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Venue where 'Glastonbury headliners' start out is 50

The Horn A room full of people in a music venue, one man has been lifted up, crowd surfing, while more people are standing around around waving their arms. The Horn
The Subways, from Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, played The Horn in 2018

The promoter of a grassroots music venue that has seen stars including U2, Tom Grennan and Chrissie Hynde perform has said without it "you wouldn't have the future headliners for Glastonbury".

Luke Hinton said The Horn, in St Albans - which is celebrating its 50th anniversary - is where "artists learn their craft".

Years & Years and Yungblud have graced its stage. Singer Kim Wilde used to work behind the bar and 80s star Paul Young started his career playing there every Monday with his group Streetband.

An evening of 50th celebrations, featuring alternative covers band Allergy, gets underway at 20:00 GMT on Saturday.

The Horn Paul Young in 1979, holding a microphone and singing. The image is old and slightly blurred. A man is sitting down to the right and another man is standing up to the left, playing a guitar. It is in a music venue with posters behind and a red wall halfway up. Peoples' heads are in front of Paul, listening to him perform. The Horn
Paul Young, from Luton, performing with his Streetband in January 1979

Mr Hinton said: "It's a grassroots music venue which has live music six nights a week, ranging from local artists and international artists playing early shows.

"One of its strengths is we've supported bands from the local area like Paul Young, Enter Shikari, The Subways, Friendly Fires, and Tom Grennan.

"It's had a long and illustrious history, U2 played here in the late 70s, Motorhead, and Bastille.

"We're the research and development sector of the music industry, without venues like The Horn you don't have future headliners for Glastonbury."

The Horn Chrissie Hynde performing at The Horn. The black and white image shows a female singer in the middle, holding a guitar, by a microphone, with a drummer behind her, and a guitarist to her left and right. People are in front of her but they are blurred. Lights are above the performers. The Horn
Singer Chrissie Hynde took to the stage in 2014

The promoter, who has worked at the venue for 17 years, said: "It's where artists learn their craft and they discover what they do and how they do it.

"It's also the training ground for the whole industry, sound engineers and events promoters."

He said many artists who have graced the venue, which has a capacity of 200, end up playing Wembley and Glastonbury.

"We will continue to showcase and support new artists.

"We can't rely on the bands of yesterday to be there forever, so we need new artists to keep coming through."

He said he hoped a book on the venue will come out next year. He wants anyone with memories and photos of The Horn to get in touch.

The Horn Five musicians on a stage in a slightly blurred image. Two men on the right are holding guitars, with a performer, with his back to the stage, holding a tambourine. A drummer is sitting down, and a guitarist is to the left. A chair is in the middle and you can see a drum kit to the left. The Horn
Saturday night music at "The Horn of Plenty" in 1992

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