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The first Hard Rock Cafe (HRC) opened
its doors to the public on June 14, 1971, in London,
England. Founded by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton,
two enterprising and music-loving Americans who
were yearning for good old American cooking.
Although it was initially decorated
with an eye toward eclectic Americana, HRC has ultimately
become the world's leading collector and exhibitors
of rock 'n' roll memorabilia. It all started when
Eric Clapton, who was often seen at the London HRC,
asked if he could hang his guitar over his favourite
bar stool. Of course the staff of HRC London did
him the favor. A few days later a package from The
Who's Pete Townshend arrived at the HRC. It was
a guitar of Pete together with a note that said
"Mine's as good as his. Love Pete". The
rest is HRC history...
In 1982, Tigrett and Morton agreed
to develop their own Hard Rock Cafes in various
parts of the globe. Morton opened HRCs in Los Angeles,
San Francisco, Chicago and Houston. Tigrett opened
in New York, Dallas, Boston, Washington, D.C., Orlando,
Paris and Berlin, eventually selling his interest
to Mecca Leisure. In 1990, The Rank Group, Plc.,
a London-based leisure company, acquired Mecca and
continued expansion of the concept in their geographic
territory. Rank then acquired Hard Rock America
from Peter Morton, and Hard Rock Canada from Nick
Bitove. With these acquisitions, Rank consolidated
worldwide control of the Brand, and with it, one
of the most universally recognized trademarks. Today
there are more than 100 HRCs worldwide in over 40
countries.
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