Editing Pan's People

{{short description|British female TV dance troupe (1968–1976)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
[[File:Pan's People1971-1TopPop.png|thumb|Pan's People on ''[[TopPop]]'' (1971), showing the original ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' line-up; from front Babs Lord, Louise Clarke, Flick Colby, Ruth Pearson, Andi Rutherford, Dee Dee Wilde]]
'''Pan's People''' were a British all-female [[dance troupe]] most commonly associated with the BBC TV music chart show ''[[Top of the Pops]]'', from 1968 to 1976. The group, founded and led by choreographer [[Flick Colby|Felicity "Flick" Colby]] in December 1966, accompanied top 20 hits on the weekly show for eight years, when artists were unable or unwilling to perform live.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wiegand |first=Chris |date=30 May 2011 |title=Flick Colby obituary |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/may/30/flick-colby-obituary |access-date=19 June 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Pan's People appeared on many other TV shows in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, and also performed in nightclub cabaret.

Pan's People succeeded the [[Go-Jos]] in May/June 1968 as the [[list of Top of the Pops dance troupes|second dance troupe]] to make monthly appearances on ''Top of the Pops'', when the series aired in black-and-white. They became a weekly feature of the programme following its revamp and time extension in January 1970 and continued for the next six years, giving their last performance in April 1976 when they were replaced by the short-lived [[Ruby Flipper]], also choreographed by Colby.<ref>{{cite news |title=Been and Gone: Flick Colby, Edward Hardwicke and others |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-13603664 |publisher=BBC News |date=1 June 2011 |access-date=19 June 2023 |language=en-GB}}</ref> As a result of line-up changes, only one dancer, Ruth Pearson, appeared on the whole run.

Owing to their weekly exposure on British television, the group acquired a high profile. In addition, as a result of the increasing number of recordings from 1973 onwards known to have been preserved, the 'classic' line-up that existed from 1972 to 1974 is still widely recognised today. The dancers in this line-up were:

'''Felicity "Flick" Colby''' (23 March 1946 – 26 May 2011)<br />
'''Babs Lord''' (born 1945) – member 1966–1975<br />
'''Dee Dee Wilde''' (born 1946) – member 1966–1975<br />
'''Ruth Pearson''' (13 July 1946 – 27 June 2017) – member 1967–1976 and choreographer on some shows 1967–1970<br />
'''Louise Clarke''' (3 September 1949 – 25 August 2012) – member 1967–1974<br />
'''Cherry Gillespie''' (born 1955) – member 1972–1976

Colby danced as a member of Pan's People from 1966 to 1972, and remained its principal choreographer throughout their existence.

==Formation and early history==

===Formation from Beat Girls===
[[File:BeatGirls1966.jpg|thumb|September 1966: Beat Girls picture showing original Pan's People dancers; from left, Dee Dee Wilde, Lorelly Harris, Babs Lord, Flick Colby and Penny Fergusson. Dancer and choreographer Diane South, who was never in Pan's People, is almost completely obscured at the back.]]
The origins of Pan's People lie in [[the Dance Centre]]-based Katy-Dids, a six-girl jazz dance group formed in May 1964 comprising Linda Bywaters, Linda Lawrence, Jenny Ferle, Lyn Wolseley, Diane South and Ann Chapman. This group, renamed the Beat Girls following the commencement of their residence on ''[[The Beat Room]]'' in July 1964, subsequently appeared on many music and light entertainment TV programmes in the UK and Netherlands.

Following numerous line-up changes, by December 1966 only [[The Beat Room#The Beat Girls after the Beat Room|two members were left who had appeared in ''The Beat Room'']], which ended in January 1965:
* '''Barbara (Babs) Lord''',<ref name="Girls Who Bring Glamour"/> who appeared from September 1964
* ''' Diane South''' – despite having appeared in the Katy-Dids and Beat Girls since 1964, she was never a regular, for she frequently stood in as choreographer when their choreographer/manager, Gary Cockrell, was unavailable.<ref name="DianeS"/>
The other members at this time were:
* '''[[Flick Colby|Felicity (Flick) Colby]]'''<ref name="Girls Who Bring Glamour">{{cite web |title=Top Of The Pops Annual 1974: The Girls Who Bring Glamour To The Show |url=http://www.panspeople.freeserve.co.uk/totp1974.htm |website=the Unofficial Pan's People Homepage |access-date=19 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322144634/http://www.panspeople.freeserve.co.uk/totp1974.htm |archive-date=22 March 2012}}</ref> (1946–2011) – recruited in January 1966, though she already had a Dutch TV special, featuring the Beat Girls, built around her.
* '''Patricia (Dee Dee) Wilde'''<ref name="Girls Who Bring Glamour"/> – joined in March 1966; she had attended the Elmhurst School for Dance in Surrey.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dee Dee Wilde remembers getting her kicks in 1973 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/11058597/Dee-Dee-Wilde-remembers-getting-her-kicks-in-1973.html |date=28 August 2014 |access-date=13 June 2017}}</ref>
* '''Lorelly Harris''' – joined around May 1966
* '''Penelope (Penny) Fergusson''' – joined around May 1966; a former member of the [[Royal Ballet School]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Royal Opera House Collections Online |url=http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/performance.aspx?performance=16152&row=1 |website=Royal Ballet school |access-date=3 June 2017}}</ref>

Following an [[Equity (trade union)|Equity]]-backed dispute with their management over pay rates for Dutch shows,<ref>{{cite web |title=Watervlugge Beat-Girls niet meer voor AVRO |url=http://one-for-the-dads.979225.n3.nabble.com/The-Beat-Girls-tp3027945p4128322.html |website=One for the Dads |access-date=12 June 2017}}</ref> three members, Colby, Lord and Wilde, walked out and formed a new group on 8 December 1966 in London.<ref name="dee_dees">{{cite news |title=Dee Dee's Top of the Pops memories |url=http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/848408.dee_dees_top_of_the_pops_memories |newspaper=Wiltshire Gazette and Herald |access-date=26 July 2014}}</ref> After considering other names, including ''Dionysus's Darlings'' they agreed on the name ''Pan's People'', named after the Greek god [[Pan (god)|Pan]] as the "god of dance, music and debauchery".<ref name="Express"/> By 18 December, they were joined by two of the remaining three Beat Girls, Harris and Fergusson. This marked the end of the Beat Girls as a regular act on British television; however, with new recruits joining Diane South,<ref>{{cite news |title=The new beat girls |url=http://one-for-the-dads.979225.n3.nabble.com/The-Beat-Girls-tp3027945p4127617.html |newspaper=De Telegraaf |date=14 January 1967 |access-date=9 June 2017}}</ref> that group continued their Dutch engagements from January 1967, finally ceasing to perform in May 1968.<ref>{{cite web |title=List of Moef Ga Ga performances |url=http://hardprog.pagesperso-orange.fr/moef_ga_ga_episode_guide_1895.htm |url-status=dead |website=Hardprog |access-date=12 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916092132/http://hardprog.pagesperso-orange.fr/moef_ga_ga_episode_guide_1895.htm |archive-date=16 September 2016}}</ref>

By Christmas 1966 Pan's People recruited '''Felicity Balfour''' (sometimes called Felicity Balfour Smith), who had briefly been in the Beat Girls, and had been a schoolfriend of Dee Dee Wilde. Thus they formed a [[sextet]],<ref name="sextet">{{cite web |last=Rose |first=Gary P. |title=Felicity Isabelle Colby – Her Story in Words and Pictures |url=http://www.panspeople.com/?q=node/1168 |website=PansPeople.com |date=26 December 2011 |access-date=26 July 2014}}</ref> with Colby also acting as choreographer.

