Clwb Ifor Bach Trustees Release Statement Following News Of Potential Closure
Friday, 22 February 2013
Written by Elliott Batte
The behind-the-scenes team at Cardiff’s beloved Clwb Ifor Bach have spoken out following the news that they are looking for ‘younger’ trustees to step forward and take over the running of the Welsh Club.
Yesterday, we reported on the news that the Clwb Ifor Bach trustees were seeking new, younger people to effectively hand over control of the club to. Open since 1983, Clwb Ifor Bach has long been the go-to venue for bands, artists, and DJs touring the country to perform at, something which still continues today.
But, over the years, it has seen a lot of change - Clwb was originally a Welsh-speaking, members-only venue, but now owes its success to the more modern English-speaking bands and English language club nights that perform and take place there, something which it’s current owners are more than aware of.
So, on the eve of its 30th anniversary, club secretary Glyn Hughes and his fellow Welsh club trustees have announced that they’re looking for a younger team of people to come in and take over - and if they can’t find one, they may be forced to sell the place or even close it down, something which former Catatonia star Owen Powell has said would be a ‘huge, huge loss for Cardiff’.
An official press release from the venue explains further: ”Change is afoot at Clwb ifor Bach in Cardiff. The trustees and secretary of the Club have expressed their intention to stand down during the coming year, when the Club celebrates its 30th anniversary, and are seeking others to take their place. And if people don't come forward who can run the place properly as a Welsh-language venue, it will be sold and the proceeds used to sponsor Welsh-medium activities at other venues.”
If you’re thinking of getting a team together, July is the deadline set by Hughes - who states that if he hasn’t received ‘credible proposals’ by then, it may be within their interests to sell the club on.
Hughes himself has said: “For many years, Clwb Ifor Bach has been a place for young people to come together late at night – that's inevitable because of the location and character of the building. But it's the same people who are responsible for the place now as when it was established, 30 years ago, and that doesn't make sense at all.
“If the place is to continue to work as a venue for young people, it needs people who are much nearer the age of the audience. Providing for a young Welsh-language audience is much harder these days in any case- although so many come through the Welsh-medium education system, they have an unlimited choice of things to do and places to go to in English, and expecting them to come together in a Welsh-language venue just because it's a Welsh-language venue isn't going to work. What's put on for people in Welsh has to be at least as good as what they can get in English.
“Maybe Clwb Ifor Bach is by now too big for those who seek the company of their fellow Welsh-speakers; after all the place has to be full as far as possible as often as possible if it's to remain standing. And if there isn't a Welsh-language audience to be had, we must get an English-language audience. We've obviously been very successful in doing that, and we like to think we've got as good a name for what we do in English as in Welsh – but that's not what the place was set up to do. So another choice would be to sell the place in order to move to somewhere more suitable for the size of the Welsh-language audience.
“So if we don't receive – by our thirtieth birthday in July – credible proposals for the future from people who are determined to maintain a Welsh-language venue in this building, maybe the best
thing would be to sell it.”
A recent Club committee meeting resulted in more talk of the move, and birthed a frighteningly frank statement: their resolution claims that “if no satisfactory proposals are received the business and the building will be put on sale following the 30th anniversary of founding the Club in July of this year.”
The trustees have detailed what they expect from anyone who’s interested in getting in touch, and they’ve made it clear that people must be committed to maintaining the aims of the Welsh club, which is to ‘assist in supporting, safeguarding, and promoting the language and living culture of Wales, and raising the status of the Welsh language among the population in general, particularly among young adults’.
They must also have ‘adequate financial resources’ and a sustainable business plan if they wish to be considered for the role. We at Stereoboard hope that someone is able to come forward and stop Cardiff losing it’s favourite small venue, a view shared by dozens of our users, who took to Twitter to voice their concern for the club yesterday.
Speaking to BBC Radio Wales this morning, DJ Huw Stephens said that the Welsh club was a globally recognised venue, and described it as ‘an important part of the Welsh music story’ and ‘the most important venue in Wales, and one of the most important in the UK certainly’.
Support has been pouring in from all over since the news was broken, and John Rostron, senior manager at the Welsh Music Foundation, told the Cardiffian that although the club may have ‘served its purpose’, he was confident and hopeful that the club’s long history and iconic status would be enough to ensure that it survives.
“To a certain extent you could say Clwb has served its purpose because there are now so many other venues which cater for the Welsh language. I’ve been in Cardiff for 20 years and when I came here you could only get into Clwb if you spoke Welsh. Cardiff has changed alot since then and it was inevitable there would be an opportunity for Clwb to change.”
He continued: “I don’t think this is the end of Clwb as an institution. It is really well set up as a venue and is pretty much guaranteed business. The offer for Welsh language speakers in Cardiff has changed massively and there are now nights for Welsh-speakers everywhere.Only that community will determine if Clwb continues to be the place for them.”
As mentioned, we at Stereoboard are fully in support of Clwb Ifor Bach and it’s continuation - it’s truly Cardiff’s best and most popular small venue, and it’s loss would be a massive blow to the city. If you’ve got any messages of support, post them in the comment box below - and if you’re young, got a bit of money, and feel the same way, get in touch with the club!
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