When I had Les at my club, we did have to guarantee him a reasonable size minimum, plus 75% of what we took over that, which on the face of it sounds like a big risk for a small club like ours, but I felt quite confident that we would do well. We've had him in Australia before, and his popularity is so massive that at the National Folk Festival (which was the reason he was here), it is very hard to get close enough to see him. I knew I would get a good crowd, and we were pretty much booked to capacity before the day.

Everyone got a good deal. He was paid well over his guaranteed minimum, those who came were able to see him at close quarters, in comfort, with a coffee and a snack, and chat to him and look at his books in the break, and we finished the day by taking him out to dinner. Would that all our concerts went this well!

It is a balancing act most of the time, picking performers that you think will draw a crowd but at the same time, not overextending ourselves. Session nights do help us to stay on top.

One thing I have found is that a big name doesn't guarantee a big audience - you have to try and anticipate the sort of performer who will appeal to your audience. Sydney folk club audiences seem to be very conservative. No matter how good a performer is, and no matter how well known they are in other parts of the world, if they aren't well known here, it's very hard to get our audiences to come and see them. For instance, I couldn't invite Jed Marum, because with the exception of Mudcatters, not too many Australians know him. I couldn't promise him the kind of money he wants.

We have some very good local performers, but because the Sydney scene is quite small, a lot of them are a little too well known, and the boredom factor comes in.

On the other hand, an Australian performer, Paul Hemphill, always draws an excellent crowd for several reasons - he has a unique act with a lot of humour, he is a very polished performer, he doesn't perform all that frequently and we want to catch him when we can, and most of all, he has built up a following - he does a lot of advertising and promotion himself, which does seem to make a huge difference. I have actually had him at our club twice, because I know it is going to be a successful night, and, largely because of his own efforts, he has been paid extremely well, more than anyone else except for Les Barker.