Press accounts during the lifetime of the group omit the Beat Girls involvement from Pan's People's history;<ref name="Throw">{{cite web|title=Don't Throw This Away|url=http://one-for-the-dads.979225.n3.nabble.com/Pans-People-Promo-Brochure-Don-t-Throw-This-Away-tp4115119.html|access-date=5 June 2017|quote=She...appeared for a year and a half in the BBC TV series Beat Room and Gadzooks}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Fabulous 208 magazine|url=http://missingepisodes.proboards.com/thread/8377/offer-research-nmes-disc-show?page=7|website=Missing Episodes|access-date=5 June 2017|date=23 September 1967|quote=The six met while rehearsing (separately) at rooms in Covent Garden and decided to join up.}}</ref> however, modern-day recollections include this time<ref>{{cite news|title=Dee Dee Wilde and Babs Powell: how we made Pan's People|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/sep/02/how-we-made-pans-people-dee-dee-wilde-babs-powell|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=5 June 2017|quote=Three of us had previously been in a dance group called the Beat Girls on the BBC2 programme The Beat Room.|date=2 September 2014|last=Simpson|first=Dave}}</ref> though sometimes incorrectly as a continuation of the previous group.<ref>{{cite news|title=Dee Dee's Top of the Pops memories|url=http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/848408.dee_dees_top_of_the_pops_memories/|website=Newsquest|access-date=12 June 2017|quote=The Beat Girls, as we were known then, had just walked out of their head quarters, The Dance Centre ... Flick Colby who was to be our new choreographer, Babs Lord and I, sat up all night reforming the group & creating a new name for it.}}</ref>

===Early work and line-up changes===
Their first TV appearance was in the Belgian TV programme ''Vibrato'' in January 1967, with the initial line-up.<ref>{{cite web |title=PP on Vibrato, 1967 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpoHi2FAMzY |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/PpoHi2FAMzY |archive-date=11 December 2021 |url-status=live |website=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In February/March 1967, Felicity Balfour's contract was terminated, due to her being unsettled in the group. After Pan's People, amongst other subsequent activities she performed with the Denise Shaune dancers, and worked in musical theatre, notably forming part of the original London cast of ''[[Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rice |first=Tim |title=Oh What a Circus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m4ECNNvdvTYC&q=%22felicity+Balfour%22+dancer&pg=PT183 |date=October 2012 |access-date=13 June 2017 |quote=Felicity Balfour, captivating dancer in the first West-End Joseph |isbn=9781444762174}}</ref>

Following an audition, Balfour was replaced by '''Ruth Pearson''' (1946–2017).<ref>{{cite web|author=Jessica Gibb |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/ruth-pearson-dead-pans-people-10706175 |title=Pan's People star Ruth Pearson has died at the age of 70 |website=Mirror.co.uk |date=27 May 2017 |access-date=30 June 2017}}</ref> Like Lord, Pearson was an original Beat Girls member, performing in the group until early 1966, then in a prior Beat Girls breakaway group, [[The Beat Room#October 1965-December 1966 - UK and Dutch TV programmes|Tomorrow's People]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Top of the Pops 2 interviews |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/totp2/trivia/pans_people/ruth_pearson/page1.shtml |publisher=BBC |access-date=12 June 2017 |quote=There was a disagreement about how our current group the Beat Girls were going and three of us left and formed our own group called Tomorrow's People. Then about a year later we split up and I had heard that the girls had formed Pan's People...They weren't sure for a time and I had an audition. And then they later contacted me and told me I was in.}}</ref>

Pearson also did some of the group choreography over the first two years in the group.<ref name="Throw"/>

The new line-up with Pearson appeared on ''[[Dickie Valentine|The Dickie Valentine Show]]'' in September and October 1967, replacing the Beat Girls from the 1966 series. All the Pan's People in this line-up, except for Pearson, had appeared in the earlier series.<ref>{{cite web |title='The Dickie Valentine Show' TV Pans People 1967 |url=https://www.rexfeatures.com/search/?kw=dickie+valentine&js-site-search_submit=Go&order=newest&iso=GBR&lkw=&viah=Y&stk=N&sft=&timer=N&requester=&iprs=f |website=Rex Features |access-date=15 June 2017}}</ref>

The group were to appear in a ballet performed with [[the Yardbirds]] in December 1967,<ref>{{cite web |title=NME: The Rock and Roll Years |url=http://theafterword.co.uk/its-wonderful-to-be-here-its-certainly-a-thrill-its-1967-on-the-afterword-almanac/ |access-date=13 June 2017 |quote=An hour-long ballet written by [[the Yardbirds]] and with all music played by the group, is premiered at the Paris Olympia on 13 and 14 December. Still untitled, it is being presented by French impresario Bruno Coquetrix, and the initial performance will be filmed for subsequent TV screening in France and Sweden. The ballet will be danced by BBC-TV dance team Pan's People, choreographed by Flick Colby, and the director is Sean Murphy.}}</ref> but it was cancelled shortly before it was to be performed.

Also in December 1967, Penny Fergusson left to do other work, and was replaced by '''Louise Clarke''' (1949–2012).<ref>{{cite journal |title=Louise Clarke: Obituaries |url=http://www.thestage.co.uk/features/obituaries/feature.php/37307/louise-clarke |journal=The Stage |date=12 September 2012 |access-date=23 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015133326/http://www.thestage.co.uk/features/obituaries/2012/09/louise-clarke/ |archive-date=15 October 2012}}</ref>
In February 1968 three of Pan's People (Lord, Colby and Wilde) appeared on the West German show ''Beat Beat Beat'' with [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Tom Jones – Beat Beat Beat – 1968 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo9-49I-fQg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623235802/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo9-49I-fQg |archive-date=23 June 2015 |url-status=dead |website=Youtube |access-date=3 June 2017}}</ref> This series was unique in that Ruth Pearson got sole choreography credit.

In the final change before the ''Top of the Pops'' era, Lorelly Harris chose to leave in March 1968, ultimately going into the [[Margaret Kelly Leibovici|Bluebell Girls]]. She was replaced by '''Andrea (Andi) Rutherford'''<ref name="Girls Who Bring Glamour"/> (1947–2015).<ref name="AndreaObit">{{cite web |title=Family Announcements: Andrea Rutherford |url=http://www.family-announcements.co.uk/hertfordshire/view/3951726/andrea |newspaper=Hertfordshire Mercury |date=10 December 2015 |access-date=19 June 2016}}</ref>

===Early management===
Colby's future husband, James Ramble, was manager, initially in partnership with promoter [[The Flamingo Club#The Flamingo Club|Rik Gunnell]], but solo by the time of his marriage to Colby in 1967. He retained this role into 1970, the year of his divorce from Colby. In 1970 he claimed to have created two rules; one that the dancers must wear their hair down, and another that they must get married rather than have partners;<ref>{{cite web |title=Going Going – a go-go marriage |url=http://media.photobucket.com/user/cornershop15/media/Documents/FlickColbyandJimRambleDailyMirror7thMarch1970.jpg.html |website=Photobucket |date=7 March 1970 |access-date=4 June 2017}}</ref> however, the second rule was also reported later the same year as saying that marriage was not allowed until the end of 1971.<ref>{{cite web |title=It's Pan's Playing it on camera |url=http://one-for-the-dads.979225.n3.nabble.com/Pans-People-pre-June-1974-tp4062102p3027197.html |website=OFTD |date=23 January 1970 |access-date=13 June 2017}}</ref>

