MEET THE MAN BEHIND BANBURY'S HOME OF HEAVY MUSIC

BEN SMITH ON A DECADE OF BEER, BANDS AND COMMUNITY AT THE WHEATSHEAF

Great venues aren't just rooms with a stage and a bar. They're built by the people who pour their energy into them: the musicians, staff, regulars and communities who give them their identity.

For more than 10 years, landlord, promoter and musician Ben Smith has been doing exactly that at The Wheatsheaf, transforming a 17th-century coaching inn into one of Oxfordshire’s go-to destinations for heavy music.

That’s why we’re proud to have a regular residency at the iconic Sheaf. TOC @ The Wheatsheaf is bringing some of the UK’s freshest and loudest heavy and alternative bands to our hometown of Banbury.

Ben Smith: musician, promoter, publican, MMA fighter

As well as being the driving force behind The Wheatsheaf’s distinctive character, Ben’s connections with the music scene run deep. Long before taking over the Sheaf, he was organising gigs, coordinating tours and playing in bands himself, giving him a unique perspective on both sides of the stage.

Over the years, he’s helped bring hundreds if not thousands of artists big and small to little ol’ Banbury town, while building a venue that welcomes everyone from lifelong metalheads to curious newcomers.

We met up with Ben to talk about The Wheatsheaf’s journey, the importance of grassroots venues, his favourite shows, controversial opinions, and the bands that are currently getting him excited.

For blood on the pavement, tasty Naga, and Jamiroquai on LSD — read on!

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Hello, Ben. Welcome to The Winchester. What’s your current favourite tipple?

BEN SMITH — It’ll be a pint of Death Crown. It’s our house bitter, which you can only get at The Wheatsheaf, not The Winchester.

Well, as we’ve no Death Crown, you’ll have to make do with a pint of lager.

Please describe the Wheatsheaf for the uninitiated.

Physically, it’s an interesting place. From the front, it’s an unassuming coaching inn from the 1600s. But it’s been ripped apart and put back together again many times over the centuries. When you get inside, you realise it's so much bigger, and it’s a bit of a rabbit warren as you go through the rooms.

We’ve got our main bar at the front, courtyard space outside, and at the back we’ve got our stage and live music area. We’ve also got accommodation for people visiting Banbury, and for bands passing through.

The Sheaf’s got a very alternative, goth, metal sort of aesthetic: wine-red walls, matte black trims, old barrels about the place, and that traditional beery smell when you walk in.

How would you describe the Wheatsheaf crowd?

We're an alternative venue but, truthfully, it's still a public house, and the bar and the beer are for everybody.

Being alternative is not just about clothes; it’s a mentality and a mindset. If you fancy being part of something different, or you like being around different people, The Wheatsheaf is the kind of place you’ll gravitate to. Get involved. Be part of it.

I’d say the demographic is probably a 50/50 split between the type of people you'd expect to find in an alternative venue and your regular daytime or evening drinkers. We're all accepting of one another and we all love the Sheaf for what it is.

I mean, I have regulars who would never go home to spin some thrash metal on vinyl, but they’ll happily potter around on gig nights and be like, "That was pretty cool."

How long have you managed the Sheaf?

It must be 11 years or more. Yeah, I have seen a lot in that space of time. I'm 35, so I've spent nearly a third of my life doing this. I live and breathe it.

Every day is different: serving beer, having banter with the regulars, doing admin, setting up for bands, sound checks. It’s all second nature to me now. I roll out of bed and I’m just geared in straight away. I’ve done a lot here, seen a lot, learned a lot, and continue to learn a lot. It’s never not challenging — and I love it. The vibe of the place is unique.

During my time, I’ve seen that the Sheaf is also very resilient to socio-economic change and also generational change: when a younger generation drinkers and gig-goers replaces an older one. And it survived COVID. It’s a very special place.

Being alternative is not just about clothes; it’s a mentality and a mindset.

What did you do before? Have you always been in the pub trade?

Believe it or not, before taking over The Wheatsheaf, I'd never poured a pint or worked behind a bar. I just knew the place had potential.

Before the Sheaf, I did many different things. One was promoting live gigs: organising gigs, tours and weekenders, coordinating logistics, gear, the finances and promo. This was when social media was on the rise, but I still did a lot of old-school promotion with flyers, posters and word of mouth. It was an interesting crossover period.

Once upon a time, I worked in automotive logistics. Cars are not my thing, but logistics and numbers are, apparently. I think I just like a challenge. Plus, I’ve always wanted to be my own boss and work for myself, doing what I love and what I’m good at.

Have you always been into music?

