For the uninitiated (and, if so, how? Why?.. Please acquaint yourself with some of my favourite performances below.) Legs & Co were a dance troupe on the BBC’s Top of the Pops from 1976-1981. They followed on from the short-lived Ruby Flipper, and also from the legendary Pan’s People. Formed and choreographed by original Pan’s Person Flick Colby, Sue Menhenick (seen here second from the right) was the only member of all three troupes.
Scanned by Miss Peelpants from 19 Magazine, September 1978.
Legs and Co
You may, or may not, have noticed that I frequently post scans of favourite underwear shoots on this here blog. I aspire to the level of lounging glamour demonstrated by ladies of the past; no tracksuits or slankets chez Miss Peelpants – oh no no no… I also feel as limited and uncomfortable in a lot of modern underwear as I do in a lot of modern clothing, so it seems only logical to buy and wear vintage pieces.
Grace Coddington
So I am delighted to announce the launch of Loungerie at Vintage-a-Peel. The name is inspired by a spread from Honey Magazine which I posted a while back, and the stock is inspired by all my very favourite underwear photoshoots and saucier source material I may encounter. If vintage underwear isn’t your thing, that’s totally understandable, but for anyone else – I do hope you find something to tempt you (and your lover…).
Jane Birkin
And with names like Ossie Clark, Janice Wainwright, Rudi Gernreich, Bruce Oldfield and Janet Reger, this is certainly no ordinary lingerie section!
Bruce Oldfield for Charnos
Ossie Clark for Charnos
Janice Wainwright for Golden Charm
Rudi Gernreich for Exquisite Form
Janet Reger
St Michael
Charnos
Charnos
…for providing me with the only Christmas songs I can deal with, aside from certain carols. I can’t even take the Nutcracker suite due to extreme over-familiarity. So the only ones I can really bear are from the Seventies. I’m not anti-Christmas, I am merely anti-schmaltz.
Plus bonus Legs and Co Christmas routine to ‘Funky Town’. I would like a fairy dressed like them on top of my Christmas tree, as would, I suspect, most men…
This is actually one of my most favourite things in the whole world right now. When I found it the other day, I texted Mr Brownwindsor to gloat that I had found the best LP ever. I still stand by that statement, although with adjustment to the best LP cover ever. Because the songs contained swing from sublime to ridiculous; from Roxy Music to Phil Collins, from The Teardrop Explodes to Bucks Fizz.
I love the haute Eightiesness; the hair, the bacofoil clothes, the clumsy crotch shots, the make-up, the headbands! Absolutely the best £1 I’ve ever spent.
(for the uninitiated, Legs and Co were Flick Colby‘s follow up to Pan’s People and Ruby Flipper…)
As a great lover of milk, peanut butter, cream and raisins (and as a complete sucker for being sold something through the medium of vintage glamour and sex) I feel I must try this drink soon. I wonder if I can insert some rum somewhere along the way as well?
Advert from 1979.
It’s one of those slightly lost concepts, which must seem bizarre to modern eyes. The government protecting and promoting a basic product like milk or eggs, without it being for a particular brand? Madness! My godfather even worked for the Milk Marketing Board, which is now sadly defunct (although The Dairy Council still exists). I still covet a replacement set of ‘Gotta Lotta Bottle’ glasses, which were a staple part of my childhood. Needless to say, all the heavy advertising must have worked well on my impressionable young mind, because I still drink far too much of the stuff.
Hunting around for an example advert, I discovered that the gorgeous Legs and Co were in one and, of course, I simply have to post it here.
Flick Colby, genius choreographer and creator of my beloved Pan’s People, Ruby Flipper and Legs & Co. dance troupes, has very sadly lost her battle with cancer at the age of 65. As with so many creative legends, the real tribute is in their body of work – and what a body of work Flick had! Here are some favourite photos and performances (Flick’s own performances, prior to bowing out from the dancing, are limited because of the BBC’s wanton destruction of their archives in the Seventies). Rest in peace, beautiful lady.
Liz Eggleston 