Following the end of his management, the troupe members managed themselves; later accounts of the history of Pan's People focus on this second structural phase.<ref>{{cite news |last=Simpson |first=Dave |title=Dee Dee Wilde and Babs Powell: how we made Pan's People |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/sep/02/how-we-made-pans-people-dee-dee-wilde-babs-powell |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2 September 2014 |access-date=5 June 2017 |quote=But we told them: "We are already emancipated females. We organise ourselves and don't have a male in our midst."}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Webber |first=Richard |title=Dee Dee Wilde: 'My wages on Top of the Pops started at £19 a week' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/fame-fortune/dee-dee-wilde-my-wages-on-top-of-the-pops-started-at-19-a-week/ |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=11 July 2016 |access-date=5 June 2017 |quote=Perhaps representing ourselves rather than having a manager didn't help.}}</ref>

==Early ''Top of the Pops'' (April 1968 to early 1972) and the 'Original' line-up==

===''Top of the Pops'' before Pan's People===
''Top of the Pops'' began on 1 January 1964<ref name="Popscene"/> as a weekly programme playing a selection of records from the current charts. From November 1964, ''Top of the Pops'' had an all-girl dance troupe regularly appearing, the [[Go-Jos]], formed and choreographed by another ex-Beat Girl, [[The Jo Cook Dancers|Jo Cook]]. Through to the beginning of 1968, professional dancing had been restricted to approximately monthly appearances by this group, performing to one track on the show typically where the artist couldn't attend.

This situation began to change in January 1968: whilst still in the Beat Girls, Diane South appeared solo on the show, dancing to the song "[[Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)]]".<ref name="DianeS">{{cite web|title=Diane South - Biography|url=http://www.panspeople.com/?q=node/283|website=PansPeople|access-date=3 June 2017|archive-date=26 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130126051026/http://www.panspeople.com/?q=node%2F283|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On several occasions Pan's People presented brochures to the BBC with a view to appearing on ''Top of the Pops'', the last being in March 1968, but up to this point they had not been employed on any BBC programme.<ref name="Badman"/>

===Early appearances by Pan's People members===
[[File:Pan's People en Herman van Veen (1968).jpg|thumb|1968: Pan's People (from left, Dee Dee Wilde, Louise Clarke, Babs Lord, Ruth Pearson and Andi Rutherford) accompanying [[Herman van Veen]]]]

In late March 1968, the producers held an open audition for dancers on ''Top of the Pops'' to appear on 4 April 1968 to a routine to "[[Simon Says (1910 Fruitgum Company song)|Simon Says]]" by the [[1910 Fruitgum Company]]. Four dancers were engaged, Dee Dee Wilde and Ruth Pearson from Pan's People (who along with the four other Pan's People had auditioned individually rather than as part of a group),<ref name="DeeDee">{{cite web|title=Dee Dee's Top of the Pops memories|url=http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/848408.dee_dees_top_of_the_pops_memories/|website=This is Wiltshire|publisher=Newsquest|access-date=12 June 2017}}</ref> and Janice (Janie) Kells and Jackie Dalton (both later in the [[Dougie Squires#The Young Generation|Young Generation]]<ref>{{cite web|title=International Cabaret from Sweden (1968)|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b86396be9|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205155105/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b86396be9|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 December 2020|website=BFI|access-date=12 June 2017}}</ref>). An established choreographer, Virginia Mason, arranged the dancing.<ref name="Badman"/> However, a BBC database recording band appearances only indicates 'disc' for this performance, omitting mention of dancers, so there is no direct evidence this performance was ever broadcast.<ref name="Popscene">{{citation|title=TOTP Episode Guide - the 60s|publisher=Popscene}}</ref>

Following the performance, the two Pan's People participants spoke to the producer of the show, Colin Charman, and persuaded him to hire Pan's People as a group.<ref name="GoJo">{{cite news|title=Dee Dee Wilde and Babs Powell: how we made Pan's People|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/sep/02/how-we-made-pans-people-dee-dee-wilde-babs-powell|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=12 June 2017|quote=We got our big break after a couple of us passed auditions for the Go-Jos – Top of the Pops' original group of dancers. After the show, Ruth Pearson and I buttonholed the producer, Colin Charman. He was quite small, so we lifted him off his feet, pinned him to the BBC bar, plied him with booze and said: "Forget the Go-Jos. We've got this fantastic new group. Pleeeeeeeease give us a chance." When the BBC phoned up later we all screamed with excitement.|date=2 September 2014|last1=Simpson|first1=Dave}}</ref> This led a further routine with three members of Pan's People (Wilde, Pearson and Colby) with no extra dancers, and choreographed by Colby. The exact date and performance varies in different sources, alternatively:

* "[[Cry Like a Baby]]" by [[The Box Tops]]<ref name="Badman"/> – the BBC archive indicates this track was only featured on the show on 18 April.
* "[[Young Girl (song)|Young Girl]]" by [[Gary Puckett and the Union Gap]]<ref name="DeeDee"/> – the BBC archive indicates this track was featured on the show on 2, 16 and 23 May, with later showings after known Pan's People performances.<ref name="Popscene"/>

The two early performances are sometimes stated in contemporary sources as Go-Jo performances,<ref name="GoJo"/> but the Go-Jos were not involved.<ref>{{cite web|title=Interview: Jo Cook of the Gojos / Beat Girls / Jo Cook Dancers|url=http://panspeople.com/?q=node/740|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128024356/http://panspeople.com/?q=node%2F740|archive-date=28 January 2013|website=PansPeople|access-date=14 June 2017|date=11 July 2011|quote="Are you watching Top of the Pops? There's a new group of dancers on there!". This was the first time that Jo, or any of the Gojos, knew that they had been replaced.|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Subsequently, the entire Pan's People sextet appeared in a routine set to "[[US Male]]" by [[Elvis Presley]]<ref name="dee_dees"/> on 30 May 1968.<ref name="Badman">{{cite magazine|author1=Keith Badman|title=Transmission impossible - Pan's People their first incarnation|url=http://one-for-the-dads.979225.n3.nabble.com/Pans-People-pre-June-1974-tp4062102p4094076.html|magazine=Record Collector|access-date=2 June 2017}}</ref><ref name="Popscene"/>

The final performance of the Go-Jos was either to the 1910 Fruitgum Company,<ref>{{cite web|author1=Gary Rose/Linda Hotchkin|title=INTERVIEW WITH LINDA HOTCHKIN|url=http://panspeople.com/?q=node/699|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128041820/http://panspeople.com/?q=node%2F699|archive-date=28 January 2013|website=PansPeople|access-date=14 June 2017|date=18 August 2011|quote=the last song we danced to was Simon Says by 1910 Fruitgum Company|url-status=dead}}</ref> whose track was on ''Top of the Pops'' on 4 and 25 April 1968<ref name="Popscene"/> or [[the Rolling Stones]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Interview with Dolores Bourne (The Gojos)|url=http://panspeople.com/?q=node/977|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223094100/http://panspeople.com/?q=node%2F977|archive-date=23 February 2014|website=PansPeople.com|access-date=12 June 2017|quote="After joining the Gojos, I...performed on "Top of the Pops". I made my debut - and final appearance! - dancing to "Jumping Jack Flash" by the Rolling Stones. It was the last song Jo choreographed for "Top of the Pops"|url-status=dead}}</ref> transmitted on 20 June 1968.<ref name="Popscene"/> By either scenario, Pan's People were left as the sole dance troupe by July 1968.