I’ve always been keen to create: music bits, arty bits, design bits. When I set up the music promotion company, I was doing shows in and around Oxfordshire, and I played in a few bands for not a lot of money; just enough to contribute to a food shop or pay a bill.

The Sheaf is Banbury’s heavy music hub. Was that always your goal?

Yes, 100%. If I tried to make it into anything else, like a foodie place or a bog-standard, broad-spectrum music venue, I’d be stepping into unfamiliar territory. I know what I know and what my strengths are.

What are you looking for when you’re booking bands?

Something I like. That’s the criteria.

I think the metal scene is very lucky in the way that everybody kind of gets it and everybody knows what they're doing. They know what it’s about and they know what they’ve come to do. I very rarely have to coordinate them, but they take advice well. It flows.

I think it's something that's very unique and specific to metal bands. There are good and professional bands in all scenes, don’t get me wrong, but punk never happens that smoothly; indie rock never happens that smoothly.

You must have put on hundreds of shows over the last decade or more. Which ones stand out for you?

So many, and all for different reasons.

We had a show some time ago — this was pre-COVID — with a band called Hundred Year Old Man. They’re a kind of post-black metal ambient outfit. Just tremendous sound. Awesome. There was just something very special about the performance they delivered.

It was a particularly busy gig and everything just gelled: smoke machines, strobes, crushing ambient sounds, synths, thundering bass and guitars. It was like driving through some dystopian landscape in Hell. Just phenomenal. I’ve got goosebumps talking about it. Incredible.

We had Green Lung play here before they got really big. Who else? Onslaught, Desecration, Crest of Darkness, Sarkom, Stahlsarg, Trivax. And local giants as well, like Desert Storm. They play a show probably once a year. That’s always immense.

It was like driving through some dystopian landscape in Hell. Just phenomenal. I’ve got goosebumps talking about it.

How would you describe the local metal scene? Is it healthy or dying on its arse?

I’d say it’s pretty healthy. That’s one of the few good things about social media: it’s made it easier to reach metal fans beyond just your town or city.

I mean, when we have shows with three or four bands on the lineup, we’ll attract people from Warwick, Stratford, Leamington, Birmingham, North London, Oxford and Bicester. Because Banbury’s pretty central, and because of the transport links, people will travel to us to see bands. 

There was a time, pre-COVID, when I was picking up a lot of weekenders and on the poster you’d see Manchester, Birmingham, Banbury and London. That’s always pretty wild: three big cities and little ol’ Banbury.

What’s the most bizarre experience you’ve had at the Sheaf?

We're no strangers to having black metal bands, and black metal bands come with a particular level of theatrics: corpse paint, blood and all the rest of it.

We had a band play and they opted to get ready outside the back of the venue and obviously made quite a mess. They did the show and it was an absolutely great night. The band collected their stuff the following morning and left for their next show.

I was just chilling and then I get a call from my barmaid to tell me the police forensics team had turned up because of the quantity of blood outside the pub. Obviously someone had called and reported it, and they’d assumed that some vicious assault or stabbing had occurred.

So, yeah, I had to come down and explain to the officers that no humans or animals had been harmed and this was just the theatrics of a band. They weren’t easily convinced, but I was respectful and apologetic for wasting their time. They were cool about it, in the end.

Live music at The Wheatsheaf, Banbury

You mentioned you’ve been in bands. Tell us more.

I play guitar and bass. Back in the day, I did a lot of stand-ins for a few different bands; you know, touring bassist or stand-in guitarist for one-off shows.

There were a few bands I was a core member of. Years ago, I was in what I’d describe as a technical death metal band called Zaos. And more recently, a two-piece grindcore black metal project called Nomos. Those are the two I’ve enjoyed the most, but I was also the vocalist for another project a couple of years ago.

Do you miss band life?

Honestly, no. But that’s because I’m still immersed in it. I might not be onstage performing at the moment, but I’m still part of the same world. It’s just that my role is ever-so-slightly different now.

I probably will get up on stage and do the thing again later this year. Nomos will be active again, and I have a few other projects in the works at the moment — but I don’t long for it because I still have it.

What are you listening to at the moment? Any fresh discoveries?

There's a band called Stitched, from the Birmingham area, that I booked last year. They've been back since. Hardcore’s not really my thing, but they tick all the boxes. I listen to them at the gym.

There’s a band called Druids Cross that I really enjoy. I think they’re from Liverpool. They played the Sheaf and absolutely rocked out. They sound great on record, but they’re even better live. I can’t wait to have them back later this year.

I've become very close with a band called GodKing: a really cool, solid black metal band with a strong, innovative musical edge. Their stage performance is brilliant: you know, dead animals, skulls and all the rest of it. Absolutely love it.

