By Shaun Dacosta and Joseph Macey

stannary-bar-falmouth-campus

The Stannary, Penryn Campus

Have you ever wondered why the turnover of pubs and bars is so rapid in Falmouth? Once known as the clubbing capital of Cornwall, the reputation of its night scene has sharply declined.

With the closure of much-loved bar and music venue Mono, the town has taken yet another hit following a decade of bar closures. TruthFal today spoke to NLP Events promoter Nigel McAlwane who put the difficulties in attracting big names down to money and location.

Mr. McAlwane told Truthfal: “Trying to get an angle on what the general consensus is for affordable bands is very difficult but for the bigger bands, it’s all about money and location. A lot of these big bands are on tours and those tours bypass Cornwall because they don’t have the same catchment.”

The recent re-opening of Mangos and The Kings have injected some freshness into what some people would describe as the stale nightlife scene in the town. However, the apparent decline of the Princess Pavillion venue which has previously hosted the likes of Ed Sheeran, The Kaiser Chiefs and even David Bowie in his early days is a reflection of the town’s current inability to attract major DJs and artists.

“We had lots of acts down here when I first started from Chase & Status, Nero, Bonobo, Dizzee Rascal and it was all very of the moment, but those acts were £20 a ticket. People nowadays don’t have that kind of disposable income to be paying that for a ticket and then be paying for bar drinks and everything else,” said Mr. McAlwane.

The promoter then explained the difficulties about sustaining local clubs and bars and creating more variety in the scene.

“When I started, the Stannary party had 40 people going to it. Within a year, we had 1000 people and it was all about investment and quality. Now you try and get a DJ and everyone is in a residency somewhere.

“Falmouth is a very difficult town to survive in because you’ve got nothing. You’ve got house parties which are the staple – you can put you what you want to play, do what you want to do and make your own entertainment. That’s commendable. I think there is a better house party scene here than anywhere else in the country.

“You have Mangos, Club I and Fives. You don’t have the numbers, you don’t have the income to support these places to allow them to diversify and do stuff so they all batten down the hatches and keep it very well,” said Mr. McAlwane.

Mono has closed its doors after three years of business, describing the situation as “unmanageable” following a lack of council support over their application for a late licence and lack of policing support.

Dizzee Rascal performed at The Stannary, Penryn Campus in 2007