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Harry, Billie and Sam are All coming to the Barn
Don't be late it's going to be a busy one
For more info go to the Barn Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/barnclubpenzance

9th July 2011 at the Barn Club Eastern Green Penzance

Before I start this review I wanted to make a statement.
For those of you who are looking to extend the hostilities towards the Barn this isn’t the review for you to read. The review is meant to be a fair reflection on the opening of the Barn, the subsequent feedback and my analysis of the status quo.
Just to put the record straight!
I believe I’m more than qualified in this field of work to pass judgement. My business modules have been used nationally. I’ve advised the board of directors of Tesco, I’ve instigated and coordinated the opening of a national off license chain just to mention a few of my achievements. Today I operate one of the largest social network groups and entertainment marketing sites in the South West.
So 26th March 2011 saw the opening of the Barn. Last summer it was closed as the lease owner didn’t think it was a profitable enough location. The owners obviously disagreed and have re-opened the Barn.
The re-opening was always going to be somewhat controversial once word got out that quite a lot of people were already banned from the premises. Some of whom are hugely influential in the town. Some knew why they were banned whilst others had no idea. I was banned (or so I believed) and took the effort to write to the manager Dave George. Many weeks on and I’m still waiting for a reply.
So how did the opening go?
Well because of the above I’ve had to rely on evidence collected from attendees and comments placed on Facebook. I was told that my review would be nonsense because it would be based on the say so of a load of drunks. Well that’s not true as most of the comments were placed up on the day after attending and more still on the Monday. I think it’s fair to assume that these party goers would be sober by then.
Let’s have a look at some of the criticisms voiced by their customers:
· No re-entry
· Smoking
· Dress code
· Drink prices
· Drink choices
· Food
· Décor

Most of the criticisms listed above are policy based. This is direct control of the management, something that they could easily address. This means that the management were greatly misguided about the tolerance of their customers.

It seems the most complained about was the no re-entry policy. So if you leave the club you have to pay to re-enter and that’s sharp business! I find it hard to accept that customers would agree that this is a good idea. Customers who ran out of cash and popped out to Tesco were charged re-entry. Same goes if you feel queasy and need a sharp intake of air.
I don’t smoke but I defend the right for freedom of choice. As hospitality based business I was a little surprised to read comments from the smokers who described the smoking area as a “Cage”. Some comments described the experience as like being in a zoo. This has come about because of a steel fenced rectangle has been erected in the car park. Smokers are ushered through a single door entrance out into a fenced off area near the entrance to the Barn. For the purpose of containment there is only one way in and out. I’ve heard that any more than 20 smokers in this “cage” is a very unpleasant experience.
So why is this area so small when the Barn club accommodates so many?
I’ve seen this contraption myself and have to say that I can understand that it will promote negativity from smoking customers. I can only deduce that this “cage” idea was born from the no re-entry policy.
Another confusing point was the dress code. What was and what wasn’t acceptable. Before I go too much in to this point I would like to take you back about 25 years ago. The Barn Club always did have a “smart” dress code. Party goers who turned up in “pumps” were politely turned away. This was a reflection on the kind of customer that the Barn wanted to attract. Because the Barn was “The place” they were able to set strict dress codes and behaviour policies. That was in the days of Neville Brown. After that the dress code slipped and it’s fair to say that there wasn’t any recognisable policy.
So it seems that the owners are keen (25 years late) to go back to the original dress code. Well in a way that’s a good thing. I believe people should dress up to go out… but I’m old fashioned like that. Looking through some of the comments on Facebook some are complaining that they queued up for a considerable time only to be turned away at the door, seemingly because they were in fancy dress. In fact a lot of customers posted messages on the Barn Facebook wall asking about dress code but after days only some of the questions were answered.
So what exactly is the dress code and what is and what isn’t acceptable?
Drink prices and choice are always going to be a controversial topic for nightclubs. To be fair customers are expected to pay more for their drinks in a night club environment than they would in a regular pub. This is because of the sheer overheads of such a business. Don’t forget that an establishment like the Barn has to make enough funds on the nights that they open to pay for everything. So a night club is a part time business with full time costs.
Yet picking through the Facebook comments and dismissing those who were after a cheap drink, I could see that customers mentioned that the prices varied from bar to bar and that the drink choice was limited. Especially the all popular shots!

Although food was offered to customers it was in the form of tapas. This is quite surprising to say the least… why? Well tapas is generally accepted as a snack in this country, although to be fair you could serve it as a main meal, but my point is that it is seen as a snack. Furthermore tapas are associated with group eating and are by its very nature served to promote conversation amongst the group. In a night club environment relaxed conversation over tapas isn’t likely to happen. It seems that very little thought has been given to this and it started to show. Most of the comments that I read asked where the burger van was. In fact I had a debate on this the other evening. A fundamental part of business is supply and demand. If you don’t supply what’s in demand your business idea will most likely fail. One of the reasons why so many asked for the burger van was because it was something that they expected. The Barn has always accommodated burgers in one way or another… even if that was a mere endorsement. Those who were asking for a burger did so because they had expected the Barn to be very much like it was before it closed. Unfortunately it’s far from that. Which leads me on to the £750k refit?
In short I’ve heard conflicting reports on the club. Some like it whilst others won’t. That said you need to take a step back and understand that not everyone will agree on the new look. But one thing is clear the Barn has changed and that’s a fact. It seems to have a wine bar theme rather than what we would consider a “proper night club” but this may well appeal to a large section of party goers who are looking for something other than the norm.
One thing that I couldn’t help noticing was the almost total lack of communication between the complaining customers and the management. I did read comments posted up by door and bar staff who did their best to address some of the complaints, but where was the management in all of this? Who was responsible for dealing with the control of information, marketing and in this case damage limitation.
Summing up:
I think that a lot of the complaints made by customers are valid and need to be addressed by the management. I did get good reports about the door staff and bar staff who obviously worked very hard on the opening night.
All of the points that have been raised are within the control of the club and can be rectified. Communications with the club needs great improvement and whatever political line the management or owners share shouldn’t over spill in to business. I say that because nobody lives in a vacuum our actions have consequences.
Overall though the Barn is back and hundreds of party goers had an enjoyable time. I think that if we have to judge the Barn in future we should do this without thinking what it used to be. I appeal to everyone to give the Barn another chance. Lessons can be learned from the opening night and I would like to think that customers would be willing to accept that mistakes can and will be made.
There is plenty of trade in town and it would be good for customers to see some healthy competition. Putting aside the opening night problems, the Barn has set a new style for party goers.

