Ruby Flipper
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Ruby Flipper were a multiracial, mixed-sex
dance troupe A dance troupe or dance company is a group of dancers and associated personnel who work together to perform dances as a sport, spectacle or entertainment. There are many different types of dance companies, often working in different list of dance ...
who performed dance routines to songs in the UK Singles Chart on the BBC television series '' Top of the Pops'' in 1976.


Members

The original Ruby Flipper line-up consisted of four female dancers and three male dancers: *Lulu CartwrightBBCi: TOTP2 - Legs and Co
accessed 11 April 2011
*Cherry Gillespie *Phillip Haigh (sometimes credited as Phillip Steggles)BBCi: TOTP2 - Interviews, Phillip Steggles
accessed 11 April 2011
*Patti Hammond *Sue Menhenick *Floyd PearceBBCi: TOTP2 - Interviews, Phillip Steggles
accessed 11 April 2011
*Gavin Trace The troupe made their ''TOTP'' debut on 6 May 1976, performing a dance routine to The Stylistics' version of " Can't Help Falling In Love".


Origins

As a replacement for Pan's People, choreographer
Flick Colby Felicity Isabelle "Flick" Colby (March 23, 1946 – May 26, 2011) was an American dancer and choreographer best known for being a founding member and the choreographer of the United Kingdom dance troupe Pan's People, which appeared on the BBC1 ...
decided to put together a new troupe which would feature both male and female dancers. In a BBC interview, co-manager Ruth Pearson added, "Pan's People had been around for about eight years and it felt like it was time for a concept change." Auditions for the troupe took place at the Dance Centre in London's Covent Garden following press advertisements. The final line-up was chosen in March 1976, whereupon the dancers began a period of rehearsal before their first appearance on ''Top of the Pops''. Colby and Pearson chose the name "Ruby Flipper" for the new team, supposedly as a combination of their personal names (RUBY FLIPPER = RUth PEaRson + FLIck colBY +P). Former Pan's People members Cherry Gillespie and Sue Menhenick were invited to join the new ''TOTP'' dance troupe.


Demise

However, the troupe were not retained as the resident dancers on ''Top of the Pops'' for long. Haigh recalled, "They didn't really give a clear reason why, but they just said that it had been decided that 'Ruby Flipper will be coming to an end and that they'd be looking for a new group'." According to Colby, Bill Cotton advised her and Pearson to disband Ruby Flipper in favour of a new all-girl company: "...He said he didn't like the concept and that he wanted a girl group back on the show. I was told to reform an all-girl group - or quit."Simpson, p.45 Changes to the line-up of Ruby Flipper occurred during their time on ''Top of the Pops''. Trace last appeared as part of the line-up on 15 July 1976; his final routine being Tavares' " Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel". Gillespie also left the troupe in September 1976; her last performance was The Ritchie Family's "
The Best Disco in Town "The Best Disco in Town" is a 1976 crossover disco single by Philadelphia-based group, The Ritchie Family. In the United States, the single was a top 20 hit on both the soul and pop charts. "The Best Disco in Town" went to number one for one week ...
" on 30 September 1976. By the autumn of 1976, Colby and Pearson decided to disband Ruby Flipper and return to the all-female dance troupe formula of Pan's People with a new sextet, Legs & Co. Ruby Flipper made their final ''Top of the Pops'' appearance on 14 October 1976 as a quintet, with a routine to Wild Cherry's " Play That Funky Music".


Life after ''TOTP''

The two male dancers in the final line-up, Haigh and Pearce, continued their dancing careers. Pearce was invited back to dance on ''TOTP'' for at least nine routines with Legs & Co. in the next two years, in routines to: *
Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
's "
I Wish I WiSH was a Japanese pop group consisting of two members, Ai Kawashima and nao. Ai is responsible for the vocals and occasionally plays the piano also with nao on the keyboard or piano. Their most notable track is and was in the Oricon ranking ...
" on 23 December 1976 * Andrew Gold's " Lonely Boy" on 14 April 1977 *Bo Kirkland and Ruth Davis' "You're Gonna Get Next To Me" on 16 June 1977 *
Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her mus ...
's " I Feel Love" on 11 August 1977, *Stevie Wonder's " Sir Duke" on 25 December 1977 *
John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes ''Carrie'' (19 ...
and Olivia Newton-John's " You're the One That I Want" on 25 May 1978 * The Real Thing's "Let's Go Disco" also on 25 May 1978 *
Sylvester Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective ''silvestris'' meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun ''silva'' meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with ''i''. In Classical Latin, ''y'' represented a ...
's "
(You Make Me Feel) Mighty Real "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" is a 1978 song by American disco/ R&B singer Sylvester. It was written by James Wirrick and Sylvester, and released as the second single from Sylvester's fourth album, ''Step II'' (1978). The song was already a la ...
" on 21 September 1978 *John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John's " Summer Nights" on 25 December 1978. Pearce also appeared along with Legs and Co for two dance numbers dancing to The Real Thing's "Let's Go Disco" and Odyssey's " Native New Yorker" in the film '' The Stud'' in 1978, as well as dancing with Legs and Co to The Bee Gees' " Night Fever" on Larry Grayson's
Generation Game ''The Generation Game'' is a British game show produced by the BBC in which four teams of two people from the same family, but different generations, compete to win prizes. The game There are eight competitors, hence the catchphrase "Let's me ...
and as a dancer in the Dougie Squires troupe that backed the singer Lulu in her segments of ''
The Les Dawson Show ''The Les Dawson Show'' was a variety show that aired on BBC1 intermittently from 1978 through 1989. The show starred comedian Les Dawson (1931–1993), who had previously starred in the ITV sketch comedy programme ''Sez Les'' (1969–76), foll ...
'' that same year. He joined the dance troupe Hot Gossip and from July 1978 could be seen in their routines that featured on Kenny Everett's shows (in series one, three and four on ITV and series 6 on the BBC). He stayed with Hot Gossip until they disbanded at the end of 1986, occasionally singing lead vocals to songs in stage shows and videos, as well as dancing. In 1980 he danced with Hot Gossip in the Village People's film '' Can't Stop the Music'', and later had a small part dancing in the
Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...
film '' The Meaning of Life''. He also sang with a variety of celebrities and minor celebrities on the charity single " Doctor in Distress" in 1985, a song which campaigned to have the
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
series returned to television, as it was on hiatus at that point. Until 1981 and the introduction of Zoo, the resident ''TOTP'' dance troupe would remain exclusively female. The three remaining female dancers, Cartwright, Hammond and Menhenick, became part of the line-up of Legs & Co., who made their debut the week after Ruby Flipper's last performance and remained as part of the resident ''TOTP'' dance troupe until October 1981. Patti Hammond died following a long illness on 15 September 2021, at the age of 71.Pan's People, Legs and Co, Ruby Flipper and Zoo Information Pages
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References

{{reflist, 2


Bibliography

Simpson, J., (2002), ''Top of the Pops: 1964-2002'', London, BBC Worldwide


External links


BBC TOTP Ruby Flipper page

Ruby Flipper History, Routines, Interviews

One for the Dads: Digging the dancing queens of TV pop: Pan's People, Legs and Co, Ruby Flipper and others
Top of the Pops dance troupes