The Buckinghamshire pub where rock band Kings of Leon played their first UK gig twenty years ago will stage its last-ever band night this weekend.

The White Horse pub on West Wycombe Road will hold its last-ever band night this weekend before High Wycombe's only lap dancing venue shuts its doors for good in December. 

Buckinghamshire-based fourpiece Dark Phoenix Rising, known for their covers of rock classics, will play at the pub this Saturday night, twenty years after the American rock band Kings of Leon marked their first performance in the UK at the quirky boozer back in February 2003.

Although an application to demolish the building, submitted by the site's landlord, Streamdown Property Ltd, was refused by Buckinghamshire Council last month, long-term licensee Alastair Watts told the Free Press that he had nonetheless decided the time had come to take a step back and will close up shop and retire in the new year.

Speaking to the BBC in 2016, Kings of Leon frontman Nathan Followill said remembered the band's gig at The White Horse fondly and had "always wanted to go back and play there one last time".

Adding: "It was the birth of the Kings of Leon. It was absolutely insane - we were high-fiving each other because we're all young and we're playing at the same place as strippers."

Alastair, 78, told the Free Press back in 2016 that the pub staff had been "chuffed to bits" by Nathan's recognition, but admitted that although he had been "hoping for a phone call", there hadn't been one yet. 

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Now, it may be too late for the band to have their full-circle gig unless they book a spot on the stage this weekend or stop by the final blow-out party Alastair is planning to hold on December 30, as a final, final hurrah. 

The 78-year-old isn't holding out much hope for a return to custom in the near future, even if The White Horse's historic structure has been saved from demolition - for now. 

“The building is over 100 years old, and it has endless maintenance problems. It would need a complete refit and the landlord isn’t interested in that.

“I think he will reapply for planning permission, maybe with a different architect, and if he doesn’t get it, he’ll just board it all up.”

Sam Routledge, a member of Dark Phoenix Rising, said he was "so excited" to play at the venue for the last time this weekend, adding: "I played there loads as a kid and a young adult.

"There is so much love for the place. I'm hoping a load of Wycombe music fans will come down to say goodbye."

The White Horse's final band night will take place on Saturday, December 2, with doors opening at 7pm and an entry charge of £2. Are you planning to drop in?