LEEDS CLUB CLOSES DAYS BEFORE LICENSE REVIEW

By Alex Harter LEEDS NIGHTCLUB Mezz shuts down today days before its license review is to take place (December 9th). The announcement of the closure was first brought about by Tequila UKs Facebook page with a post stating: Its Official. Mezz has closed. Boo hoo! DO NOT DESPAIR - were here to stay. Therell be no Tequila this Thursday but weve got a great venue sorted for you next week. The club was under fire ever since Tequila (the clubs promotional company hosting Tequila Thursdays) launched a video called Fresher's Violation in early October. The video shows a presenter walking around the night club Mezz, interviewing drunken students asking how are you going to violate a fresher tonight? in which a male student replies shes going to get raped. Tequila UK has existed in Leeds for over 20 years and was originally formed by a group of friends and students creating a tequila appreciation society at the University of Leeds. The promotional company is known for its outrageous marketing and shock tactics labelling themselves on their website as a notorious den of hedonism and debauchery. Following the video, University of Leeds FemSoc held a protest outside Mezz and held signs reading Tequila makes me sick and have a shot of feminism. There were over 100 people at the protest including a police presence. FemSoc have also launched a petition to get Tequila shut down, the petition currently has over 3000 signatures. Tony Tierney, spokesperson for West Yorkshire police stated that they are working closely with licensees and Leeds City Council to promote a safe environment in the city's night-time economy. Additional patrols are also currently mounted in key areas at peak times and officers are working closely with security staff at venues and local authority staff. In response to why more hadnt been done to shut the night down permanently, Tierney states In this case, the license review process is the relevant mechanism for taking action. That process is currently being pursued with the next step being the committee's meeting on December 9. Grace Pegden, a recent employee at Mezz states: I dont believe the Tequila video scandal is the reason for the club shutting, but it did nothing for the Mezzs reputation. I think people thought Mezz condoned Tequilas behaviour when really its Tequila that should be under license review, not Mezz. General manager of Mezz, Gary Cole, refused to comment on the matter when contacted.