Ruth on 'Top of the Pops'
A tribute to the much-loved Ruth's appearances on the show, beginning with one of her last routines, Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To?) by Diana Ross:
A sad close-up but a good one:
Broadcast 15th April 1976, when Brotherhood of Man were #1 with Save Your Kisses for Me.
Not her usual cheerful self, unfortunately, but this is one of the clearest Pan's People videos online. I think I will buy the 41 Performances DVD on eBay later, in the hope that they're all better quality versions than those uploaded to YouTube.
What are your favourite memories of Ruth on Top of the Pops? Sadly, a lot of the surviving images are unclear so I'm probably more haunted than 'nostalgic' (only been a fan since July). From my point of view, the Green River rehearsal is dominated by Andrea but Ruth is singled out for a couple of seconds and I love seeing the effort she puts into this particular move.
I don't think that would make a good capture but I have attempted, without success, another favourite moment - when she hugs the snowman in the Christmas Barbados. That and a close-up in Stoney End are frustratingly blurred.
Earlier on, I watched Until You Come Back to Me for the first time. Emotional viewing (it usually is when Louise is involved). Like You're So Vain, it's only available as a black-and-white telerecording so I'm having problems finding clips of acceptable quality to capture.
Nevertheless, I will try my best with the breathtaking Make It with You routine for my next post.
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Where are the Rurh fans?
Thanks Cornershop, for taking the time to do that.
It wasn't so long ago that the main contributors here (in our .net days) were largely Rurh fans!
Where are you all now?!
Sadly pastpanfan has not been too well lately, and will hopefully be able to return next Spring, so he'll certainly appreciate this thread!
Stunning Ruth Captures
Well done once again to Cornershop with his wonderful screencaps, lovely pictures of Ruth, always good to see new screencaps from both Cornershop and Andy.
Beautiful Ruth
So Wonderful seeing these Gorgeous Pics of Dreamy Ruth on here. Ruth along with Louise have always been my fave Pan's Ladies. I love her smile, eyes, hair, body and just everything about her. Ruth always seems to me to have a kind of shyness too that is so sweet. Do any other Ruth fans see the shyness in Ruth as I do?
Yes mojo's one if the other
Yes mojo's one if the other Ruth fans. Haven't seen him about lately. Hope he'll pop back before long!
Ruth
Still here ! Have been having problems with scanner/printer as I have a picture that I want to post. Never toomany pictures of Ruth. on a different topic , I loved Legs dance to Portsmouth, so light on their feet.
mojo
Great Dance
Hi Mojo,
Yes, that was a great dance, I enjoyed it, they settled into TOTP very quickly.
Ruth and Mary Screen
Ruth and Mary in the snow in skimpy bikinis
I Overlooked This One
Nice capture, Somehow I overlooked this one.
Ruth, my fav Pan's, it was a
Ruth, my fav Pan's, it was a shame she didnt get as much camara time as the other girls but by the time of their last line up she got more attention.
Ruth in 'Make It with You' - Part 1
Thank you for your replies. Ruth was very prominent in this routine, TOTP FAN, with enough close-ups to guarantee a two-part tribute.
I've tried my hardest to capture the best moments as clearly as possible, and managed to get acceptable close-ups of all the girls, but really wish there was a higher quality version available. I'd gladly do it all over again.
Before I post the first image, a link to a slightly different one of Ruth, featuring a peek-a-boo appearance from Dee Dee (open in another window, please):
Better version, but with Dee Dee sadly-obscured, as well as Babs:
I'd love to know who the psychedelic-inspired set designer was. Lovely colours:
A Vanessa Redgrave-like plea to stop taking pictures?:
Broadcast 3rd September 1970, when Elvis Presley's The Wonder of You was No. 1.
I think I'm right in saying that Make It with You was rediscovered earlier this year; a home video recording that was uploaded to YouTube. I don't think I've ever seen a group of women look more beautiful than this and knowing it's more than 40 years ago is impossible for me to accept. Anything that was shot on video in that era (Late 1960s/Early 70s) stills looks new - and Live:
('Make It with You' - Bread)
Great Screencaps
Lovely captures of Ruth, she looks GORGEOUS.