Following the changes in the line-up during their first year,<ref name="sextet"/> Pan's People by the time of their first appearance on ''Top of the Pops'' were:<ref name="BBCi">{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/totp2/trivia/pans_people/ |title=Top of the Pops 2 - Trivia: Pan's People |publisher=BBC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140916135453/http://www.bbc.co.uk/totp2/trivia/pans_people/ |archive-date=16 September 2014 |access-date=26 July 2014}}</ref>
*Louise Clarke
*Flick Colby (dancer and choreographer)
*Babs Lord
*Ruth Pearson
*Andi Rutherford
*Dee Dee Wilde

This is often called the 'Original' line-up, though several dancers had joined the troupe subsequent to its formation.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Story of Pan's People: Why Babs, Cherry, Dee Dee & Ruth were top of the pops|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01mb3yw|website=BBC Breakfast|access-date=4 June 2017}}</ref>

In summary:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! Date !! Track/Performer !! Dancers !! Choreographer !! BBC Archive !! Notes
|-
| 4 April || Simon Says/1910 Fruitgum Company || Dee Dee Wilde, Ruth Pearson, Janice Kells, Jackie Dalton || Virginia Mason || Disc || 1st performance including Pan's People members 
|-
| 18 April || Cry Like a Baby/The Box Tops || Dee Dee Wilde, Ruth Pearson, Flick Colby || Flick Colby || Disc/Dancers || 2nd performance candidate including Pan's People members
|-
| 25 April || Simon Says/1910 Fruitgum Company || GoJos || Jo Cook || Disc ||  Final performance candidate for GoJos
|-
| 2 May || Young Girl/Gary Puckett and the Union Gap || Dee Dee Wilde, Ruth Pearson, Flick Colby || Flick Colby || Promo || 2nd performance candidate including Pan's People members
|-
| 16 May || Young Girl/Gary Puckett and the Union Gap || Dee Dee Wilde, Ruth Pearson, Flick Colby || Flick Colby || Promo || 2nd performance candidate including Pan's People members
|-
| 23 May || Young Girl/Gary Puckett and the Union Gap || Dee Dee Wilde, Ruth Pearson, Flick Colby || Flick Colby || Promo || 2nd performance candidate including Pan's People members
|-
| 30 May || US Male/Elvis Presley || Dee Dee Wilde, Ruth Pearson, Flick Colby, Andi Rutherford, Louise Clarke, Babs Lord || Flick Colby || Disc/Pan's People || 3rd performance - all Pan's People members
|-
| 20 June || Jumping Jack Flash/Rolling Stones || GoJos || Jo Cook || Disc/Dancers || Final performance candidate for GoJos
|}

'Disc' indicates the track is played with the accompanying footage either of the audience or dancers.

'Promo' indicates a video is played.

===Late 1960s and early 1970s===
Penny Fergusson briefly rejoined the group for the [[Frankie Howerd]] show (broadcast August to September 1969)<ref>{{cite web|title=Dilys Watling (centre) in 'The Frankie Howerd Show'|url=https://www.rexfeatures.com/search/?kw=frankie+howerd+1969&js-site-search_submit=Go&order=newest&iso=GBR&lkw=frankie+howerd&viah=Y&stk=N&sft=&timer=N&requester=&iprs=f|website=Rex Pictures|publisher=Rex Pictures|access-date=14 June 2017|date=1969}}</ref> when Ruth Pearson worked as a choreographer on the ''[[Dusty Springfield#1968–69: Dusty in Memphis|Decidedly Dusty]]'' TV show (broadcast September to October 1969).<ref>{{cite journal|title=Decidedly Dusty|issue=2392|pages=32|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/5a44f4c789e1447d8820a0bcbedf6e9a|journal=The Radio Times|access-date=16 June 2017|date=11 September 1969}}</ref> In both 1968 and 1969, Pearson was co-credited with Colby for choreography on some shows.<ref name="Throw"/>

Two male dancers, Adrian Le Peltier and [[Gary Downie]], also occasionally accompanied the group between 1968 and 1970, in ''[[Lulu (singer)#Television series|Happening for Lulu]]'',<ref>{{cite web|title=Pans People - Funky Street - [Happening For] Lulu TX: 01/02/1969|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkHk6rvcy10|website=Youtube|access-date=2 June 2017}}</ref> the ''Bobbie Gentry Show'' and ''Top of the Pops''.<ref>{{cite web|title=The girls one step ahead|url=http://one-for-the-dads.979225.n3.nabble.com/F-is-for-Flick-tp4062391p4131801.html|work=The Mirror|access-date=2 June 2017|date=23 June 1969}}</ref>

The group also did shows, their manager said in June 1969, "So far this year they have had 24 free days...to compensate it would be a bad week if the girls didn't pick up at least £90 each".<ref>{{cite news|title=The girls one step ahead...|url=http://one-for-the-dads.979225.n3.nabble.com/F-is-for-Flick-tp4062391p4131801.html|access-date=16 June 2017|date=23 June 1969}}</ref>
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Pans People Top of the Pops.jpg|thumb|Pan's People’ on [[Top of the Pops|Top of the pops]] when the show started to broadcast in color in 1969.]] -->
From November 1969, ''Top of the Pops'' began broadcasting in colour. Each week, from 22 January 1970 up until September 1970, the group performed a short routine during the opening credits.<ref>{{citation |title=TOTP 290170 Intro & Outro |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60hloY3G66Q |language=en |access-date=2022-09-25}}</ref> New titles were produced using Andi Rutherford as a dancer, that debuted on 1 October 1970,<ref>{{citation |title=Top of the Pops Early 1970s Opening Titles |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPeuT0CvBuc |access-date=2022-09-25}}</ref> however, this was only used for 5 editions before finally being replaced in early November by the iconic C.C.S cover version of 'Whole Lotta Love'.

The earliest known footage of Pan's People on ''Top of the Pops'' is rehearsal footage for the 1 January 1970 edition.<ref>{{cite web|title=Pan's People - 'Green River' Top of the Pops Creedence Clearwater Revival|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kob-H7a6AWY |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/Kob-H7a6AWY| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|website=Youtube|access-date=3 June 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

From 22 January 1970 the programme was extended from 25 to 45 minutes; the group appeared weekly from this point on. Also from this date, Colby as choreographer and the group began to be listed in the end credits of the programme and in ''[[Radio Times]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Top of the Pops |issue=2410 |pages=42 |url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/ffa19d2a323d4627aded630d118cd0bb |magazine=Radio Times |access-date=3 June 2017 |date=15 January 1970}}</ref>

Colby chose to concentrate full-time on choreographing the group's routines,<ref name="Girls Who Bring Glamour"/> making her last performance as a dancer in February 1972. She was not replaced, so the number of dancers reduced to five.

