Tag Archives: Pan’s People

Pan’s People – Island Girl

By youngmistergrace | Published: October 16, 2022

TOTP 16 October 1975: Rehearsal footage of Pan’s People dancing to Elton John’s Island Girl.

Dubbed Sound version:

Original rehearsal footage:

From the old blog, Friday, 12 August 2011:

Katy miss queenie requested this routine a while ago: I didn’t have it, but beautifulbabs pointed me to this YouTube video, which I think was uploaded by our good friends over at panspeople.com. It’s a recording of a TOTP rehearsal (PP appear around the 3:57 mark), and while it’s fascinating stuff, the performance itself is hampered by audio from the studio gallery drowning out ole’ Reg Dwight.

So at katy miss queenie’s suggestion, I’ve dubbed audio from the original record, to get a better idea of the performance. That’s meant a further slight degradation of video quality, which wasn’t to great to start with, but it seems like the best we can get. Unless of course, someone out there has a better quality version.

comments:

PattiforPM said…

Excellent work YMG. I thought only HLPR could do this kind of clever stuff around here. Can’t believe the actual performance was any better except for the colours.

12 August 2011 22:18

Suefan said…

Yes well done YMG, much better without the PA chatter. Always the gent P4pm but it looks a little rough around the edges to me. Some of those girls at the back of the class aren’t paying proper attention and mistress Flick will be on their case if they are not careful!

12 August 2011 22:29

mojo2007 said…

Could we also have the original sounds, so I can try out what the various instruction mean. thank you

16 August 2011 21:58

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Pan’s People – Close to You

By youngmistergrace | Published: October 15, 2022

Top of the Pops 15 October 1970: Pan’s People dance to The Carpenters’ Close to You.

From the old blog, Tuesday, 24 May 2011:

Don’t panic: there’s no sound for the first few seconds of this clip, so we don’t get to hear Tony Blackburn’s introduction. No doubt he was his usual brain-dead showbiz zombie self: look at the forced, fixed grins on the audience members around him.

Anyway, here are Pan’s People auditioning to play the Bennett sisters in Pride & Prejudice, as they dance to The Carpenters’ Close To You.

comments:

Miss Peelpants said…

Never mind their costumes, the girl to the right of Mr Blackburn is wearing the most AMAZING Ossie Clark dress and I want to jump into the video and nab it…
24 May 2011 12:22

Some Guy said…

Miss P, do you mean the girl who wearing the horrible green thing. I reckon youd look better in the black outfit that the Young Carol Vorderman lookalike is wearing !
24 May 2011 17:07

PattiforPM said…

Well I looked horrid in all that turn of the 70s gear myself! Anyway this is a nice routine, easy listening and easy watching too.
24 May 2011 18:44

Suefan said…

Thank you bucksby, so nice to watch a Pans routine I’d never seen before. Another that features Andi has to be a real treat, although how can anybody choose from amongst these sisters as they are all so elegant and poised. Miss FC should also take a bow for her classy routine. How she would have graced one of those flowing dresses herself.
24 May 2011 22:06

carl said…

this was 5 years before I was even born so the audience in this clip will be about my mums age and drawing their pensions really hard to believe! This is the only full colour show from 1970 that still exists sadly. I hadn’t even heard of Ossie Clark before so I googled his name and found out about him. You learn something every day 🙂
24 May 2011 22:41

Miss Peelpants said…

There’s nothing horrible about it, I would kill to own it! 😉
Here’s a photo of Charlotte Rampling wearing it in blue.
25 May 2011 13:27

Update 2022:

Miss Peelpants picture link is long dead, but I assume she’s talking about this picture:

Charlotte Rampling

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Pan’s People – Ghetto Child

By youngmistergrace | Published: October 11, 2022

Top of the Pops, 11 October 1973
Pan’s People dance to Ghetto Child by the Detroit Spinners.

Kenny Everett introduces a fairly subdued performance from Pan’s People, in burgundy-red flared jumpsuits.

American readers might find the band’s name here confusing: called simply “The Spinners” at home (and in the rest of the world too, I expect), their name had to be expanded to “The Detroit Spinners” in the UK, to avoid confusion with our home-grown, woolly-jumpered, blood-giving Scouse Folkies.

