Mecca Dance Hall Tottenham
Encyclopedia
For 94 years 415-419 High Road Tottenham
, London
, N17 was a leading North London entertainment venue. The building started life as a roller skating
rink in 1910 but the following year was refitted as the Canadian Rink Cinema
. In 1925 it was converted into a dance hall known as the Tottenham Palais and became a popular jazz venue. Later it was bought by Mecca Leisure Group
and became the Tottenham Royal, North London’s premier nightspot for big band
and swing music, with the Johnny Howard Band as resident for a period. The 1950s saw the Royal embrace the rock and roll
era and there is a well-known photograph in Picture Post
of a group of Teddy Boys in the dance hall. There was also a publicity shot taken outside the Royal when the Tottenham Hotspur League and Cup double team showed off their medals during a victory parade down the High Road in 1961. Throughout the 1960s bands such as the Dave Clark Five (based there), the Troggs, The Who
and The Animals
played at the Royal and the Kray twins
were among the more notorious visitors. It had also become a modern style disco playing R and B
music from America
, Ska
from Jamaica
, as well as the latest pop hits. By the 1970s Tottenham
had one of Europe
’s biggest black communities and the Royal was host to regular soul
and reggae
nights as the dance hall became a focal point for local black youths (along with Club Noreik at Ward’s Corner at the junction of Seven Sisters Road
and Tottenham High Road
) with many reggae
stars such as Desmond Dekker
and Gregory Isaacs
making appearances. The 1980s saw a transformation into a string of new identities including the Mayfair Suite, the Temple, the United Nations Club, and the Zone, but its best days had passed and the garish and cavernous dance hall was finally demolished in 2004 to make way for much-needed local housing.
Tottenham
Tottenham is an area of the London Borough of Haringey, England, situated north north east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:Tottenham is believed to have been named after Tota, a farmer, whose hamlet was mentioned in the Domesday Book; hence Tota's hamlet became Tottenham...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, N17 was a leading North London entertainment venue. The building started life as a roller skating
Roller skating
Roller skating is the traveling on smooth surfaces with roller skates. It is a form of recreation as well as a sport, and can also be a form of transportation. Skates generally come in two basic varieties: quad roller skates and inline skates or blades, though some have experimented with a...
rink in 1910 but the following year was refitted as the Canadian Rink Cinema
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
. In 1925 it was converted into a dance hall known as the Tottenham Palais and became a popular jazz venue. Later it was bought by Mecca Leisure Group
Mecca Leisure Group
Mecca Leisure Group was a British business that ran nightclubs, hotels, theme parks, bingo parlors, and Hard Rock Cafes. During the 1960s they were the centre of entertainment with numerous nightclubs throughout major UK towns and cities. Mecca ballrooms were used for the BBC TV show Come Dancing...
and became the Tottenham Royal, North London’s premier nightspot for big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
and swing music, with the Johnny Howard Band as resident for a period. The 1950s saw the Royal embrace the rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
era and there is a well-known photograph in Picture Post
Picture Post
Picture Post was a prominent photojournalistic magazine published in the United Kingdom from 1938 to 1957. It is considered a pioneering example of photojournalism and was an immediate success, selling 1,700,000 copies a week after only two months...
of a group of Teddy Boys in the dance hall. There was also a publicity shot taken outside the Royal when the Tottenham Hotspur League and Cup double team showed off their medals during a victory parade down the High Road in 1961. Throughout the 1960s bands such as the Dave Clark Five (based there), the Troggs, The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
and The Animals
The Animals
The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
played at the Royal and the Kray twins
Kray twins
Reginald "Reggie" Kray and his twin brother Ronald "Ronnie" Kray were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in London's East End during the 1950s and 1960s...
were among the more notorious visitors. It had also become a modern style disco playing R and B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
music from America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
from Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, as well as the latest pop hits. By the 1970s Tottenham
Tottenham
Tottenham is an area of the London Borough of Haringey, England, situated north north east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:Tottenham is believed to have been named after Tota, a farmer, whose hamlet was mentioned in the Domesday Book; hence Tota's hamlet became Tottenham...
had one of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
’s biggest black communities and the Royal was host to regular soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
nights as the dance hall became a focal point for local black youths (along with Club Noreik at Ward’s Corner at the junction of Seven Sisters Road
Seven Sisters Road
Seven Sisters Road is a road in north London, England which runs within the boroughs of Islington, Hackney and Haringey. It is an extension of Camden Road, running from Holloway Road at the Nags Head crossroads then on to another crossroads with Blackstock Road and Stroud Green Road...
and Tottenham High Road
Tottenham High Road
Tottenham High Road is the main thoroughfare through the district of Tottenham, in the London Borough of Haringey. It runs from Edmonton in the North to Stamford Hill in the South . It follows, for the whole of its length, the course of the erstwhile Roman Road, Ermine Street...
) with many reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
stars such as Desmond Dekker
Desmond Dekker
Desmond Dekker was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae singer-songwriter and musician. Together with his backing group, The Aces , he had one of the first international Jamaican hits with "Israelites". Other hits include "007 " and "It Miek"...
and Gregory Isaacs
Gregory Isaacs
Gregory Anthony Isaacs was a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in the New York Times, described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae". His nicknames include Cool Ruler and Lonely Lover....
making appearances. The 1980s saw a transformation into a string of new identities including the Mayfair Suite, the Temple, the United Nations Club, and the Zone, but its best days had passed and the garish and cavernous dance hall was finally demolished in 2004 to make way for much-needed local housing.