Legs & Co. - British Rock & Pop Awards 1979 - End Credits

Here's a second performance from Legs & Co. at the British Rock & Pop Awards 1979: dancing to a cheesy big-band version of Night Fever during the end credits. I think this routine, and the previous one, both serve as examples of how important camera direction is to TV choreography. Clearly, for her work on TOTP, Flck had a good working relationship with the director and the camera operators, and had imput into the camera-work and editing. Just as clearly, in these routines she had little or no input. As a result, with no idea where the cameras would be, she's forced to choreograph the performance for the stage, directing the focus towards the audience, rather than the cameras. This results in an "ITV-variety-show" effect, where the cameras seem to be documenting a stage performance, not makinga TV show.

Before the many Flick Fans (aFlickcionados?) complain, I'm not putting Flick down here: I'm just descrbing the less-than-ideal circumstances she was sometimes forced to work in.

My thanks once again to PattiforPM for sharing yet another rare clip with us.

Mediafire download (36.4 MB)

Legs & Co. on Larry Grayson's Generation Game

This clip was recently posted over on panspeople.com by Flight14. Unfortunately, their embedded youtube video seems to have been trampled on by the copyright dinosaurs, and they've replaced the full embedded routine with a shorter version with only the final Larry Grayson dancing. So here's a watchable version of the whole thing.

Legs & Co. appear on the Larry Grayson/Isla St. Clair incarnation of The Generation Game. They're demonstrating that peculiarly formal version of "Disco Dancing" taught by ageing dance instructors, with our old friend Floyd, and a couple of other blokes. And yes, Larry, I know what you mean: where do I recognise the tall tall blonde guy from? New Edition? The Young Generation? I dunno.

Then there's a rare appearance by Flick as expert judge. I assume that the whole "People think 'Flick' is a man" routine she does with Larry is really about Larry himself expecting a chap to show up. But I'm just guessing here.

Flick is extravagantly generous in handing out points, a tradition on this show.

Mediafire download link (50 MB)

Legs & Co. - Ossie's Dream

Pickings are getting mighty slim folks. I'm reduced to posting clips from TOTP where Our Heroines are merely standing arounding in the background. Here are Showbiz Cockneys Chas & Dave, a couple of Tottenham Hotspurs' calciatores, and Legs & Co, with a portion of audience, miming dreadfully to Ossie's Dream. Thanks to Norvik_1602 for spotting the clip.

Can't say I've ever got the hang of this football thing: I can almost understand the appeal of playing it. Almost. But watching other people play it? No, I don't get the appeal. I'm clearly in a small minority here, though.

Download from Mediafire (9 MB)

Chas & Dave Trivia Question: Which breakthrough rap hit contained substantial samples featuring Chas Hodges & Dave Peacock? (Wikipedia is out of bounds, you rotten cheats).

Legs & Co. on Ant & Dec’s Saturday Takeaway

I've never been a fan of cheeky Geordie double-act Ant & Dec, so I missed this Legs & Co. appearance on their Saturday Takeaway in 2003. Since this appearance came up on our doscussion board, I've searched in vain to find it. But some kind soul has finally sent it to me.

There's one mystery: in a couple of brief long shots in the early portion, Patti is clearly there, at the end of the row (our left): but in the later dance sequence (to Sister Sledge's We Are Family), she doesn't appear. It can't be that they only had six lettered jump-suits, surely?

Mediafire download (48.8 MB)

Ruby Flipper - In the Ghetto

Here's the last of the Ruby Flipper routines from their residency on Lena Martell's 1979 TV show. This time Lena's singing In the Ghetto written by Mac Davis, and of course most famously sung by Elvis.

This is essentially a solo dance performance, with the rest of the team in a strictly supportive role. It's great to see these rare examples of the gitls work, but I can't help feeling that Flick has hardly been inspired in this whole series.

Download from Mediafire (34.8 MB)

Dee Dee - Points West

He's a news report from Bristol-based BBC show Points West, on Dee Dee Wilde's current project: a dance class for over-fifties. Broadcast sometime last year.

Legs & Co. - Gotta Lotta Bottle - longer

You may recall a very short clip of a Milk advert featuring a brief clip of Legs & Co. in slinky, shiny black cat suits that PattiforPM sent me over a year ago. AT the time I posted it, there was a lot of speculation on the discussion forum about a longer version of the ad, with a bit more of Our Favourites, that a few old hands remembered seeing at the time. Well, finally Colm has tracked it down, and sent me this copy. Though it's longer, their appearance is still all too brief. Thanks to Colm for the detective work.

Download from Mediafire (8.6 MB)

Ruby Flipper - Come On People Now

Another appearance from Ruby Flipper with Lena Martell on her 1979 BBC TV series. I'm afraid I don't know who wrote this song (or even if I've got the title right). Thanks yet again to PattiforPM for finding this rare clip.

Update: The song's correct title is "Get Together": it was a (US) hit for The Youngbloods in 1969. Many thanks to the erudite Pan's Ruby Legs for the information.

Further Update; It's also known as "Let's Get Together", written in the early 1960s by American singer-songwriter Chet Powers (aka Dino Valenti). The song was originally recorded as "Let's Get Together" by The Kingston Trio, on their 1964 album Back in Town. 1964 seems fairly early for such classic hippy sentiments. Let's call it Secular Beatnik Gospel.

Watch this on mobypicture | youtube | Download from Mediafire (32.2 MB)

Pan's People - Funky Street

Here's a rarity, posted by Flight14 over at panspeople.com. It's Pan's People on Lulu's* TV show, Happening for Lulu on February 1 1969, dancing to Lulu's Funky Street along with a couple of blokes.

Quality is not the best, and we mostly only get wide shots of the dancers, but I reckon it's the full 1969 line-up. Thanks to Flight14 and pp.com for the clip.

*Not that one.

Hot Gossip - Naughty Naughty

Here's the last clip of a Hot Gossip performance from their return to Kemmy Everett's show, in 1986. They're dancing to their own version of John Parr's Naughty Naughty.

A slight return to their pervy outfit roots here: but perhaps because this is an auntie beeb show, the whole feeling is less dark, and more playful: or maybe it's just an eighties thing.

Watch on mobypicture | youtube | Download from Mediafire (39.9 MB)

Zoo - Layla

Here's a clip that Suefan requested, and Carl sent me: it's Maureen from Zoo dancing to Derek & the Dominos' Layla on Top of the Pops, 18the March 1982.

Notice the early eighties freeze-frame video effects: back them this must have been the height of high-tech cool. Nowadays, when most of us are used to watching video on various phones, computers, laptops, pads, and TVs, transient still frames like this in a video don't mean "cool video effect" any more. These days they say: "connection too slow", "hardware not powerful enough" or "stupid machine not working". How times have changed.

Thanks to carl for the clip.

Mediafire download (22.1 MB)

Pan's People - Love's Theme

This Pan's People routine, dancing to Love Unlimited Orchestra's Love's Theme, seems only to have survived in either a complete black & white version, or in a short colour clip: I've embedded both here.

Black & white version:

Colour clip:

Thanks to Ryan for tracking down these clips on YouTube.