Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | |
Founded | 1933 (as Mecca Agency Limited) |
Founder |
|
Headquarters | London, England, UK |
Key people | Michael Guthrie, Chairman |
Mecca Leisure Group (also known as Mecca Leisure Ltd, Mecca Ltd, and Mecca Dance Ltd) was a British business that ran nightclubs, hotels, theme parks, bingo parlours and Hard Rock Cafes. [1] During the 1960s, Mecca was a centre of entertainment with numerous nightclubs throughout major United Kingdom towns and cities. Mecca ballrooms were used for the BBC TV show Come Dancing . [2] Eric Morley was a general manager of dancing at Mecca Leisure Group and was involved in the Miss World competitions.
Notable DJs performing at Mecca nightclubs include Jimmy Savile [3] [4] from 1960 [5] and Pete Waterman.
The Coventry Locarno is the subject of the Specials song "Friday Night, Saturday Morning", B-side to Ghost Town . [6] Chuck Berry's live version of "My Ding-a-Ling" was also recorded there.
The Mecca Leisure Group has its origins in the Mecca Agency Limited, a company co-founded by Carl L. Heimann and Byron Davies in 1933 to operate the recently created dance hall chain Mecca Dancing. [7]
In 1989, the company acquired Pleasurama plc. [8]
In 1990, the Rank Organisation made an offer of £512m to acquire Mecca Leisure Group, which was initially rejected, and then accepted two months later. [1] [9]
Venue | Location | Opening | Later names | Closure |
---|---|---|---|---|
Locarno Ballroom [10] | Basildon | 1961 | ||
Blackpool Mecca | Blackpool | 1965 | ||
Locarno Ballroom | Burnley [11] | 1962 | Cat's Whiskers, Ritzy | 1996 |
Mecca Locarno [12] | Coventry | |||
Ilford Palais [13] | London | |||
Locarno Ballroom [14] | Glasgow | 1926 | ||
Mecca Locarno Ballroom [5] | Leeds | 1938 | 1969 | |
Locarno | Liverpool | 1948 | ||
Lyceum Theatre | London | 1834 | ||
Southampton Royal Pier [15] | Southampton | 1963 | 1979 | |
Stockport Plaza [16] | Stockport | 1965 | ||
Locarno Ballroom [17] | Swindon | 1952 | 1969 | |
Mecca Dance Hall Tottenham | London | 1910 | 2004 | |
Hammersmith Palais | London | 1919 | 2007 | |
Sherwood Rooms | Nottingham | 1957 | 1984 | |
Locarno | Bristol | 1966 | 1991 [18] |
Natalie Jane Imbruglia is an Australian-British singer-songwriter and actress. In the early 1990s, she played Beth Brennan in Neighbours. Having left the soap opera, she moved to the UK and began a singing career. Her debut single, a cover of Ednaswap's song "Torn" (1997), quickly became a worldwide hit, topped the US Billboard Radio Songs Chart for eleven weeks in 1998, and was listed on 50 Best Songs of 90s by Rolling Stone. Her debut album, Left of the Middle (1997) was a commercial success, certified multi-platinum in the US, the UK and Australia and eventually sold seven million copies worldwide. Subsequent albums, including White Lilies Island (2001) and Counting Down the Days (2005) did not match commercial success of her debut, but both still managed to get Gold certification in the UK. As of 2021, Imbruglia has released six studio albums and has sold more than ten million copies worldwide. Imbruglia has received various accolades, including eight ARIA Awards, two Brit Awards, one Billboard Music Award, one Silver Clef Award and three Grammy nominations.
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