==Later ''Top of the Pops'' (1972 to March 1976)==

===Middle years and the 'classic' line-up===
Andi Rutherford married in December 1971;<ref>{{cite news |title=Pan Girl weds T-shirt king |url=http://www.panspeople.com/?q=comment/3571#comment-3571 |url-status=dead |date=11 December 1971 |access-date=13 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101212719/http://www.panspeople.com/?q=comment%2F3571#comment-3571 |archive-date=1 November 2012}}</ref> in September 1972 she ceased dancing due to pregnancy, managing the group till March 1973. She then left on maternity leave though she never returned, eventually forming her own troupe, Sister-matic, in 1976.<ref>{{cite web |title=Andrea Rutherford / Sister-matic: (Cliff Richard & Friends, Episode 7, 1976) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzXm5k1pAyo |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808060935/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzXm5k1pAyo |archive-date=8 August 2013 |url-status=dead |website=YouTube |access-date=2 June 2017}}</ref> She was replaced as a dancer in December 1972 by '''Cherry Gillespie''',<ref name="Girls Who Bring Glamour"/> initially appearing in the show in gift-wrapping.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pan's People: Without You / Nilsson (TOTP, 28 December 1972) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSCEgCUW2M0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309050145/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSCEgCUW2M0 |archive-date=9 March 2021 |url-status=dead |website=YouTube |access-date=2 June 2017}}</ref> Flick Colby noted that the decision to cast a new group member, and the actual decision to cast Gillespie, was a democratic one taken entirely by members of Pan's People. Outside clients, such as the producers ''Top of the Pops'', were not part of the process.

By this time the line-up was:
*Louise Clarke
*Babs Lord
*Ruth Pearson
*Dee Dee Wilde
*Cherry Gillespie

On 16 May 1974 Clarke made her last performance, dancing to R Dean Taylor's "There's a Ghost In My House", leaving Pan's People to start a family; '''Sue Menhenick''' was selected to succeed her, and made her first appearance on 6 June 1974, dancing to "Summer Breeze" by the Isley Brothers.<ref name="Girls Who Bring Glamour"/>

===Dancing on ''Top of the Pops''===
The dancers rehearsed three days a week for the show. Rehearsals began on the Monday morning prior to that week's show, with Colby scripting a routine, and a costume fitting later the same day. Rehearsals ended with a run-through a few hours before the show on the Wednesday.<ref>{{cite web |title=Top of the Pops 1974 annual |url=http://www.panspeople.freeserve.co.uk/totp1974.htm |url-status=dead |website=Pans People |access-date=15 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322144634/http://www.panspeople.freeserve.co.uk/totp1974.htm |archive-date=22 March 2012}}</ref>

However, due to ''Top of the Pops'' being a chart show, problems could arise. Pearson recalled: "We can often spend three or four days rehearsing an intricate dance routine to a certain record. Then, on the Tuesday, when the new pop charts come out, we learn that the record we're planning for the show has actually gone down in the charts, instead of up . . . so it's out. Dropped. We then have to do a completely different record number, and go on the programme with maybe only one day's rehearsal on it. This really isn't fair on us, because we are judged on our performance on screen. I'm sure viewers do not know that we've had to change the number, sometimes only a day before we do the show".<ref>{{cite web|title=Top of the Pops annual 1976|url=http://www.panspeople.freeserve.co.uk/totp1976.htm|access-date=15 June 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829061049/http://www.panspeople.freeserve.co.uk/totp1976.htm|archive-date=29 August 2012}}</ref>

===Late Pan's People===
In August 1974 the group released a double A-side record, "You Can Really Rock And Roll Me"/"The Singer Not The Song" on the Epic label<ref>{{cite web|title=Pan's People – You Can Really Rock And Roll Me|url=https://www.discogs.com/Pans-People-You-Can-Really-Rock-And-Roll-Me/release/1898860|website=Discogs|access-date=16 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Pan's People: You Can Really Rock and Roll Me (Single Release, 1974)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hnn77Qq7Fs| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140710035148/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hnn77Qq7Fs |archive-date=10 July 2014 |url-status=dead |website=Youtube|access-date=16 June 2017}}</ref> with Cherry Gillespie on lead vocal. However, it did not chart. A second single, "He's Got Magic", followed in 1975 but was again unsuccessful.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/master/894254-Pans-People-Hes-Got-Magic|title=Pan's People - He's Got Magic|website=Discogs.com|access-date=23 October 2021}}</ref>

In March 1975, '''Carolyne Argyle''' joined the group. However, she left the group that June without ever performing, because she was viewed as struggling to learn the routines in the timescales needed for the show.<ref>{{cite web |quote=The sad case of Pan's People v. the Judge's daughter|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkHk6rvcy10 |title=Pans People - Funky Street - [Happening For] Lulu TX: 01/02/1969|access-date=2 June 2017|date=6 June 1975}}</ref> Although she stated an intention to continue dancing, she ultimately had an acting career.<ref>{{cite web|title=Carolyne Argyle|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0034589/|website=IMDB|access-date=16 June 2017}}</ref>

In September 1975 Lord left<ref name="BBCi"/> (after marrying [[Robert Powell]] on 29 August), and two members joined the troupe, '''Mary Corpe''' and '''Lee Ward'''. These were the last permanent additions to the group, and briefly brought its line-up back to six members for the first time since 1972.

After planning to quit earlier in the year to coincide with her planned marriage and the unsuccessful membership of Carolyne Argyle, Dee Dee finally quit in October 1975.

''[[Blue Peter]]'' presenter '''[[Lesley Judd]]''' became a temporary member of the group for a one-off routine, dancing to "Rodrigo's Guitar Concerto De Aranjuez" by [[Geoff Love|Manuel and the Music of the Mountains]], transmitted on ''Top of the Pops'' on 12 February 1976.<ref>{{cite web|title=Pans People - Rodrigo's Guitar Concerto De Aranjuez [Theme From 2nd Movement] - TOTP TX: 12/02/1976|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wxtVxQSKvE |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/4wxtVxQSKvE| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|website=Youtube|access-date=3 June 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Rehearsals and behind-the-scenes footage of the routine were featured on ''Blue Peter''. Judd had been a dancer in the late 1960s and, as an occasional member, had appeared alongside Flick Colby, Babs Lord and Dee Dee Wilde in the Beat Girls 10 years earlier on the [[Dickie Valentine|''Dickie Valentine Show'']] and in the [[Pathé]] film ''Jetaway Getaway''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jetaway Getaway (1966)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SE3siLTGQo |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/-SE3siLTGQo| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|website=Youtube|access-date=3 June 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> She had also briefly been in the Go-Jos<ref>{{cite web|title=A Tale of Two Rivers|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2819984/|website=IMDB|access-date=3 June 2017}}</ref> and Young Generation<ref>{{cite web|title=The Young Generation Song & Dance Troupe|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzS7opwDvcs |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/qzS7opwDvcs| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|website=Youtube|access-date=3 June 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> so was in four prominent 1960s dance groups.

==The end of Pan's People (March/April 1976)==
In early 1976, the last remaining original ''Top of the Pops'' dancer, Ruth Pearson, now approaching 30, was looking to retire. At the same time Flick Colby and ''Top of the Pops'' production staff had become keen to develop a new group for the show, with both male and female dancers, and also moving away from having all dancers wearing the same costumes and performing the same moves. Ruth recalled: "Flick and I made the decision. The writing was on the wall when Dee and Babs left. I think our time had passed".<ref name="Express">{{cite news |title=Dee Dee Wilde on her Pan's People dancing days: 'We were sexy but not over the top' |url=http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/453909/Dee-Dee-Wilde-on-her-Pan-s-People-dancing-days-We-were-sexy-but-not-over-the-top |work=Daily Express |date=15 January 2014 |access-date=13 June 2017}}</ref> Senior BBC management did not have full knowledge of the intention to adopt a new group format, and later expressed disapproval of this change.

