The Bilston pub known as a jazz and blues club with a rich history of playing live music

Today, the pub is run by Musti Bouameur, 75, who is a fascinating character with an incredible story on how he came to run the pub.

Musti, originally born in Algeria, spent many years playing in bands in North Africa and Southern France, before moving to England, where he discovered The Trumpet and eventually took over as landlord.

Before becoming the landlord, Musti was a school teacher that would visit the pub several times a week to listen to the music, and he eventually started playing the drums there each week, and the tenancy became available and after some encouragement from friends, he went for it and has been there ever since - coming up to 17 years of running the pub this year.

Thanks to the pub's rich history with Jazz music, and Musti's love for the music, he was recently interviewed on International Jazz day and he said that before becoming the landlord, he would tell himself that one day the pub would be his, but he meant it as in calling it his own as his local pub, but today, he is the landlord of the pub and loves every minute of running the establishment where he gets to celebrate his love for music and still to this day, he gets to play the drums.

He runs the pub with the assistance of his partner, Diane Elcock, 49, who is a teacher but helps out with the pub in the evenings.

Speaking about The Trumpet and its historic affair with jazz music, Diane said: "The big thing about the pub - before covid it was exclusively a jazz venue. but after covid it changed things a little.

"A lot of clients and musicians were a little reluctant to go out and as a consequence of that we have diversified to different genres of music and that has continued.

"It is now considered a jazz and blues club.

"Covid was a tough period for pubs everywhere and for us too of course. It affected everything, but every day we were allowed to open, we would open.

"Wolverhampton council allowed us to start doing gigs in the garden and so we were among the early adopters of socially distanced events with them taking place in the garden.

"We were fortunate to be able to do gigs in the garden, and in order to do that we have a massive help from our regulars, who helped paint fences, decorate the outdoors - everyone came together to make the garden beautiful."

Diane has worked at the pub for around 10 years now, and she is very proud of Musti and his love and passion for the pub and the whole jazz music genre.

She added: "I would really like to emphasise just how much passion and enthusiasm Musti has for music, and despite the struggles of running a pub, his dedication and hardwork and being a music lover, he really loves the place and has made it into a fantastic place that people from all around the region come to play here."

The pub is said to be where Slade would meet up, and there are still photos of the group inside the pub hanging on the walls, and it is now the official HQ of the Slade fan club.

There is a rich history with the pub and music, and it stemmed from the late 50s and 60s, where owner at the time Les Megson would blast Jazz music in the pub, and then local legends such as Tommy Burton and Reg Keirle played many times during that period.

The pub hosts seven sessions of live music a week over six days, and is a hit with the locals and regulars for the music they put on.

They also recently hosted a celebration day on April 30, which was International Jazz Day, and to make the occasion, there was a line-up of performers from across the region, and Diane said it was a fantastic event with a packed crowd, with everyone enjoying the music, creating a wonderful atmosphere.

Diane added: "We are hoping to do more events like we did on the International Jazz Day, and have spoken about hosting one in the summer time around July or August.

"We have received a lot of support from the locals and regulars, and obviously at the moment people are struggling financially, and so to survive in the scene of live music is a challenge but it is something we are very passionate about, especially Musti and we want to see it continue for many years to come."

"And it is not just good music we are known for. We are listed in the CAMRA good beer guide, and so it is also a great place for a pint as well as good music."