Jim Robertson has just completed 40 years of running the Kempock Bar in Gourock.
Not just owning it – but running it day to day.
As has been the case for much of the last four decades, Jim is in the bar seven days a week, most of the time single-handed, and despite now being one of the longest serving publicans in Inverclyde, he has no firm plans to retire.
The Kempock has always been a wet-led pub. Jim, who originally worked in Inverclyde’s shipyards, bought it and moved in on 24th October, 1984.
When he took charge, American forces were still based at the Holy Loch on the north side of the Clyde estuary.
So at any one time, an average of 3500 to 4000 Americans were billeted in and around the area, with the result that hundreds of American soldiers – and their families – partied in Gourock until 1992 when the last US ship left.
But a vital part of the Kempock’s character is its music. In his younger days, Jim also enjoyed an eventful music career, drumming for The Silhouettes, known locally as The Silly Gets.
The Silhouettes played the same circuit as the Beatles – Liverpool’s Cavern Club, Hamburg, etc – which is one of the reasons that there is a lot of pop memorabilia on the walls of the Kempock.
It is also why, for many years, a jam session was held almost monthly in the bar with Jim behind the drums. Because of the proximity of the Gourock ferry terminal, musicians occasionally drop in and impromptu music sessions spring to life.
That musical background is also why the pub’s jukebox has been described as the best in the west of Scotland, as Jim encouraged locals to bring in their own CDs to add to the Kempock’s playlist.
Many noted figures of the entertainment industry have passed through the Kempock’s doors. The BBC series Tutti Frutti was filmed in the area and Robbie Coltrane and Richard Wilson were regulars in the bar at the time.
More recently, Waterloo Road was filmed in the old Greenock Academy and several scenes of the programme were filmed inside the Kempock itself.
Another group dropped in one day, sat in the corner and asked if they could play their instruments. Permission was granted and they played for some time. After they had left, a regular approached Jim with an envelope which the group had dropped. Inside was a cheque from a music festival, payable to celtic music giants Capercaillie.
But it’s not a bar full of luvvies. In fact, when he lived in Wemyss Bay, Wet Wet Wet singer Marti Pellow frequented the Kempock specifically because he knew that, in there, he would not be troubled by autograph hunters or the media.
In 2010, The Famous Grouse Scotch Whisky, in partnership with The Daily Telegraph newspaper, ran a competition to find the UK’s most famous pubs, and the Kempock was among the first 100 on that list, earning itself an inscription on the Famous Grouse statue which was located at the Glenturret distillery near Crieff in Perthshire.
The whisky selection Jim has collected and curated over the years is large and eclectic. He recently visited Whisky Live! in Tokyo with his friend, whisky writer John Lamond, to experience Japan’s whisky boom, resulting in some exotic and esoteric bottlings appearing on the gantry.
The Kempock offers tutored tastings, delivered by Lamond, who himself has worked in the industry for almost 50 years, receiving many accolades, including Master of Malt, Keeper of the Quaich, International Whisky Educator of the Year and Whisky Man of the Year.
So it is no surprise that the bar’s whisky offering has won awards, although regulars, not least Mr Lamond, maintain that the whisky selection varies according to ‘what side of bed Jim Robertson got out of that day’.
Whatever is on display, the prices reflect not what the current market value is, but what Jim paid for them, and thus can offer very good value for his customers.
A big party was held to mark Jim’s 40 years as landlord of the Kempock Bar, with friends and family and loyal customers enjoying food, drink and great music.