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Pan’s People – Back Stabbers

By youngmistergrace | Published: October 5, 2022

Top of the Pops, 5 October 1972:
Pan’s People dance to Back Stabbers by The O’Jays.

From the conversation over on the discussion forum, this clip seems to be a rehearsal recording rather than the broadcast performance, which doesn’t seem to have survived: notice the lack of a studio audience, for instance.

Still it’s good to have even this imperfect version to enjoy.

Thanks to Andee Bee for the YouTube post.

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Pan’s People – You Little Trustmaker

By youngmistergrace | Published: October 4, 2022

Top of the Pops, 4th October 1974: Pan’s People dance to You Little Trustmaker by The Tymes.

From the old blog, Sunday, 3 November 2013:

Time for another upgrade: my previous post of this routine was from a UK Gold VHS recording. Here’s a nice sharp Einsfestival digital broadcast version. Pan’s People on Top Of The Pops: October 4th 1974, dancing to the Thymes’ You Little Trustmaker.

comments:

Some Guy said…

Never tire of watching this. Awesome performance, all five girls put on a great display and look very sexy.
3 November 2013 11:59

alghero7 said…

Was this Sue’s debut with PP?
Whatever her trademark insouciance still shines through.
9 February 2014 13:35

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Pan’s People – It’s Better to Have (and Don’t Need)

By youngmistergrace | Published: September 27, 2022

Top of the Pops, 27 September 74:
Pan’s People dance to It’s Better to Have (and Don’t Need) by Don Covay

Thanks to an anonymous donor, here’s another fine vintage Pan’s People routine, with the dancers all looking relaxed and well-rehearsed.

Don Covay is more of a critics’ favourite than a huge crowd pleaser, but he’s probably my personal top soul singer of the sixties and seventies.

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Pan’s People – Nutbush City Limits

By youngmistergrace | Published: September 20, 2022

Top of the Pops 20 September 1973: Pan’s People dance to Ike & Tina Turner’s Nutbush City Limits

A fine flamboyant hair-shaking hip-swiveling perfomance to one of the classic pop songs about the frustrations of parochial life in a small town, from Nutbush Tennessee‘s most famous child, Annie Mae Bullock.

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Pan’s People – Machine Gun

By youngmistergrace | Published: September 19, 2022

Top of the Pops, 20 September 1974: Pan’s People dance to Machine Gun by The Commodores.

From a generous, anonymous donor, here’s another rare classic routine. Pan’s people, in one-piece white bell-bottom outfits, dancing to The Commodore’s first hit, a spirited instrumental.

Noel Edmonds, usually a practitioner of terrible puns, actually manages a reasonable play on words in his introduction.

Many thanks to my anonymous donor.

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Pan’s People – Tap Turns On The Water

By youngmistergrace | Published: September 16, 2022

Top of the Pops, 16 September 1971:
Pan’s People dance to Tap Turns On The Water by CCS.

Watch on sendvid | streamable | google drive

I had posted a version of this rare Pan’s People treat on the old blog: but as many people remarked, there were audio/video synching problems with it. Soon I was sent this properly synched version from a different source.

Pan’s People are dancing in a grand victorian palace of industry, which I thought at first was Battersea Power Station (being the ignorant provincial I am): but “OB” (aka Albert Trinker) soon put me right:

Turns out they’re in the Kempton Park pumping station. You can see the huge Engine No. 6 that they’re dancing on/in front of here.

Steam power and PP! Ticks so many boxes! 🙂

OB (aka Albert!)

I’m grateful to the generous donor who sent this clip, but I can’t remember if they had asked to remain anonymous or not. Please get in touch if you want to by credited by name.

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Pan’s People – Another Saturday Night

By youngmistergrace | Published: September 13, 2022

Pan’s People dance to Cat Stevens’ hit cover of Sam Cooke’s Another Saturday Night, 13 September 1974.

It’s takes a lot of chutzpah to cover a Sam Cooke song: your performance will always be compared with the master’s original. But Cat Stevens just about gets away with it.

The dancers’ performances and outfits are surprisingly jolly, given the sad edge to the lyrics subject matter: but I’m not complaining: it’s always nice to see them get the chance to goof around a little.

Many thanks to my anonymous donor for this excellent routine.

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