You’re NOT putting on the Ritz!
THE Ritz Hotel in London’s West End is a byword for high society and luxury but its reputation is under threat from a rival – in Yorkshire.
Its owners have ordered their lawyers to confront the humble 80-year-old ballroom and music hall in Brighouse, near Halifax, because of the challenge it poses.
The hotel is credited with giving its name to the Irving Berlin song and Fred Astaire movie Puttin’ On The Ritz, the slang expression of the day for dressing fashionably.
Its northern counterpart can boast a sprung Canadian maple dance floor and regular performances by live tribute bands but nothing to rival the famous hotel.
Yet owner Glenn Smith, who has run the music hall for the past two years, has had a letter from solicitors for The Ritz in London’s Piccadilly demanding his business change its name.
He said: “It’s ludicrous, nobody would ever turn up at the Brighouse Ritz, confusing it for The Ritz in London.”
But he thinks he knows the reason...
He added: “They don’t care what our business is called. What they want is our internet domain, www.liveattheritz.com and they’re using bully-boy tactics to get it. When I took over we decided to use the ‘Live at the’ tag, just like ‘Live at the Apollo’, so we decided on ‘Live at the Ritz’.
“The domain name was available so we bought it.
“But now The Ritz want it and they will stop at nothing to get it. They’re using the law to say we are trading off their name to circumnavigate their customers from The Ritz in London and therefore we must hand it over.”
Bar manager Mandy Townsend said: “They have given us until February 28 to cease trading under the name.
“But we can’t just change like that – no one will know who we are any more. It’s been the Ritz for 80 years and it is so well known under this name.”
The Brighouse venue started life as The Ritz cinema in 1937.
It closed in 1963 but reopened as a bingo hall in 1965 before it was renovated as a dance hall in 1981. The Ritz in London, currently owned by the multimillionaire Barclay twins, was opened in 1906 by hotelier Cesar Ritz, becoming the ultimate destination for guests looking to stay at the most luxurious hotel in the land.
Bedroom and suite rates now range from £440 to £4,300 per night.
Tickets for this Friday’s Tamla Motown/soul night at The Ritz in Brighouse are £13.