The Horn wins top music pub award

SIMPLY the best – that s The Horn in St Albans which has been voted best UK pub for music. The accolade, sponsored by the Performing Right Society (PRS), was made to The Horn in Victoria Street during The Publican Awards held at the Grosvenor House Hotel

SIMPLY the best - that's The Horn in St Albans which has been voted best UK pub for music.

The accolade, sponsored by the Performing Right Society (PRS), was made to The Horn in Victoria Street during The Publican Awards held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

It was hosted by Alan Carr and Justin Lee Collins from the TV show Friday Night Project in front of 2,000 people from the licensed trade.

The Publican Awards are the culmination of a seven-month judging process during which hundreds of entries are paper judged down to a shortlist of 114 finalists, six in each of the 19 categories.

The Music Pub of the Year award recognises the pub that makes the most of music. The judges were looking for a real commitment to music that attracts new customers and keeps them entertained while at their venue.

With its regular seven-nights-a-week programme of live bands, DJs and vocalists, The Horn attracts all age groups. Some of its regular acts have now gone on to sign record deals such as Enter Shikari, The Subways, Mohair, Friendly Fires and The Runners.

Owner of The Horn, Adrian Bell, said: "This award means a great deal to me and my wife, my manager Sam and my promoter Hansi who are all here tonight.

"They have put so much work into making The Horn a great music pub which we are all proud to be associated with and a big thank you to all our staff who are key to our success."

Keith Gilbert, managing director of PRS Public Performance Sales, added: "Congratulations to The Horn for winning the Music Pub of the Year Award. They actively use music in their pub and have proved once again that music is good for business. We wish them every success in the future.