By March 1976, the replacement group for Pan's People, [[Ruby Flipper]], had been selected and began rehearsing; just two of the existing Pan's People, Sue Menhenick and Cherry Gillespie, were retained as dancers, with Ruth Pearson retiring. There was to be no role in the new group for the remaining two dancers, Mary Corpe and Lee Ward, but they continued to appear in Pan's People while the Ruby Flipper rehearsals began.

However, following the Pan's People performance transmitted on 1 April 1976, Lee Ward left the group. She was reported as saying, with regard to the change to a mixed-gender group, "It's a big mistake. Men rush home to watch sexy ladies. They do not want to see other men." Following this, Ward ended her career as a dancer.

The line-up for the final performances in April 1976 was therefore:
*Mary Corpe
*Cherry Gillespie
*Sue Menhenick
*Ruth Pearson

The final performance on ''Top of the Pops'' was on 29 April 1976, dancing to "Silver Star" by [[The Four Seasons (band)|The Four Seasons]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Pan's People – 'Silver Star' Top of the Pops Four Seasons |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXmV3BVKAYs |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/BXmV3BVKAYs |archive-date=11 December 2021 |url-status=live |website=YouTube |access-date=3 June 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The end of Pan's People went otherwise unmentioned on the show, though it marked the end both of Pearson's eight years on the show as a dancer, and Corpe's seven-month run. Corpe initially joined [[Nigel Lythgoe]]'s Young Generation, but returned to ''Top of the Pops'' for two performances in [[Zoo (dance troupe)|Zoo]] in 1982.

The following week, the mixed-gender seven-member Ruby Flipper made their first appearance on the show with Colby as choreographer, Pearson as manager, and Menhenick and Gillespie starting the performance on their own, then joined by the five new dancers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ruby Flipper – I Can't Help Falling In Love With You – Stylistics (6th May 1976)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f_626gkyng |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/0f_626gkyng| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|website=Youtube|access-date=2 June 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Participant timeline==
Most dates pre-1972 are approximate. The ''Top of the Pops'' era is denoted by the two red lines. Narrow width lines denote members not appearing on ''Top of the Pops''. The dates of Adrian LePeltier and Gary Downie performing on ''Top of the Pops'' are not known.

<timeline>
ImageSize = width:1200 height:auto barincrement:20
PlotArea = left:120 bottom:120 top:0 right:10
Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/1964 till:12/31/1976
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:3
ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:1964
ScaleMinor = unit:month increment:3 start:1974

Colors =
 id:Beat         value:green   legend:Beat_Girls
 id:Pans_People  value:red     legend:Pan's_People
 id:Tomorrow     value:blue    legend:Tomorrow's_People
 id:Ruby_Flipper value:yellow  legend:Ruby_Flipper
 id:Legs         value:orange  legend:Legs_and_Co.

 id:bars           value:gray(0.95)

BackgroundColors =  bars:bars

LineData=

 at:04/29/1976  color:red  layer:back

BarData =
 
 bar:Flick   text:Flick Colby
 bar:Babs   text:Babs Lord
 bar:Dee   text:Dee Dee Wilde
 bar:Lorelly   text:Lorelly Harris
 bar:Penny   text:Penelope Fergusson
 bar:Felicity  text:Felicity Balfour
 bar:Ruth   text:Ruth Pearson
 bar:Louise  text:Louise Clarke
 bar:Andi: text: Andi Rutherford
 bar:Adrian  text:Adrian LePeltier
 bar:Gary  text:Gary Downie
 bar:Cherry     text:Cherry Gillespie
 bar:Sue      text:Sue Menhenick
 bar:Caroline      text:Caroline Argyle
 bar:Mary    text:Mary Corpe
 bar:Lee     text:Lee Ward
 bar:Lesley     text:Lesley Judd

PlotData=

  width:15 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(15.-4)
  bar: Babs from:07/30/1964        till:12/07/1966        color:Beat
  bar: Babs from:12/08/1966        till:05/29/1968        color:Pans_People width:3
  bar: Babs from:05/30/1968        till:09/09/1975        color:Pans_People
  bar: Dee from:04/01/1966        till:12/07/1966        color:Beat
  bar: Dee from:12/08/1966        till:04/03/1968        color:Pans_People width:3
  bar: Dee from:04/04/1968        till:10/30/1975        color:Pans_People
  bar: Flick from:01/01/1966        till:12/07/1966        color:Beat
  bar: Flick from:12/08/1966        till:04/17/1968        color:Pans_People width:3
  bar: Flick from:04/18/1968        till:04/01/1972        color:Pans_People
  bar: Louise from:12/01/1967        till:05/29/1968        color:Pans_People width:3
  bar: Louise from:05/30/1968        till:05/16/1974        color:Pans_People
  bar: Andi from:03/01/1968        till:05/29/1968        color:Pans_People width:3
  bar: Andi from:05/30/1968        till:11/01/1972        color:Pans_People
  bar: Ruth from:07/30/1964        till:12/31/1965        color:Beat
  bar: Ruth from:01/01/1966        till:03/31/1967        color:Tomorrow
  bar: Ruth from:03/31/1967        till:04/03/1968        color:Pans_People width:3
  bar: Ruth from:04/04/1968        till:04/29/1976        color:Pans_People
  bar: Adrian from:03/31/1968        till:04/29/1970        color:Pans_People width:3
  bar: Gary from:03/31/1968        till:04/29/1970        color:Pans_People width:3
  bar:Sue from:06/06/1974        till:04/29/1976        color:Pans_People
  bar:Sue from:05/06/1976      till:10/14/1976        color:Ruby_Flipper
  bar:Felicity from:10/01/1966 till:11/01/1966 color:Beat
  bar:Felicity    from:12/20/1966 till:03/31/1967 color:Pans_People width:3
  bar:Lorelly    from:12/18/1966 till:03/01/1968 color:Pans_People width:3
  bar:Lorelly from:05/01/1966        till:12/17/1966        color:Beat
  bar:Penny from:05/01/1966        till:12/17/1966        color:Beat
  bar:Penny    from:12/18/1966 till:12/01/1967 color:Pans_People width:3
  bar:Penny    from:09/01/1969 till:10/10/1969 color:Pans_People width:3
  bar:Lesley    from:02/12/1976 till:02/12/1976 color:Pans_People
  bar:Sue from:10/21/1976 till:end color:Legs
  bar:Cherry from:12/17/1972        till:04/29/1976        color:Pans_People
  bar:Cherry    from:05/06/1976      till:09/30/1976        color:Ruby_Flipper
  bar:Caroline    from:03/01/1975        till:06/01/1975        color:Pans_People width:3
  bar:Lee    from:09/25/1975        till:04/01/1976        color:Pans_People
  bar:Mary   from:09/25/1975        till:04/28/1976        color:Pans_People

