>>If a club really cared about the welfare of the artist they would stop thinking in terms of getting the artist on a fixed fee (low enough for them to be able to afford not charging much on the door). <<

How do you know what each club does as a fixed fee? I certainly don't discuss that as an organiser, but I can assure you that the main guest gets a good guarantee or 80% of the door.
I think £8 is reasonable.
One thing I don't do, is sit back and not try and get the audience in.
Thats is more shameful. The artist arrives to find 20 people and the guarantee is maybe a £100 against 80% and the organiser couldn't give a toss/hasn't done any promotion.

Paul, I have spent 7 years organising, starting off in a similar way. Over time we have been able to develope onto a situation where we can pay the fee and charge what we do. I think you need to grow steadily.