Man takes over music venue where he had wedding

A live music promoter has become co-owner of the venue where he celebrated his wedding and had his first dance.

Luke and Rachel Hinton married at St Albans Register Office before heading to nearby venue, The Horn, where they cut their wedding cake in the bar and took to the live music room for their first dance.

The 46-year-old couple, who have promoted shows at the venue for about 18 years, are now running it with former general manager Shane Smith and his partner, Abbie Whitrow.

Luke, who has been visiting The Horn since he was a teenager, said owning the venue was something he and Rachel had "never even dreamed of".

Long-time owner Adrian Bell told staff two years ago that he planned to step away and gave them the opportunity to take over before he considered selling it on the open market.

Luke was concerned that as The Horn is a large pub right next to a train station, a buyer could have decided to convert it into a commuter-friendly gastro pub.

He said: "By us coming in, taking on the lease, and continuing to operate it, it's going to be a grassroots venue for as long as we have it.

"That is about offering that local band, who wants to get on stage for the first time, that first opportunity.

"The whole purpose of a grassroots venue is to give opportunities and for us that's what it will always be."

The pub has hosted live music since the 1960s, including early appearances by acts such as U2, Bastille, Tom Grennan and Declan McKenna.

Luke founded Juicebox Live to promote shows across the east of England in 2007, and since 2013 it has organised all The Horn's original music events.

But he also wants the venue to be a place to develop behind-the-scenes talent, such as the next generation of music promoters.

He said: "We can take them on and we can nurture those people so that it offers more to what we can do.

"It might be that we get someone who specialises in a genre and no one else in the team has that knowledge."

Luke has been a vocal supporter for grassroots venues, working as a consultant for the Music Venue Trust.

He believes that such spaces are essential because "they bring people together," allowing someone to attend a gig completely on their own "but still feel like you know everyone there".

He said: "If you go back 18-plus years and said we'd be co-owning the venue that we were just going in to watch bands that we liked... I don't think that would have ever crossed our minds.

"Let alone on our wedding night, being there and thinking, 'Oh yeah, we got married here, but we'll own it.' That was something we never even dreamed of."

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