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The Penzance Pub, Club and Hotel list

The Sound Nightclub Penzance QBar Penzance The Tremenheere Penzance Studio Bar Penzance Lugger Hotel Penzance Bath Inn Penzance The Crown Inn Penzance

Matt's Bar Penzance Zero Lounge Penzance The Globe Penzance The Longboat Hotel Penzance Dock Inn Penzance Alexandra Inn Penzance

The Star Inn Penzance Kazbar Penzance The Union Hotel Penzance The Turk's Head Penzance Dolphin Tavern Penzance Flanagan's Irish Pub Penzance

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The Barn Club was originally created by its former owner Ronnie Jelbert back in the 60's. Previously a couple of farm barns in a field, the barns were cleaned out a few bales of straw, a bar in the corner, a local band & a few records and the Barn dance hall was open for business.
With a few improvements over the years a bar called the Wagonwheel was added and the Stargazer Bar followed this with a late license till 12am. This was created to provide a source of entertainment for the camp & caravan site that surrounded the Barn.
In 1973 the lease was put up for sale and a company called Orion Leisure owned by the Goodhews of London purchased the lease for 25years with an option to renew it for a further 25years. The Goodhews (John and Audrey) who are the parents of the Olympic swimmer and gold medallist Duncan. The Goodhew ‘s also had 3 other children John, Rupert and Neville.
This was a successful business that owned Pubs Restaurants and Hotels all over the country. In the early 70's two former employees from Rank (Athol Souter and Ray Bain) took an idea that they had about using records only in a dance hall instead of live bands, an idea that was rejected by Rank. Goodhews offered to give it a try at their bar, The Castle at Richmond.
The work to convert the bar into a Discotheque began with the sound and lighting provided by Dennis Kuschell, the building work by Alf Gibbons and the designer was a young designer Mick Gibson. The club Cheeky Petes opened and this was the start of many clubs to follow all over London. It was so successful that the company started looking for further sites all over the country and the Barn was one of those which had all the attributes that were required by the company.
Following the New Year’s Eve party of 1973-74 work commenced at the Barn the same team responsible for Cheeky Pete's arrived on site and the transformation of a dance hall to the first purpose built discotheque in Cornwall commenced.
Keith Hardy a former Disc Jockey promoted within the company was appointed to audition DJs and prepare for the opening. Positions for staff and DJ’s were sought after by many as the news of this new concept swept across the area.
At the auditions I (Neville) together with many other DJs was rejected by Keith Hardy who chose my friends Duncan Warren plus Doug Murphy and Gary Cains who had been DJs at the Barn prior to the closure.

On April 24th 1974 the Barn opened its doors and the people of Penzance were given a London style nightclub whose décor sound & lighting was ahead of the other clubs and dance halls in the county. It was so advanced that it attracted customers from North Cornwall and even Plymouth who came regularly each weekend to stay on the campsite and party in The Barn’s unique atmosphere.
Keith Hardy returned to London to prepare for other new clubs who were preparing to open and Tim O’Connel (Toc) was appointed as the first manager with a former head barman at the original Barn dance hall Roger Atkins as his assistant.
The Barn whose reputation for giving first-class entertainment became very popular and queues the length of the car park were regular every weekend. The Barn was open 7 nights and the Stargazer was open 7 nights and 7 days with live entertainment.
It wasn’t long before The Barn played a major role in the community, not knowing then that it was to continue playing this role 35 years later and I expect many more years to come.
I started my career with the Barn later in that year as a relief DJ and progressed to manager 10 years later. The Barn has filled my life with many great memories.
Neville Brown
The Barn Club Eastern Green Penzance is due to re-open in 2011

The sound nightclub is situated just off the Wharf in Penzance Cornwall. The sound replaced the ageing Club 2k and to date is the most modern of nightclubs.
The Sound occupies the ground floor of Branwells Mill Meadery Penzance and is split into 3 rooms. Each room (appropriately named room 1, 2 and 3) can be opened up to make one large club. The Sound has a capacity of about 1200 nightclub goers and caters for a variety of music including the following:
Hip hop (notably Dynamite HipHop)
Live bands
R&B
Pop Clique
House
Tech
Chart music
70’s and 80’s music… and much more. The Sound is truly versatile and attracts groups and DJ’s such as:
Restless
Dynamite HipHop
Fatal Torment
EX Inferis
Blind Belief
Death to Come
Kristoff
Max Honeyman
Rennie Pilgrem and many more.
Because the Sound is more than just a nightclub the three rooms can cater for different kinds of music ant the same time. When the Sound was designed and built (back in June 2010) it was decided that each room would have its own entrance.
The Sound nightclub Penzance is jointly owned by the following:
David and Margaret Stokes
Robert Mathews
George Jelbert
Viv Evens

You can see photos and pictures of the Sound nightclub in our gallery here