</timeline>

==Lineups==
{| class="toccolours" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"  style="float:width:375px; margin:0 0 1em 1em; border-collapse:collapse; border:1px solid #e2e2e2; width:99%;"
|-
!  style="vertical-align:top; background:#e7ebee; width:25%;"| Jan-Mar 1967<br /><small>First line-up - Vibrato</small>
!  style="vertical-align:top; background:#e7ebee; width:25%;"| Apr-Dec 1967<br /><small>Dickie Valentine show</small>
!  style="vertical-align:top; background:#e7ebee; width:25%;"| Dec 1967-Mar 1968<br /><small>Penny Fergusson quits as full-time member</small>
!  style="vertical-align:top; background:#e7ebee; width:25%;"| Mar 1968-Feb 1972<br /><small>Top of the Pops 'Original' line-up</small>
|-
| valign=top |
* '''Flick Colby'''
* '''Babs Lord'''
* '''Dee Dee Wilde'''
* '''Penny Fergusson'''
* '''Lorelly Harris'''
* '''Felicity Balfour'''
| valign=top |
* '''Flick Colby'''
* '''Babs Lord'''
* '''Dee Dee Wilde'''
* '''Penny Fergusson'''
* '''Lorelly Harris'''
* '''Ruth Pearson'''
| valign=top |
* '''Flick Colby'''
* '''Babs Lord'''
* '''Dee Dee Wilde'''
* '''Louise Clarke'''
* '''Lorelly Harris'''
* '''Ruth Pearson'''
| valign=top |
* '''Flick Colby'''
* '''Babs Lord'''
* '''Dee Dee Wilde'''
* '''Louise Clarke'''
* '''Andi Rutherford'''
* '''Ruth Pearson'''
|-
!  style="vertical-align:top; background:#e7ebee; width:25%;"| Sep-Oct 1969 <br /><small>Ruth on leave</small><br /><small>Frankie Howerd show with Penny Fergusson</small>
!  style="vertical-align:top; background:#e7ebee; width:25%;"| Feb - Sep 1972 <br /><small>Flick quits dancing</small>
!  style="vertical-align:top; background:#e7ebee; width:25%;"| Sep - Dec 1972 <br /><small>Perform as 4-piece after Andi leaves</small>
!  style="vertical-align:top; background:#e7ebee; width:25%;"| Dec 1972 - May 1974 <br /><small>Cherry Gillespie joins, the 'Classic' line-up</small>
|-
| valign=top |
* '''Flick Colby'''
* '''Babs Lord'''
* '''Dee Dee Wilde'''
* '''Louise Clarke'''
* '''Andi Rutherford'''
* '''Penny Fergusson'''
| valign=top |
* '''Babs Lord'''
* '''Dee Dee Wilde'''
* '''Louise Clarke'''
* '''Andi Rutherford'''
* '''Ruth Pearson'''
| valign=top |
* '''Babs Lord'''
* '''Dee Dee Wilde'''
* '''Louise Clarke'''
* '''Ruth Pearson'''
| valign=top |
* '''Babs Lord'''
* '''Dee Dee Wilde'''
* '''Louise Clarke'''
* '''Cherry Gillespie'''
* '''Ruth Pearson'''
|-
!  style="vertical-align:top; background:#e7ebee; width:25%;"| May 1974 – Sep 1975 <small><br />Sue Menhenick replaces Louise Clarke</small>
!  style="vertical-align:top; background:#e7ebee; width:25%;"| Sep - Oct 1975 <small><br />Babs retires</small><small><br />Lee & Mary join</small>
!  style="vertical-align:top; background:#e7ebee; width:25%;"| Oct 1975 - Apr 1976<small><br />Dee Dee retires</small>
!  style="vertical-align:top; background:#e7ebee; width:25%;"| Apr 1976 <small><br />Final lineup after Lee Ward quits</small>
|-
| valign=top |
* '''Babs Lord'''
* '''Dee Dee Wilde'''
* '''Sue Menhenick'''
* '''Cherry Gillespie'''
* '''Ruth Pearson'''
| valign=top |
* '''Dee Dee Wilde'''
* '''Sue Menhenick'''
* '''Cherry Gillespie'''
* '''Ruth Pearson'''
* '''Mary Corpe'''
* '''Lee Ward'''
| valign=top |
* '''Sue Menhenick'''
* '''Cherry Gillespie'''
* '''Ruth Pearson'''
* '''Mary Corpe'''
* '''Lee Ward'''
| valign=top |
* '''Sue Menhenick'''
* '''Cherry Gillespie'''
* '''Ruth Pearson'''
* '''Mary Corpe'''
|}

==Work outside ''TOTP''==
Among other television series Pan's People appeared on were:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! Year!! Months !! Show !! Channel !! Notes
|-
| 1967 || January–March || ''Vibrato'' || RTB (Belgium)|| Only known show with Felicity Balfour
|-
| 1967 || September–October || ''The Dickie Valentine Show'' || ATV || No footage survives; Colby, Lord, Wilde, Harris and Fergusson had appeared on previous series as Beat Girls
|-
| 1967 ||  || ''Hits a go-go (special)'' || SBC (Switzerland)||
|-
| 1967 ||  || ''Carousel d'ete'' || RTB/BRT (Belgium), KRO (Netherlands), Czech TV
|-
| 1968 ||  || ''Vibrato'' || RTB (Belgium)|| Pearson co-choreographs
|-
| 1968 ||  || ''Beat Beat Beat'' ||Hessischer Rundfunk (Germany)|| Pearson choreographs, only surviving footage shows Colby, Lord, Wilde dancing.
|-
| 1968 ||  || ''Golden Shot'' ||ATV|| Guest appearance
|-
| 1968 || July–August || ''The Bobbie Gentry Show'' || (BBC)<ref name="Moonlighting">{{cite web |url=http://www.panspeople.freeserve.co.uk/moonlighting.htm |title=Moonlighting |website=the Unofficial Pan's People Homepage |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322144700/http://www.panspeople.freeserve.co.uk/moonlighting.htm |archive-date=22 March 2012 |access-date=19 June 2016}}</ref> || Second BBC show after ''Top of the Pops''
|-
| 1968 || September || ''Top of the Night'' ||RTE (Ireland)|| 
|-
| 1968 ||  || ''Herman van Veen show'' || VARA (Netherlands) ||
|-
| 1968 || October || ''Beat Club special'' || Bremen Radio/TV (Germany) || Performed "[[Over Under Sideways Down]]" by the Yardbirds.
|-
| 1968 ||  || ''Go Go gig'' || RTB/BRT (Belgium) ||
|-
| 1968/9 || December–January || ''Happening for Lulu'' || BBC || No Pan's People survive, but notable for Jimi Hendrix performance on 4 January
|-
| 1969 || January–March || ''Lulu'' || BBC || Renamed continuation of ''Happening for Lulu'', included ''A Song For Europe''
|-
| 1969 ||  || ''Vibrato'' || RTB (Belgium)|| Pearson co-choreographs, Lord is assistant director and not a dancer
|-
| 1969 ||  || ''Jean Ferrat special'' || VARA (Netherlands) || Pearson co-choreographs
|-
| 1969 || May–June || ''Des O'Connor on stage'' ||ATV|| 
|-
| 1969 || June–August || ''The Bobbie Gentry Show'' || (BBC) || 
|-
| 1969 || August–September || ''The Frankie Howerd Show'' || ATV || Notable for Penny Fergusson standing in for Ruth Pearson
|-
| 1969 || November–December || ''The Price of Fame'' || (BBC)<ref name="Moonlighting"/> ||
|-
| 1970 || June || ''The Price of Fame'' || (BBC)<ref name="Moonlighting"/> ||
|-
| 1970 || December|| ''Into 1971'' || BBC || New Year's Eve special
|-
| 1971 || August || ''Knokke 1971'' || BBC || Won both the first prize and the special iPress- Award in the Golden Seaswallow competition of live television held in Knokke, Belgium in July 1971.
|-
| 1972 || April || ''Nancy Wilson'' || BBC || Nancy Wilson in cabaret from The Talk of the Town, London 
|-
| 1972 || May|| ''Glenn Campbell'' || BBC || Glenn Campbell from The Talk of the Town, London 
|-
| 1972 || August || ''Night Club'' || BBC || An international cabaret from The Talk of the Town, London 
|-
| 1973 || February–March || ''Gentry'' || BBC ||
|-
| 1973 || March || ''Frankie Howerd in Ulster'' || BBC || A concert recorded during Frankie Howerd's tour of military camps in Ulster
|-
| 1973 || April–June || ''The John Denver Show'' || BBC || Series of six shows
|-
| 1973/4 || September–January|| ''The Two Ronnies'' || BBC ||
|-
| 1974 || January–February || ''The Jack Jones show'' || BBC || Series regulars
|-
| 1974 || June–July || ''The Two Ronnies'' || BBC ||
|-
| 1974 || April || ''In Concert'' || (BBC)<ref name="Moonlighting"/> || Pan's People appeared in their own edition
|-
| 1975 || December || ''Morecambe and Wise Christmas show'' || (BBC)<ref name="Moonlighting"/> || They danced to Brenda Arnau's version of ''[[Big Spender]]'' with Morecambe & Wise posing as two new Pan's Persons.
|}

