Crackers! Would anyone really confuse THIS Ritz with the other one?

The Ritz, a modest 1920s-era music venue in the hinterland of industrial West Yorkshire, is a world away from its five-star namesake in London’s Mayfair.

But online, the differences are less obvious. And having received a letter from lawyers claiming to act for the Ritz Hotel, the owner of the Yorkshire business was last night wondering if he could stay afloat.

Glenn Smith, who bought the Brighouse venue two years ago, said he had been threatened with legal action unless he agreed to stop using the word Ritz in his internet address.

He said: “I’ve had a letter accusing us of redirecting their website traffic to ours, which is nonsense.

“Unfortunately, there is no way we can afford to fight it.”

Mr Smith, whose club was originally a cinema, and has been voted the best Northern Soul venue in the north, added: “We have to promote every event and we can’t to it without the internet and without that name. We’ve spent £20,000 on banners and posters that are now useless.”

He said the 500-capacity former dance hall “just about broke even”, but depended on publicity for each new event.

“We could put up a new plastic sign but that’s not getting to our customers,” he said.

“Everything is now online. Without it we start from scratch and I don’t think we will survive that.”

A message on the venue’s website said: “We are determined to keep the building itself open”, but added that it would cease trading as The Ritz from next week. The Ritz hotel in London has not commented.