Ruby Flipper
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Ruby Flipper were a mixed-race, mixed-sex dance troupe who performed dance routines to songs in the UK Singles Chart on the BBC television series Top of the Pops between May and October 1976.
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[edit] Members
The original Ruby Flipper line-up consisted of four female dancers and three male dancers:
- Lulu Cartwright
- Cherry Gillespie
- Philip Haigh (sometimes credited as Philip Steggles)
- Patti Hammond
- Susan "Sue" Menhenick
- Floyd Pearson
- Gavin Trace
They made their TOTP debut on 6th May 1976, performing a dance routine to The Stylistics's version of "Can't Help Falling In Love".
[edit] How Ruby Flipper came about
The troupe were a direct replacement for Pan's People, who appeared on the show on a regular basis for eight years. After Pan's People decided to give up their slot on Top of the Pops, Flick Colby decided to put together a different form of dance troupe; in an era when disco music was starting to proliferate the charts and the discotheques, and other dance troupes such as The Young Generation included mixed line-ups, she decided that the new group would feature both male and female dancers.
Flick, along with her colleague Ruth Pearson who co-managed the troupe, decided on the name "Ruby Flipper" for the new troupe, a supposed combination of the names of the two managers. They invited former Pan's People members Cherry and Sue to join as part of the new TOTP dance troupe.
[edit] The end of Ruby Flipper
However, reaction to the new troupe both within and outside the BBC was less favourable to their replacements. It was suggested that Top of the Pops viewers did not appreciate watching a young black man dancing with a white girl, a mentality which was assumed to be held more by figures within the Corporation than the actual audience.
Additionally, Ruby Flipper were often called upon to perform two routines on the show, and the increased demand took its toll on some members of the troupe. Gavin Trace left the line-up in July 1976, shortly followed by Cherry Gillespie. Following her departure from TOTP, Cherry Gillespie continued her dancing career, appearing on television and stage shows, and also pursued an acting career. Shortly before her last appearance on TOTP, Cherry performed a memorable solo dance routine to Dorothy Moore's "Misty Blue" on 24th June 1976.
As 1976 drew to a close, Flick Colby and Ruth 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..
[edit] Life after TOTP
The two male dancers in the final line-up, Floyd and Philip, continued their dancing careers. Floyd was invited back to dance on TOTP for at least three routines, along with Legs & Co., in routines to Andrew Gold's "Lonely Boy" on 14 April 1977, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John's "You're the One That I Want" on 25 May 1978 and Sylvester's "(You Make Me Feel) Mighty Real" on 21 September 1978. Until 1981 and the introduction of Zoo, the resident TOTP dance troupe would remain exclusively female.
The three remaining female dancers, Sue, Patti and Lulu, became part of the line-up for Legs & Co., who made their debut the week after Ruby Flipper's last performance. Indeed, Sue, Patti and Lulu remained as part of the resident TOTP dance troupe until October 1981.