==Surviving ''Top of the Pops'' appearances==
Pan's People performed at a time when the BBC routinely wiped the videos of the ''Top of the Pops'' shows to save money on new tapes and because it was not thought that anyone would want to watch the shows again. However, organisations such as the BFI and Kaleidoscope<ref>{{cite web |title=About Kaleidoscope |url=http://www.kaleidoscopearchive.co.uk/about-kaleidoscope/ |url-status=dead |website=The Kaleidoscope Archive |access-date=19 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916183056/http://www.kaleidoscopearchive.co.uk/about-kaleidoscope/ |archive-date=16 September 2016}}</ref> have spent time searching archives and as a result many recorded dance routines have been rediscovered. More recently they have found roughly 40 lost dances on home video tapes and have extracted digital footage from the very fragile analogue tapes. Estimated video survivals by year:

:'''1968/69''' – None
:'''1970''' – 14–18 
:'''1971''' – 18
:'''1972''' – 8
:'''1973''' – 24
:'''1974''' – 23
:'''1975''' – 47
:'''1976''' – 17 (of 21)<ref>{{cite web |title=Routines that still exist and possible survivals |url=http://one-for-the-dads.979225.n3.nabble.com/TOTP-ROUTINES-THAT-STILL-EXIST-AND-POSSIBLE-SURVIVALS-tp4009910.html |website=One for the Dads |date=27 December 2012}}</ref>

==Life after ''TOTP''==
Even after their departure from ''Top of the Pops'' Pan's People were much in demand for personal appearances. Dee Dee Wilde continued to dance with and manage a new group of girls under the name `New Pan's People`: Pauline Crawford, Abigail Higgins, Patricia McSherry, Francesca Whitburn and Sarah Woollett. Also members for a short time during this period were the future Hot Gossip dancers Sarah Brightman and Carol Fletcher. In 1979, the troupe released another single ''Magic Man''/''Club Lido'' in New Zealand on the RTC label.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/6242034-Magic-Magic-Magic-Man-Club-Lido|title=Magic, Magic – Magic Man / Club Lido (1979, Vinyl)|access-date=23 October 2021|website=Discogs.com}}</ref> ''Club Lido'' was subsequently released in the UK on the GM label. It failed to chart, and was correctly predicted to be a 'miss' when it was reviewed by the panel on an edition of ''[[Juke Box Jury]]'' broadcast on 18 August 1979 on BBC1, when the group appeared as a surprise to the panel of [[Showaddywaddy|Dave Bartram]], [[Keith Chegwin]], [[Dana Rosemary Scallon|Dana]] and [[Bonnie Tyler]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/3146024-Pans-People-Club-Lido|title=Pan's People – Club Lido (1979, Vinyl)|access-date=23 October 2021|website=Discogs.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/216be6d921fa47d68c2ac02eff9e8d42|title=Broadcast - BBC Programme Index|website=Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk|access-date=23 October 2021}}</ref>

Babs Lord married actor [[Robert Powell]] and became an amateur yachtswoman and world explorer, with several trips to the [[Himalayas]], the [[Sahara]], both Poles and the jungle in [[Guyana]]. By 2013 she had visited both the [[North Pole|North]] and [[South Pole]]s. Lord was the subject of BBC's ''[[This Is Your Life (British TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'' in November 2001. She appeared on the final regular weekly edition of ''Top of the Pops'' on 30 July 2006, the only member of any of the show's dance troupes to appear in person at the recording.

Cherry Gillespie appeared with [[Roger Moore]] in ''[[Octopussy]]'' (1983), and was also in the TV series ''The Hot Shoe Show'' (1983–84);<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0404618/|title=The Hot Shoe Show|date=5 June 1983|access-date=23 October 2021|website=IMDb.com}}</ref> she sang on the album from the show.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/4421986-Wayne-Sleep-Bonnie-Langford-Cherry-Gillespie-Marian-Montgomery-And-Phil-Pickett-The-Hot-Shoe-Show|title=Wayne Sleep, Bonnie Langford, Cherry Gillespie, Marian Montgomery And Phil Pickett – The Hot Shoe Show (1983, Vinyl)|access-date=23 October 2021|website=Discogs.com}}</ref> In 1997 she appeared as a panellist on Channel Five's nostalgia quiz show ''Wowfabgroovy''.

Patricia 'Dee Dee' Wilde eventually married composer and musician [[Henry Marsh (musician)|Henry Marsh]].

Mary Corpe moved to South Africa where she teaches dance to children.

Flick Colby died of bronchial pneumonia on 26 May 2011, as a result of cancer, at the age of 65.<ref>{{cite news |title=Flick Colby, Pan's People co-founder, dies |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/may/29/flick-colby-pans-people-dies |newspaper=The Guardian |date=29 May 2011 |access-date=19 June 2016}}</ref>

Louise Clarke died of heart failure on 24 August 2012 at the age of 62.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pan's People dancer dies aged 63 |url=http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/341983/Pan-s-People-dancer-dies-aged-63 |newspaper=Daily Express |date=25 August 2012 |access-date=19 June 2016}}</ref>

In November 2013, Signum Books released the autobiography ''Pan's People: Our Story'', written by Babs Powell, Ruth Pearson, Dee Dee Wilde, Cherry Gillespie and writer Simon Barnard.

In April 2014, Babs, Sue, Dee Dee and Ruth reunited to model clothes for isme.com.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

Andi Rutherford died at the age of 68 on 3 December 2015, following a long illness.<ref name="AndreaObit"/>

Ruth Pearson died on 27 June 2017, following a battle with cancer, at the age of 70.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gibb |first=Jessica |title=Pan's People star Ruth Pearson has died at the age of 70 |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/ruth-pearson-dead-pans-people-10706175 |website=Daily Mirror |date=28 June 2017 |access-date=29 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Pan's People star Ruth Pearson dies at 70 |url=http://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/news/a831950/pans-people-ruth-pearson-dies-obituary/ |publisher=[[Digital Spy]] |date=29 June 2017 |access-date=30 June 2017}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.oneforthedads.org.uk/ One for the Dads: Discussion forum and video collection: Pan's People, Legs and Co, Ruby Flipper and others]

{{Top of the Pops}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Top of the Pops dance troupes]]
[[Category:Dance companies in the United Kingdom]]