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Mecca Locarno, Wakefield A Tribute by Alan Simpson
It started out as a discussion on old black and white films amongst British ex-pats in the prestigious National Press Club in Washington DC, and the message and visions of "This Sporting LIfe" were mentioned. Feeling old I admitted to being part of that film, as an extra, and behind the camera. Even today I can vividly remember the days filming "This Sporting Life" at the Mecca Locarno Ballroom, Wakefield, where in the evenings I learned the ropes of the entertainment business and mass media, instead of studying hard at Thornes House School. It also taught me that hours, even days of filming result in a fleeting few seconds on the theater release. Hours of filming for a fleeting glimpse in a couple of scenes with Richard Harris. The phenomenon of the "Mecca" seemed to be a big part of our lives back then. Today they don't exist and generations of young lovers will be deprived of a social experience. Today Sir Jimmy Savile is still going strong despite the predictions back then that some husband or irate father would "get" him one day. What a Lad! That's when I began remembering who came through in those 5 years spent fiddling with the lighting, and being allowed to be a DJ first at the Saturday Afternoon sessions, then occasionally on Monday's. I was fortunate to work with many of the UK's best from the Beatles to Richard Harris when he filmed "This Sporting Life". I didn't tell them the Beatles were appearing at the Regal and at other venues I helped out at. But in those early days we didn't know some of these groups would become so famous. I remember listening to 35 groups auditioning for an evening gig. I still can't hear "Walk Don't Run" without cringing. We all learned from Jimmy Savile who was an innovator and should be remembered for more than his TV shows.
It did give me the opportunity to interview the visiting celebrities. Few photographs exist except for this one where I am interviewing Sounds Inc.and another with Susan Maughan and Helen Shapiro, too faded to copy. The acts that came through, and over at Leeds, Sheffield and Bradford were far from the huge stars they are today. The British pop scene was a hard grind for most performers, be they musicians, actors or comics. But to a young teenager this was as far as you could get from the dirty, coal smoke filled atmosphere of Wakefield in the early sixties.
Today many have become famous as their records came back into fashion, and event producers searched for acts that could be understood, and wouldn't be so spaced out on drugs that they couldn't perform. In many ways the sixties were a far better time than today for meeting people and just talking to them. The lack of electronic communication meant that we communicated person to person, and what better place to communicate than on the dance floor. It was common for a perfect stranger to approach a good looking woman without fear of being sprayed with Pepper Spray or reported to the police for sexual harassment. It seems that we provided a venue for people to enjoy themselves, and not a sensory experience we find today. You could sing along with the artist, and even understand the words.
Years later meeting the top performers of that time it was interesting exchanging stories about life when the Beatles were a struggling Scouse Group you joked with about life on the Mersey. I can't even remember many of the names in the few photographs that remain, most just didn't make it.
The rumor was that Sean Connery was coming, but that wasn't true. I would have to wait forty years before meeting him in person. To this day I don't know why Odd Job came, but he was an interesting character anyway. Every trick was used to gain publicity, from visiting Film Stars to cowboys on horseback down the main street. Today the range of permits required and the insurance cover to be taken out in case of an Asteroid hitting a casual bystander makes those impromptu events seem so far away.
in the 1960's a duplicated copy and two pounds deposited with a travel agent was the height of excellence. This was a significant achievement and thanks to the fact that I was too young to be legally working in the industry passed without a single piece of publicity in the local papers!! Years later I contacted Thomas Cook to ask if the princely sum of two pounds was still in the account. I was informed that it wasn't and I shouldn't expect them to keep track of a couple of pounds here and there. How times change. But at such a young age to be recognized by Mecca and congratulated by Jimmy Savile was priceless. In fact the Chairman of Mecca called in on a visit and predicted a bright future for me in Show Business. From being a DJ in front of a thousand people, to building Robots from scrap to play with a record for a special event it really was a time to live and learn.In those days there was the opportunity to try out new ideas to promote records, artists, special events and anything else for that matter. Today any new idea has to be run past teams of lawyers, trademark experts, publicists and PR Consultants less you inadvertently infringe on someone's patent, trademark or claimed idea.
The Locarno Wakefield was demolished to make way for a shopping centre, and researching the others I visited, I found that most are gone forever. Sadly I was flying around the world when the final party was held so I could not attend the wake. Probably Dick Keith, Dennis Marsh, Barry Goodwin, Wilf Preen and the others I learned so much from have long retired. But what of the Mecca ballrooms spread around the UK. What did they contribute to the culture and mating arrangements for us Baby Boomers. Since developing this case study a whole lot of people have emailed to pass on their experiences, and reflect on a world long gone.
