Pop star James Blunt could turn landlord to save historic Chelsea pub

Will James Blunt ditch his pop star career to become a pub landlord? (Getty)

Pop star and Twitter legend James Blunt could soon be pulling pints for a few Lost Souls behind his own bar.

The ‘Beautiful’ singer is rumoured to be the new landlord of the Fox and Pheasant pub in Chelsea, west London.

Friends have been quoted as saying Blunt, 43, bought the pub to save it from demolition after it was earmarked for a housing development.

The Fox and Pheasant pub in Chelsea could soon have singer-songwriter James Blunt as its new landlord

A source said: “It’s not just an investment – he wants to be hands on.

“He’s already been boasting that it’s going to be a pub full of aristocrats and even royalty.”

The interior of the bar where Blunt could soon be pulling pints for regulars

Records show that Blunt and his father, Colonel Charles Blount, were appointed directors of a firm called Blunt Pubs Limited only last month.

His father is listed as company director, while the singer – himself a former soldier – is listed as a director under his real name James Hillier Blount.

Current landlord Edwin Asher, who is a tenant of brewery Greene King, said he was leaving the pub later this month, but was unable to confirm if Blunt was the new landlord.

The pub was originally called the Bedford Arms, then later the Prince of Wales, and in 1965 it was renamed the Fox and Pheasant

It was fully refitted in about 1930, and that interior remains largely unchanged today

But one local resident, who asked not to be named, said: “Everybody around here has been saying that James Blunt is going to be the pub’s new landlord.”

The pub was being marketed through commercial property specialist Fleurets, but is no longer listed for sale. Greene King would only confirm it was in “advanced discussions” with a potential new landlord.

The Fox and Pheasant is on the Campaign for Real Ale’s (CAMRA) National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors.

The terrace that it forms part of was built in 1896. It was originally called the Bedford Arms, then the Prince of Wales 10 years later, and in 1965 it was renamed the Fox and Pheasant. It was fully refitted in about 1930, and that interior remains largely unchanged today.

Blunt – who has sold more than 20 million albums and 20 million singles – follows in the footsteps of film director Guy Ritchie who ran Mayfair pub The Punch Bowl before selling up in 2013, while TV and radio presenter Chris Evans and actor Neil Morrissey have also ventured into the pub trade.