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 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. 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 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. 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 visible today. The dancers in this line-up were:
Felicity "Flick" Colby (23 March 1946 – 26 May 2011) – member 1966–1976, of which dancer 1966–1972 Babs Lord (born 1945) – member 1966–1975 Dee Dee Wilde (born 1946) – member 1966–1975 Ruth Pearson (13 July 1946 – 27 June 2017) – member 1967–1976 and choreographer on some shows 1967–1970 Louise Clarke (3 September 1949 – 25 August 2012) – member 1967–1974 Cherry Gillespie (born 1955) – member 1972–1976
Colby was the principal choreographer of Pan's People throughout their existence.
Formation and early history
Formation from Beat Girls
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 the Netherlands.
Following numerous line-up changes, by December 1966 only two members were left who had appeared in The Beat Room, which ended in January 1965: Barbara (Babs) Lord, 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. The other members at this time were: Felicity (Flick) Colby (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 – joined in March 1966; she had attended the Elmhurst School for Dance in Surrey Lorelly Harris – joined around May 1966 Penelope (Penny) Fergusson – joined around May 1966; a former member of the Royal Ballet School.
Following an Equity-backed dispute with their management over pay rates for Dutch shows, three members, Colby, Lord and Wilde, walked out and formed a new group on 8 December 1966 in London. After considering other names, including Dionysus's Darlings they agreed on the name Pan's People, named after the Greek god Pan as the "god of dance, music and debauchery". 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, that group continued their Dutch engagements from January 1967, finally ceasing to perform in May 1968.
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, 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; however, modern-day recollections include this time though sometimes incorrectly as a continuation of the previous group.
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.
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.
Following an audition, Balfour was replaced by Ruth Pearson (1946–2017). Like Lord, Pearson was an original Beat Girls member, performing in the group until early 1966, then in a prior Beat Girls breakaway group, Tomorrow's People.
Pearson also did some of the group choreography over the first two years in the group.
The new line-up with Pearson appeared on 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.
The group were to appear in a ballet performed with the Yardbirds in December 1967, 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). In February 1968 three of Pan's People (Lord, Colby and Wilde) appeared on the West German show Beat Beat Beat with Tom Jones. 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 Bluebell Girls. She was replaced by Andrea (Andi) Rutherford (1947–2015).
Early management Colby's future husband, James Ramble, was manager, initially in partnership with promoter 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; however, the second rule was also reported later the same year as saying that marriage was not allowed until the end of 1971.
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.
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 as a weekly programme playing a selection of records from the current charts. From November 1964, Top of the Pops had an all-female dance troupe regularly appearing, the Go-Jos, formed and choreographed by another ex-Beat Girl, 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)".
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.
Early appearances by Pan's People members
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" 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), and Janice (Janie) Kells and Jackie Dalton (both later in the Young Generation). An established choreographer, Virginia Mason, arranged the dancing. 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.
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. 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 – the BBC archive indicates this track was only featured on the show on 18 April. "Young Girl" by Gary Puckett and the Union Gap – 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.
The two early performances are sometimes stated in contemporary sources as Go-Jo performances, but the Go-Jos were not involved.
Subsequently, the entire Pan's People sextet appeared in a routine set to "US Male" by Elvis Presley on 30 May 1968.
The final performance of the Go-Jos was either to the 1910 Fruitgum Company, whose track was on Top of the Pops on 4 and 25 April 1968 or the Rolling Stones, transmitted on 20 June 1968. 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, Pan's People by the time of their first appearance on Top of the Pops were: 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.
In summary: 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) when Ruth Pearson worked as a choreographer on the Decidedly Dusty TV show (broadcast September to October 1969). In both 1968 and 1969, Pearson was co-credited with Colby for choreography on some shows.
Two male dancers, Adrian Le Peltier and Gary Downie, also occasionally accompanied the group between 1968 and 1970, in Happening for Lulu, the Bobbie Gentry Show and Top of the Pops.