Eyes down for a full house!

Bingo was booming back in 1961, when this photograph of enthusiasts packing out a Bradford cinema was taken. Spot anyone you know?

Bingo has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in recent years, and not just the online version.

Players of all ages are flocking to bingo halls, which these days offer more spacious comfort than is shown in our photograph.

In the 1960s, one of the places people started playing bingo was the Mecca Locarno Ballroom on Manningham Lane. Later, when bingo really took off, the Mecca moved to Little Horton Lane, where it remains today.

This year, Mecca Bingo celebrates its 50th anniversary. Looking back on its early years, we came across this charming photograph of a former Miss World – Wilnelia Merced, who became the wife of one Bruce Forsyth, no less – visiting Bradford’s Mecca club.

We believe the photograph was taken in 1975, when Wilnelia, who is from Puerto Rico, was Miss World.

The visit came about because Miss World creator Eric Morley headed Mecca and used to have his beauty queens visiting the clubs.

The photograph shows a little girl presenting the glamorous guest with a gift, and Bradford’s Lord Mayor of the time, Councillor Doris Birdsall, looking on. Were you that little girl, or do you know who she was?

The club that struck gold

The picture of a packed house accompanied a feature in the T&A in November 1961 about the boom in bingo, which had taken hold at the beginning of the year.

The Roxy Cinema, in Barkerend Road, was the most recent club to open, with 1,200 people turning up for the first night. On the second night, 1,350 were admitted – with 600 turned away.

An estimated 15,000 people – one in 19 of Bradford’s population – were reckoned to be playing the game, spending up to £2 15s (£2.75) a week.