Another demolished South London backstreet boozer that would be long forgotten if it didn’t have a certain affinity and warm nostalgia wrapped around it by 90s British film fans.

Long before the unrealistic and embarrassing Green Street there was a football hooligan film called I.D.

Released in 1995, but set in the 1980s, it has gained a cult following after many memorable performances and catch phrases. Based on the true story of a Copper going undercover at Millwall to infiltrate their hooligan firm in 1987, Jim Bannon’s account was later released as the book ‘Running With The Firm’ and is an interesting, if slightly repetitive, tale. The pubs down in New Cross near Millwall’s old ground had their names changed for legal reasons, even though most are closed, but I enjoyed trying to work out which pub was which when reading it.

The Rising Sun, doubling as the fearsome  ‘The Rock’ in the film, closed in 2006 and was the only building left on the street before demolition. I worked on this manor then and it was very different from today. Although the seeds of gentrification had been sown pubs were very different to now. The Boatman, Jamo and Gregorian were still working class spit n’ sawdust boozers with indigenous Cockneys as their patrons. This was a time before Beer Miles, £500k flats and the beginnings of a new middle class of out of town marketing types.

As is always the way now, flats stand on the site of the pub. It’s a sad tale somewhere with cult status can’t see fans pilgrimage to have a drink where Bob the terrifying Landlord stood, baseball bat in hand, If you’ve not seen the film I’d recommend it. Although I wasn’t chucking bricks at the Police and pavement dancing myself in the 80s I started going to football regularly the year the film was released. Travelling all over the country watching my team this film, in a scene that was still going then, is the closest to what I witnessed in pubs, trains and on the terraces at football.

Nothing stays the same and I know a lot of people who would love to have a drink here. However, perhaps that is part of the mystery because they now never can.

‘kin love you Gumbo!