Yorkshire hero on a crusade for good times

Jun 1 2009 by Chris Knox, The Journal

The Head of Steam pubs are a Tyneside institution famous their atmosphere, fine beers and cutting edge live music. Christopher Knox caught up with its managing director Tony Brookes as his business takes a new step forward.

Discerning drinkers have long favoured The Head of Steam Pubs which provide a haven for those seeking something a little more distinctive and civilised than disco bars crammed with stag parties or frowsy local town centre boozers.

Tony Brookes’ chain, which in Newcastle include The Cluny and Tilleys Bar and the eponymously named Head of Steam bar have become an important part of Tyneside culture as well as its nightlife.

The group, which includes Head of Steam bars in Liverpool and Huddersfield, are popular not just with beer lovers but music fans. The Cluny in particular has won such a following for its championing of big name live music that indie chart toppers Maximo Park joined the list of protesters when there was a threat to its performance licence in 2005.

And as well as giving early gigs to the likes of the Arctic Monkeys, the bars are loved by choosy drinkers. On entering any of the venues you are greeted with at least 15 hand pumps and a definite lack of what Brookes, 61, terms as cooking lagers.

And the business reflects its creator. Born in the small mining town of Emley in West Yorkshire in 1948, he was hitting the gig scene as some of the giants of 60s rock were in their prime with The Animals and Cream some of the names on his ticket stubs.

The shaggy-haired entrepreneur’s other passions include beer and riding his Harley Davidson, and it is clear that he has lived life to the full and comes across as a left-wing rocker still fighting the good fight against the forces of big business.

But despite the wild persona, Brookes started his career in Newcastle selling household cleaning products door to door for national firm Kleeneze after graduating from Newcastle University with a geography degree.

He says: “I must admit that my first job wasn’t very rock and roll, but it was a job and allowed me to go on to much better things. I guess it did give me my first taste of sales and marketing, which would become massively important to me later in my career.

“However it was during that period that I got to see some of the greatest acts of all time at Newcastle’s Club A-Go-Go on Percy Street, including Jimmy Hendrix and Captain Beefheart. I also managed a rock band called Steam Coffin – it was just a fantastic time to be into rock and roll music.”

It was then that he realised he had to move down to London in order to find work, and soon landed himself with the role of traffic engineer with Camden Council to help monitor the flow of trains and buses.

Having been a trainspotter in his youth as part of the Emley District Railway Enthusiasts Club, Brookes was in his element and found himself involved in marketing the borough’s public transport infrastructure as well as help to pin down where extra routes were needed.

“It seemed much easier back then to get yourself a good job after leaving university, which is definitely not how it is now,” Brookes says. “As well as moving down to London to advance my career, I also wanted to be a part of the music scene down there and managed to visit the famous Marquee club a few times.”

He then moved over to International Computers Limited (ICL) as a transport systems consultant and spent the next six years using advanced computers to survey the country’s public transport infrastructure on behalf of the Government. It was during this time that he returned to Newcastle to complete an MSc post graduate degree in Transport Engineering before returning to London.

Brookes said: “Even though I am involved in a very different type of business now, I still consider my trade to be in transport and fell it will always be in my blood. I love travelling on trains and buses and love to travel just for the sake of travelling.”

His professional involvement with beer started in 1980 after spending three years with Midland Red Bus Company. “My wife and I just wanted to move back to the North East as we were finding that the people around us were very introverted and were only bothered about making money, which was totally at odds with our personalties,” he says.

It was then that he had the idea of opening up a real ale off licence on Heaton Road, Newcastle, under the banner Legendary Yorkshire Heroes and began selling bottles and containers of beer and cider straight from the hand pump.

He says: “I had always been a real ale drinker as there were only two pubs Emley which both sold real ale. I have always loved it and realised that there were very few places you could get your hands on it in the North East outside of the bars.

“It was also during the time when the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) was getting more and more popular, so it made sense to set up a business in that market. I had always intended on calling the business Legendary Yorkshire Heroes, it didn’t matter if it sold coal or any other product. All people from Yorkshire are heroes by definition, but only some are legendary.”

The one shop soon turned into five shops around the North East and Brookes began supplying pub chains around the region and was turning in a healthy profit until an unbalanced economy saw inflation increase to 29% and the interest rate soared to around 20%.

Brookes said: “The economy was in a terrible state at the time and just as Thatcher had damaged the UK’s public transport network, she was doing the same to its small business sector.”

Unfortunately off licences were right in the firing line, forcing Brookes to close four stores, But he knew there was still potential in ale and concentrated on his wholesale business by acquiring a warehouse near the Quayside before moving his operations to the 20,000sq ft Off Quay Building in Foundry Lane in the Ouseburn Valley.

The two-storey building also gave Brookes his second opportunity to be involved in the region’s thriving music scene as the upper floor contained a number of studio spaces which he offered to up and coming bands.

His big break in the pub industry came in 1989 when the Supply of Beer Order meant that UK breweries had to sell on a proportion of their pubs in order to increase competition.

Brookes bought 18 pubs from Scottish & Newcastle, across Newcastle, Gateshead, Blyth, Rothbury and North Shields, which he ran under the Legendary Yorkshire Heroes brand. However, his ownership of the pubs was short lived as the property crash of the early 1990s soon saw him sell on the bars and the wholesale business.

“We were just working too damn hard, what with the pubs, the wholesale business and the warehouse and studios to consider,” he says. “We just wanted to focus on something a bit smaller and something that we could put our stamp on again.”

It was then that Brookes would bring together his love of beer and transport in his bid to acquire a licence for what is now The Centurion Bar in Newcastle’s Central Station. However, he would find it difficult to do so and turned his attention to setting up a pub down south, where he soon bought a site in Euston Station.

“The whole idea behind The Head of Steam was that I would set up a pub chain which utilised the unused space in train stations. It seemed like a perfect solution as it would bring my passions for beer, the railways and marketing together under one business. The problem was that the railway operators did not trust anyone that wasn’t a massive operator like WH Smiths or Boots, which meant we were turned down time and time again.”

Now called the Head of Steam, the business would go on to buy the Express Bar opposite the Central Station in 1995 as well as a pub in Huddersfield railway station, which is adorned with railway memorabilia and has become a mini museum in its own right.

“Things just started to take off from there,” he says. “People appreciated the fact that we giving them the choice of drinks they wanted from a pub. Providing the customer with what they want has always been at the heart of this business.”

After selling the pub in Euston and adding another Head of Steam in Liverpool Lime Street station, Brookes then purchased the Cluny in the Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle, in 2002 before taking over Tilleys.

“Both the Cluny and Tilleys were in a terrible state when we took over and it was hard work making them fit in with the rest of the chain. People love where we’re trying to do, from the wide selection of ales and ciders down to our promise to match any donation in our charity boxes.”

The most recent development for the business has been acquiring the lease for the Round Theatre, which is next to The Cluny, after its previous management company went into liquidation in June last year. Brookes plans to use the building as a venue for private parties.

“We are planning to create a stairway from The Cluny to the theatre to link up the buildings, which will allow people to feel part of a larger site,” he says. “We are really excited about the plans and believe it will bring even more people into the Ouseburn.”

The pubs cultural excursions include screening classic films at Tilleys and The Cluny, including of course a series of rockumentaries including Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense.

Expansion plans also include refurbishing the Reform Place pub in Durham and he has just bought another site in Newcastle.

It could be seen as a risky strategy to invest in an industry which has been one of the biggest casualties of the recession.

“It’s certainly difficult for many people in our industry at the moment”, he says. “However, we have been able to keep growing as people appreciate the fact that we give them what they want. The calibre of the bands we attract has also kept a mixed group of people coming through the doors.

“A lot of people may choose to look at the current pub market as a cause for doom and gloom, but I see it as a time of opportunity.”

You may assume his success has mellowed Brookes’ rock and roll attitude. No chance, although his rebellion is informed by astute business sense. He has launched a Stuff the Supermarkets campaign which allows customers to carry out containers of cask ales and ciders to compete against the retail giants.

He said: “The supermarkets have a lot to answer for when it comes to the closure of our pubs. It’s shocking that so many get away with selling at a loss while the Government attempts to get its sensible drinking message across.

“How can Asda sell cans of beer, making a profit of 0.8p per can? You can buy three cases of Stella for £20 which works out at 66.6p per pint. The trade price is £1.67. How is a licensee going to survive when Asda’s 3% alcohol by volume lager is 22p a can? That way, two pints will equal one pint of 6.0% lager – at 56p to Joe Public.”

As long as this anti-establisment Yorkshireman remains at the helm, you can’t see the Head of Steam slowing down just yet.

I had always intended on calling the business Legendary Yorkshire Heroes. All people from Yorkshire are heroes by definition, but only some are legendary

CV

1969: Kleeneze, salesman

1970: Camden Council, traffic engineer

1970-1976: ICL, transport systems consultant

1976-1979: Midland Red Bus Company

1979-1995: Legendary Yorkshire Heroes, managing director

1995 - Present: The Head of Steam, managing director