The terrace of the Moon Under Water Wetherspoons pub in Leicester Square was full of people enjoying the warm weather and chatting between tables – without a TikTok video or speakerphone call in earshot. At Wetherspoons, the convivial atmosphere can no longer be punctuated by rude customers taking phone calls on blast, or playing videos without headphones after Tim Martin, the owner of the pub chain, banned both on his premises. Gary and Mark, brothers who were catching up over pints, both thought anyone playing loud sounds in the pub should be barred.
Why should people choose to play music that I don’t like and that other people around them don’t like?” asked Mark. External noise is becoming part of the pub.” Abdslam Elidrisi, 65, who was puffing on a cigar with a glass of white wine while people-watching, also welcomed the move. You can’t impose it on other people.
Loud phone calls are the same thing. I don’t want to hear about your personal life – unless you are having a conversation with me about it!” The company announced on Tuesday it had introduced the ban across its 792 pubs, saying sound from smartphones and tablets had become an “increasing problem in recent years”. The glasses contain very small cameras that enable the wearer to discreetly film.
Lily, 21, and Avril, 22, both students, agreed it was antisocial and inconsiderate to play video and phone calls out loud in the pub, but said they weren’t regularly troubled by it when visiting Wetherspoons for chicken burgers and spritzes. Trev and John, who work laying cables for telecoms, were enjoying a quiet after-work pint. In a pub, you don’t want that.
I take my phone calls outside.” Over at the Montagu Pyke Wetherspoons near Tottenham Court Road in central London, not everyone had got the memo. Her colleague Sam Reid, 48, was supportive of the ban. I have to ask them to stop,” she said.
Some people understand when we ask them to turn off the noise – others are looking for a fight.” Holly and Eleanor, both 18, were enjoying a meal after a day of shopping in central London, having come down from Darlington on the train. The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, started a campaign last year encouraging people to use headphones when playing music on the city’s transport network.
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