The Mecca Legacy They were great places to meet people, and you could go up to a complete stranger and ask her for a dance. Of course if her boyfriend came back from the bar with two drinks and saw you dancing you could get a black eye and be rapidly thrown out by the " Bouncers", sorry "Supervisors" in dinner jackets. Each night had it's own clientele and age group. The draw for the Monday Night dance was for teenagers. It was the place to be seen, meet friends, have a good time, and listen to the two disc jockeys play the latest. To grow up and move from Saturday Afternoon to Monday Night was a major milestone. Saturday Night was for the adults, with a full band and quartet. No records for them. There was balloons and good music. The beer flowed freely and if you could battle your way to the bar, drinks were reasonable. And if you got too drunk along came the Bouncers and out you went! Same if you were "bothering" a young lady. Out you went. Compared to today's multi million extravaganzas the ballroom was a simple structure, and people had to entertain themselves without light shows, and other gimmicks. The Locarno Wakefield ballroom was in fact a converted store. It was built as a supermarket and for some reason went out of business, and reopened as a ballroom. The lighting was very basic to say the least. The sprung Maple dance floor was lit with six clusters of three 1000 watt flood lights. These switched between pink, magenta and red depending on the mood of the music, using huge Strand Electric Sunset Dimmers. No technology here, just lots of copper and iron. There were hundreds of yellow 15 watt bulbs along the balcony and around the Proscenium Arch, but they were hardly used as the blew too often and the gaps caused by the blown bulbs looked terrible. Today I look back an remember the emergency lighting was gas powered, and was never tested for years. I remember once testing it to find that the fragile mantles had all been shattered and the pilot lights were out. The place stank of gas and fortunately was empty or a cigarette would have blown us all sky high! The reset handle was securely locked away in the liquor store, with only one key. I learned a lot about planning from that experience. For the technically inclined we had 30 watts of audio power on a single amplifier. In the mid 1960's someone decided that this was a risky proposition and another 30 watt amplifier was added giving a whopping 60 watts! Today most clubs use several thousand watts. Some use hundreds of thousands of watts to make the bass vibrate the whole building. I went back to the old Wakefield Locarno, renamed "Tiffany's" I believe. It was a cold place. The innocent and naive days I remember seemed to have been replaced by electronic light shows and the simple amplifiers with ear shattering systems. The music of course was for a different generation. Years later around 1981 I was in London and a group of us went to the Hammersmith Palais. It was like going back in time. I remember speaking at length to a couple of the old time employees and learning how the "Good Old Days" were coming to an end. At the time I had the chance to collect a lot of memorabilia, but you believe a nationwide institution like "The Mecca" would live for ever. In 1986 I moved to the United States to work for President Reagan, developing World television networks. Years later on a visit to London I decided to call into the Empire, Leicester Square. I spent a week with them when it was opened by Princess Margaret I believe. The gentleman at the "Equinox" thought I must have been inside serving time for murder since I hadn't kept up with the changes. But when you consider the impact the "Mecca" has had on the millions of baby boomers it's surprising someone hasn't written a book. If there is anyone out there with memories email me, and maybe there is a book, or perhaps a documentary, that needs to be written.
Send your memories and photographs to news@meccadancing.com |
I mentioned the invaluable advice from Jimmy Savile every time he came over, or we went over to nearby Leeds. There was a silence and a leading TV personality asked Jimmy Who? I forget that rarely do British DJ's travel well to the USA. "OK," said he, "who else was there worth remembering. "
The first radio programs I did were from the Mecca Locarno, Wakefield on the Hospital Broadcasting Service. That sounds more than it was for our broadcasting link was shoving a jack plug into a monitor speaker and feeding the old Radio Relay circuits. Cable before it was invented by the Americans. 
Then there was a faded photo from Shane Fentone who was big in the early 1960's.That was before he became reborn as Alvin Stardust. In those days you could speak to celebrities without the questions being vetted by a PR and Image Manager and being frisked by a collection of dumb bodyguards. They were not paid that much and although famous few lasted that long. 
Every week some group or another came through, and photograph after photograph was taken for publicity. Few remain and I still can't remember who the lady singer was in this photograph, but I remember her Manager didn't let her out of his sights amongst the Yorkshire lads from the mines. I believe it was a Susan Maughan concert, as "Bobby's Girl" was her hit song at that time.
It wasn't only pop groups and singers that came through the doors to entertain the audiences. When James Bond and GoldFinger was in the cinemas we had Odd Job. It amazed me how quiet and gentle he was in real life and totally unlike his character in the film. 
Scratching in the bottom of the archive box I found a crumpled faded copy of the letter saying I had been awarded two pounds, deposited with Thomas Cook, for winning the Showmanship Award in September 1964 Today every award seems to come with a certificate, black tie dinner and a "thing" to store in an office cabinet with all the others. 
The robot I made was to promote the popular instrumental "Telstar", about the satellite of course. Today it looks somewhat hokey but in the early 1960 it was a crowd stopper and even made the local paper. It's head moved from side to side and it's arms moved up and down. OK it's not Disney Animatronics, but this was Wakefield not Los Angeles. Few places now would let you try out such ideas before a hall full of 1000 people. That got me thinking about the days, or evenings working with Mecca. It makes you feel old when you realize that the Mecca empire of ballrooms catering to millions of people a week throughout the UK are gone!