Found recording
I didn't realise this routine was only recently recovered. What a great find from a sparse period of recorded history.
I too really love the psychedelic designs and colours.
Ruth in 'Make It with You' - Part 2
Thanks again. Maybe the set designer was Ken Lawson? He died in 2008 and has an obituary here:
http://menmedia.co.uk/southmanchesterreporter/news/s/1051755_tributes_for_top_of_the_pops_ken
(The South Manchester Reporter: Tributes for 'Top of the Pops' Ken)
A very difficult choice, as there are a lot of good shots of Ruth in this performance, but I eventually chose these three to complete the post:
Eventually, I hope to create web albums with more solo images of the girls (not forgetting Floyd and Philip), and others for the routines themselves.
Thanks for taking the trouble
Thanks for taking the trouble to do all these, Cornershop. Ruth looks great, I think the patterns suit her very well!
Ruth in 'Theme from The Persuaders'
I have this as an extra on The Persuaders box set and don't recall having any interest, let alone feelings, for the girls when I first saw the promo, in 2007. I did think it a striking and clever film, however.
If this was half an hour, no doubt I would have wanted to know more about Pan's People but even this cool routine wasn't enough for me at the time. Still can't believe I barely paid attention to them for 40 years.
Here's Ruth with Louise (far left) and Andrea in the white Rolls Royce:
Not as "cool" as she appears. A few nervous blinks when that window goes up!
At the casino with Dee Dee (and a just about visible Louise):
We've yet to establish the precise date this was broadcast.
In the sequence, towards the end, where they each hold up a playing card, Ruth is the only one whose face isn't properly seen. Actually, they all walk past the camera in a blur but it is possible to tell who's who if you pause the picture. In order of appearance, they are Babs, Dee Dee, Ruth, Andrea, Flick and Louise:
Pan's People: Persuader's Theme (Promo, January 1972)
Ruth's blink
Yes, I noticed that nervous blink too!
Persuaders Promo
Totally agree Cornershop. The Persuaders promo is such a cool routine. I was in two minds about buying the Persuaders box set until I read that this was an extra on it! I think the Pan's girls especially Ruth have curves that look good in suit trousers!! The Pan's girls just look so cool in the promo. This must have been bought up on this wonderful site somewhere but as anyone noticed that Bab's cigar turns into a cigarette?!
Bloopers
i never noticed that Si: have to pay closer attention!
I suppose unlike the TOTP routines, this would be a multi take item, so scope for 'discontinuities' to get in.
Broadcast:
20th January 1972
More Ruth from Bread routine
Sllghtly different ones
Oh dear...
[Edited to show images]
Click to enlarge.
Original message:
Can't seem to get the hang of displaying images! I used the icon and rescaled them, the preview didn't show them although they were visible in the edit window. Never mind, here are the URLs:-
http://i43.tinypic.com/wv8ymf.jpg
http://i41.tinypic.com/33o0c2u.jpg
http://i42.tinypic.com/iei5nk.jpg
Si wrote:
Si wrote:
"So Wonderful seeing these Gorgeous Pics of Dreamy Ruth on here. Ruth along with Louise have always been my fave Pan's Ladies. I love her smile, eyes, hair, body and just everything about her. Ruth always seems to me to have a kind of shyness too that is so sweet. Do any other Ruth fans see the shyness in Ruth as I do?"
Firstly welcome to the site, Si: good to see you posting!
Let's hear from the Ruth fans! Most of the regulars here in our .net days were Ruth fans. Hope some are still about!
Ruth Bread Routine Captures
Wow. I think I'm dreaming!! Love those captures of Ruth on the Bread routine. Thanks PP4ever. I'm finding it hard to take my eyes away from them!
Ruth in 'Everything's Tuesday' - