Over the years I have enjoyed some highly
memorable concerts in the Red Hedgehog.

An intimate venue that is so valuable to the

performing arts community and so precious for those

who live in the local area.

Peggy Prendeville

Regular audience member

‘You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.’
Joni Mitchell

THE RED HEDGEHOG, close by Highgate Tube, opened its doors on Wednesday 7 December 2006.

The name was inspired by the 19th century Viennese coffee house, Zum Roten Igel, frequented by Brahms (who obsessively refused to eat or drink anywhere else) .  A famous lithograph shows him striding out in his top hat with a tiny red hedgehog at his heels.   

The cofee house was also a regular watering hole for Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn and others (Beethoven rehearsed at the top of the building) and the place is referred to in musical correspondence throughout the years in relation to many a musical figure of the period.  

The Red Hedgehog is grateful to concert pianist James Lisney for suggesting the name, which has inevitably already featured in pub quizzes.

There are some places that create a warm glow inside the moment you cross the threshold.  Such is the Red Hedgehog.

Its immense contribution over the years to music and theatre is a credit to the tireless work of venue manager Clare.  

It's a constant battle to keep venues like this going and they need our help more than ever right now.    It is time to take a stand for the sake of the arts and to protect our local venues for the future.

In the words of Joni Mitchell
‘You don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone.’

Peter Gilmour
Regular audience member

You don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone.

Joni Mitchell

The Red Hedgehog provides a much needed addition to the music scene in London, offering an intimate space for acoustic music with a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.

Graham Smallwood

Promoter

Folk and Roots
13  December, 2019

1920s themed 30th birthday party

15 February, 2020