Brewer's Droop

It's a sad time for the people of Bristol, as we're going to have to say goodbye to the landlord of our favourite drinking and partying establishment, The Bank (pictured above). Jon has put his blood, sweat and tears into making what was a dingy old man's pub into a vibrant boozer that consistently put on good nights (including our own TAPE and best before: parties) and hosted countless after hours lock-ins where we could consume Guinness until our eyes and stomachs bulged.

Unfortunately, the brewers spotted that the pub was actually doing a lot better than it had been doing over the past few years due to Jon bringing in a new audience of people, so when his contract came up back in January, they lumped a whole new bunch of terms and conditions on there that put him in a position where he was actually unable to fulfil the contract. This weekend will be his final one at The Bank, so he's decided to go out with a bang and is putting on a 'closing party' this Friday (May 20). There'll be DJs from various Bank-related nights down there, including:

ANDY CLARKSON [Payback Hi-fi]
RICHARD CARNAGE & PUFFIN JACK [TAPE/best before:]
SELL BY DAVE [best before:]
MIKE 'AFTER EIGHT MINCE' [er, After Eight Mince - trashy 80s stuff]
JONNY BALL [AKA Jon The Landlord]

Don't forget that Mutant Pop will also be running from 10 til 4 with Lukas (Player's Paradise) and Jobody (Deep Cut) as guests, so you know it makes sense to pop down to both. There's been a few nice comments posted up on our local forum, so I thought that it'd be only right to display a few here as a testament to Jon's time at The Bank and the good times that he's facilitated.

Andy Basic:
'What??? That is a real shame. Makes me want to get into pub management ASAP.'

Andy Payback Hi-fi:
'The Bank closing is a real shame. I'll really miss having endless pints of Guinness and generally loafing around with my missus in there. Plus I've met some top people and been to some cracking parties there too. Jon is a top bloke and landlord. Why is it always the nice, little places that get closed down? I think I'm starting about 7:30pm for this - bringing the Disco/Dub noise for the last time at The Bank. RIP'



Puffin Jack:
'This is so shit! The bank is one of the only decent pubs in the centre. It pisses me off that Jon has gone in there, turned it around, and is now being done over very unfairly by the money men at the brewer, who keep moving the financial goalposts. When politicians go on about this country being a 'meritocracy' and how we need 'entrepeneurs' cases like this shows what really happens. Young people stick their neck out and borrow money, work their arses off, turn businesses around only to be knocked down by greedy men in suits. Capitalism sucks. The rich get richer, whilst hard working people are crippled with debt.'

Al Dare:
'This is sad sad news indeed. really is another nail in the coffin of good taste and good times in this Town. I for one thought that a venue had been found that suited our various cerebral tastes in music. I always saw the place as shining light in a sea of medicore venues (with over inflated prices both at entry and at the bar) and high street chain bars.'

Andrew Kipple:
'Oh FFS! Just wrote out a post and deleted it as it was a bit too negative, but I'm sure other citys don't have it as bad as us keeping non-mainstream services running. A lack of independant record shops, city centre pubs and clubs, and now another quality place lost. I really can't see what the brewery were expecting? I've not been to The Bank anywhere near as many times as I would have liked but everytime I did it was busy to rammed, with people drinking as well. This kind of shit really makes me wonder why I'm still living in this city.'

Leon Eggbeer:
'Such a shame. Good luck with the final party, I'm sure it'll be a belter.'

Jon - we'll miss your good self and your fine establishment. Good luck for everything in the future!