"800 - and still no answer to the original question. Is this a Mudcat record ?"
I would have thought that it was clear from the postings that nobody knew how many clubs there were - how could they
The question was vague anyway
The 'Boom lasted for several years during which time many clubs sprang up which had little to do with the actual industry-driven 'boom', but chose instead to start plundering works like The Penguin Book and The Singing Island and taking songs from the BBC collection
These clubs continued to grow long after the industry lost interest - that independant 'boom' continued into the 1980s
Now, it seems, the scene has returned back into the prdatory arms of the media as a measure of success
Jim