Mecca Dance Hall, Tottenham

[2] 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.

[3] 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[4] 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.

By the 1970s Tottenham had one of Europe’s biggest black communities[6] 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 The cavernous dance hall was demolished in 2004 to make way for much-needed local housing.