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Mecca Leisure Group

1950s advert, on a public transport, for the Mecca-owned Locarno Ballroom in Glasgow.
Company type	Private
Industry	Nightclubs cafes casinos hotels theme parks
Founded	1933 (as Mecca Agency Limited)
Founder	Carl L. Heimann Byron Davies
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. 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. 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 from 1960 and Pete Waterman.

The Coventry Locarno is the subject of the Specials song "Friday Night, Saturday Morning", B-side to Ghost Town. Chuck Berry's live version of "My Ding-a-Ling" was also recorded there.

History

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.

In 1989, the company acquired Pleasurama plc.

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.

Venues

References

1. ^ "The Rank Group plc - Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on The Rank Group plc". www.referenceforbusiness.com. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
2. "Come Dancing - UKGameshows". www.ukgameshows.com. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
3. "A Study in Branding Popular Entertainment". meccadancing.com. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
4. "Jimmy Savile". DJHistory.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
5. ^ "Leodis - a photographic archive of Leeds - Display". www.leodis.net. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
6. "The Specials - Music / Lyrics". Retrieved 15 August 2015.
7. Nott, James (2015). Going to the Palais: A Social and Cultural History of Dancing and Dance Halls in Britain, 1918-1960. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199605194. pp. 26-27.
8. Ball, Aimee Lee (July 1991). "Mr Universe". New York Magazine. 24 (27): 38.
9. "Rank Group Plc - About us - History". www.rank.com. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
10. "Basildon - A Chronological History 1960 - 1969". www.basildon.com. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
11. "Locarno Ballroom, Burnley, England Concert Setlists | setlist.fm". www.setlist.fm.
12. "The Coventry kid who made good". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
13. "When the local palais was the place to be dancing". www.echo-news.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 August 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
14. Evening Times (March 30, 2015). "Memories: it was strictly for dancing at the Locarno Ballroom in 1962". Evening Times. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
15. "English Seaside Piers - Royal Pier, Southampton". www.theheritagetrail.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
16. "BBC - In pictures: Stockport Plaza". www.bbc.co.uk. 11 December 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
17. "Locarno Ballroom, Swindon, England Concert Setlists | setlist.fm". www.setlist.fm.
18. Frogmore Street, Bristol, 1999, 7 February 1999, retrieved 29 February 2024

External links

• meccadancing.com

• Leisure companies of the United Kingdom
• Gambling companies of the United Kingdom