When not at the Wheatsheaf coalface, what do you do?

I like to spend a lot of time with my daughter. She’s five. She’s homeschooled, which is an amazing journey and I love it. She’s a very expressive little soul. She likes art, she likes dance, and she likes baking and cooking, so I’ll do all those cool activities with her.

I train mixed martial arts as well, although I haven’t been as intensely into that for the last year. It’s difficult to manage family, work and training. I’ve had quite a few interclub fights, sort of experience-building non-competitive fights, three official MMA fights, K1 fights, and a small handful of jiu-jitsu competitions as well.

Blimey. You’re a deadly weapon. How did you start?

I've always done martial arts. Like a lot of kids in the mid- to late-'90s, I joined a karate club when I was eight. Later, I moved on to things like traditional jiu-jitsu, a bit of judo, some full-contact karate, a little bit of kickboxing here and there. And then I stopped for probably nearly 10 years. I was doing other things: music, life, that sort of thing.

And then I discovered 10th Planet and Striking Clinic in Banbury and met Chris Mee and Gavin Stewart. Amazing coaches. Amazing martial artists. I guess I was approaching 30 and I was like, I've got to do this before I'm too old. I want to do it, I want to get in the cage, I want to have a fight, and maybe a few fights. Do it or don’t do it, so I did it.

Let’s mix things up with some random questions.

You’re on Death Row: what’s your last meal?

Good God! If I'm on Death Row, I guess I don't need to think about gains, so plain chicken and rice is out the window. A protein shake is not the one either. What would I enjoy?

If it was my last meal ever, a super tasty, super hot Naga would do just fine.

Which movie or TV show best describes your life?

Purely for the comic enjoyment, my life's a combination of Wayne's World and Fawlty Towers.

Imagine the jukebox broke and could play only one song on repeat. What song would you play?

‘Gimme The Prize’ by Queen. Absolute banger from the film Highlander.

Purely for the comic enjoyment, my life's a combination of Wayne's World and Fawlty Towers.

Beyond the Highlander soundtrack, do you have any musical guilty pleasures?

All music is music to me; there’s no guilt. I quite like ‘90s dance music. Kind of stuff like Eiffel 65 or a ‘No Limit’ type of vibe.

You know, you play a metal show, you watch three extreme metal bands — thrash, death, black metal, whatever — and you have a whole evening of screaming and stuff like that. You want to get in the car and listen to something different just to break it up a bit. Yeah, that’s when I’ll play some ‘90s dance music.

Please give us three albums that everyone should own.

Annihilation of the Wicked by Nile. An absolute masterpiece. Flawless from start to finish. Every song is a banger. I saw them years ago at the Wulfrun Hall in Wolverhampton, and they played every song from the album. Their set was like 90 minutes, maybe even two hours. It was incredible.

The Satanist by Behemoth. It's an interesting modern take on black metal. Another great album. I don’t think there’s any filler on it. Every song is different. With some metal bands, you can take a handful of songs, cut them up, rearrange them and get five songs that sound like the ones you started with. You can't do that with The Satanist. It’s art as much as it’s music.

I’m inclined to pick a non-metal album for my third one: Tales of the Inexpressible by Shpongle. But don’t listen to it sober. It's kind of like Jamiroquai on LSD, I guess. Listen when you want to sit down and reflect — not just on life, but on the entire cosmos.

Are there any bands that everyone accepts are great that you simply don’t get?

I've got no time for The Beatles. I listen to their music and it just feels a bit weak. I get that they influenced a whole generation and they were a breakthrough band, but musically I’m so bored instantly. Same thing with AC/DC.

I don't like Fleetwood Mac either. And I’m no fan of David Bowie. But having said that, ‘Hallo Spaceboy’ is a brilliant song. And some of the stuff off his last album — what was it, Blackstar? — was tolerable.

This one might ruffle some feathers, but I also don’t get the French band Gojira. I couldn’t tell you why. As a metal band, they tick all the boxes — the grooves, the vocals, the guitar riffs — but I listen to them and it does nothing for me. It’s odd.

Yes, that will ruffle feathers. Let's stop there.

Cheers for answering our questions. Any final words?

Thanks, I enjoyed it.

If you’ve frequented the Sheaf a lot, you’ll know that it’s always changing. There are always new things happening; there’s always something going on that’s fresh. We have loads of bands and events coming up. Follow us on Instagram to see what’s happening.

And if you've never been to The Wheatsheaf before, come and see what it's about.

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▶︎ Join us at The Wheatsheaf, Banbury, on Friday 18 September 2026 for TOC @ The Wheatsheaf with derail., Victims of Life, Knifepoint and If Death Do Us Part.