 November 2000, Art Wood’s All Stars played the upstairs room, joined by Ronnie Wood; a contemporary report counted 250 people inside and about 50 outside. The set included Chicago Calling, Mojo Working and Blueberry Hill, with Art and Ronnie Wood sharing the microphone. That occasion ties the club’s stated R&B mission to a specific, documented gathering in its first year.

The room today

Eel Pie Club presents live music on alternate Thursdays and welcomes members alongside non-members, with member ticket discounts available. Blues and rhythm & blues sit at the core, while the programme also reaches into blues-rock, classic rock and tribute-led shows. The Patch has a large dance floor, an in-room bar, DJ booth and private entrance; it is a straightforward, sociable upstairs setup designed for standing close to the band. Expect a focused two-hour evening format, with doors generally at 7:45pm and music from 8:30pm to 10:30pm.