Owners Of Cardiff's Clwb Ifor Bach Looking For 'Younger' Trustees - Or Welsh Club May Close
Thursday, 21 February 2013
Written by Elliott Batte
The future of one of Wales’ oldest and most beloved clubs is apparently in doubt, according to reports on BBC Radio this morning.
Clwb Ifor Bach, located on Womanby Street, Cardiff, has been at the forefront of the small club scene since it’s opening in 1983, and has seen countless world-famous artists, bands, and DJs pass through it’s doors in the past - and continues to do so today. But, in the year of it’s 30th anniversary, it seems as though the owners are facing a tough decision as to whether to sell the club unless new younger trustees, to continue the club's legacy, can be found.
Speaking with BBC Radio Wales, Owen Powell - a former member of Welsh alt-rockers Catatonia - was asked to comment on news from ‘trustees’ that “unless younger people can come forward, [Clwb Ifor Bach owner’s] will have to sell it”.
Powell said of the reports: “It’s quite shocking really, if you look at the musical map of Cardiff twenty years ago, and today if you look at the clubs and venues, I would say that Clwb Ifor Bach on Womanby Street has been the one constant throughout the years.
“So on the one hand, you could argue that they must have been doing something right, to have kept a venue going for that long, all credit to them. However the nature of the club has changed; Glyn Hughes the chairman was saying that the traditional Welsh speaking, the students and young adults, they no longer go to the club because what has sustained the club financially have been English touring bands playing there, and English language club nights - drum and bass, grime, techno, things like that. That has been the success of the club.”
He added finally: “It would be a huge, huge loss to Cardiff - I mean we’ve already seen the Barfly close down and become Bogiez in the last couple of years, and I think Clwb Ifor Bach would be a huge loss to the Cardiff music scene.”
As mentioned, the club was once previously a predominantly Welsh language venue, holding various members-only nights. But, as this is no longer the case, it’s older owners are now allegedly looking for younger, more modern people to come in and take care of it - or they may have to sell on.
Another pop-loving nightclub is not what the Cardiff music scene needs, and Clwb Ifor Bach was recently shortlisted by NME as one of Britain’s best small venues. If you want to help your local scene, and keep awesome small venues such as this one alive, get out and show some support!
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Clwb Ifor Bach, located on Womanby Street, Cardiff, has been at the forefront of the small club scene since it’s opening in 1983, and has seen countless world-famous artists, bands, and DJs pass through it’s doors in the past - and continues to do so today. But, in the year of it’s 30th anniversary, it seems as though the owners are facing a tough decision as to whether to sell the club unless new younger trustees, to continue the club's legacy, can be found.
