Music stars of today have played at Chiswick's Blue Flowers and now the iconic night is back

Sunday night at the George IV on Chiswick High Road and the pub is unusually packed. Up front at the bar, the regulars are chewing over another week of west London life, largely unaware of the queue of check-shirted indie types snaking past them into the back of the pub. One, half curious, turns to his neighbour and says: 'What's all this about, then?" And the second man replies: "Dunno. Could be that Blue Flowers back again."

As it turns out, he's right. The lo-fi Chiswick music night, which between 2004 and 2008 hosted sets from some of today's biggest names, is indeed back, with Mesparrow, Alpines and Marcus Foster on tonight’s bill. Going by Blue Flowers' track record, expect to hear at least one of them on your radio very soon.

Jamie T, Laura Marling, Adele, Noah and the Whale, Florence and the Machine, Mumford and Sons. Just six of the many acts to have played this same stage. All still recording. All still charting. And three of them huge hits at this year's Brits. In fact, when Adele delivered her devastating rendition of Someone Like You at the O2 ceremony, it was nothing she hadn't done in 2006 with 'Hometown Glory' at the George IV, albeit to an audience of 100 rather than 22,000.

The question is, how did Blue Flowers bloom so brightly? The story starts seven years ago with local Chiswick boys Chris Pearson and Richard Brown bemoaning the lack of live music in their area. Sick of trekking up to Camden or east to Shoreditch for gigs, the pair decided to set up a new night on their doorstep. "We actually came up with the idea walking back from Gunnersbury station," says Pearson. "Richard and I have known each other forever. We grew up listening to records and were always complaining how crap the west London scene was. So we decided to do something about it."

They first found a venue, the George IV, whose back room already played host to the popular Headliners comedy club on Friday and Saturday nights. This left Sunday evening open for Blue Flowers, a fact which went on to define the relaxed vibe of the gig. That, and the space itself. With half the audience seated at tiny tables, it felt more like a jazz club than a beer-soaked indie dive.

"The room was part of our success," says Pearson. "It was different to most other gigs in London in terms of atmosphere, a lot more intimate, more personal. It meant we had to run a more stripped down night."

This in turn suited the new-folk sound emerging. Because if west London lacked music nights, it certainly wasn't wanting for acts. This was a time before Facebook and Twitter, when even MySpace was a novelty. And Blue Flowers was a breeding ground for the developing music eco-system. Bands brought along old friends and made new ones; impromptu collaborations were a regular feature as were welcome returns.

The very first headliners Larrikin Love were accompanied by a Wimbledonian by the name of Jamie T. A young Adele played three times – "she was one of those acts who just amazed everyone with her voice" says Pearson – while Laura Marling, first smuggled in when she was 15 and girlfriend of Noah and the Whale frontman Charlie Fink, went on to headline Blue Flowers' third birthday party. By this time, she was dating Marcus Mumford, leader singer of Mumford and Sons, who also played their first London gig at the George IV.

"Everyone still talks about it being the most lovely, attentive crowd," said Mumford, whose band returned to front the final Blue Flowers in 2008 when Pearson and Brown decided to pull the plug. Their reasoning? "We'd got to the point where we felt like we'd done it. Better to stop when it would be remembered as an amazing thing than drag it out. We were ready to move on." Pearson decamped to Brooklyn and successfully launched Blue Flowers NYC, exporting British bands like Mumford and the Maccabees for one-off gigs that had the US music press salivating. But back in Chiswick, voices were clamouring. "We had people begging us to come back," he says, "and when I started listening to some of the new acts around, the timing seemed right."

Cue Blue Flowers' triumphant return in 2010 with a new schedule of gigs, some branching out to venues such as Islington's Union Chapel and Scala in Kings Cross. Nothing, however, beats Blue Flowers on home turf. Tonight's crowd at the George IV is full of old-timers whom Pearson greets at the door with a friendly “Hey mate” and hand bump. And where there used to be teens hopefully flashing fake IDs, there's now a swathe of older music industry types, too.

"A lot of us have been coming from the beginning," says Adam Shearer, 30, a talent manager turned music marketer who lives locally. "But there's definitely more scouts about. People know Blue Flowers' history and what it stands for." In fact, Alpines have already been snapped up by Polydor before tonight's appearance. So how does Pearson feel about being labelled a talent breaker? He shifts uncomfortably, shrugs and says: "I don't see myself as someone who launched careers. I just try and put on good songs, good events, nothing more than that."

As Marcus Foster tunes up, two petite blondes scoot their way to the front where they sit down cross-legged on the floor. It's Sienna Miller and Sheridan Smith, making the most of a day off from West End duties in Flare Path. Their arrival prompts a few nudges, but soon enough, attention switches back to the stage. Only time will tell whether Foster will become another famous Blue Flower. For now, we simply know there are few better places to be on a Sunday night.

Music stars of today have played at Chiswick's Blue Flowers and now the iconic night is back

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