"The sort of people over here, who go to Whitby once a year, won't pay to see a guest, won't buy a ticket won't support local clubs unless they get to sing on the night, they won't learn new songs or in some cases even the words and read them of a typed script. They won't even listen to each other properly, they just want to sing their song and play their guitar and get applause."

Bang on, Katy from Burnley.
This is exactly why the standard of performance in clubs has deteriorated, audience numbers are declining and fewer well-known guests are being booked.
We also have the new(ish) phenomenon of people reading from books! Recently we were "treated" to a bit from The Wind in the Willows...
Oh dear.