MUSIC in a pub brought one Worcester couple together – and they are trying to keep that first-night romance going 50 years after they tied the knot.

Jackie and John Hollis are celebrating their 50th anniversary and say the key to a successful marriage is holding on to the relationship you had in the first place.

Pictured on their wedding day and side-by-side at their home, in Linksview Crescent, Ronkswood, the couple are celebrating their golden wedding anniversary today.

Mr and Mrs Hollis met in the 1960s when Jackie was 18 and John was 22.

Mrs Hollis said: “We met as most people did then, at a pub, dancing to a live band.

“That was at the Swan in Wychbold and our first date was at the Wharf Hotel watching another live band and dancing along to rock and roll music.”

Mrs Hollis will be a familiar face to many, having worked for 29 years at the Thomas Cook travel agency, first in Pump Street, then later moving to the High Street opposite the Guildhall.

Mr Hollis worked for the MEB in Blackpole Road for 41 years as a motor mechanic in the garage.

“Those were the days when you spent most of your life working for the same company,” Mrs Hollis said.

The couple have two daughters, Sarah, born a year after their marriage in 1964, and Sally, two years later, in 1966.

They also have four grandchildren – Jack who is 18, Ben, 16, Molly 12, and seven-year-old Alice.

Mrs Hollis said: “Our philosophy for a happy and long marriage is to always be there for each other and to hold on to the relationship you had in the first place.”

The pair will be celebrating with a holiday in Rapallo, Italy, in October.

However, they will be celebrating this weekend with their family as it was also Mrs Hollis’s 70th birthday a few days before their anniversary.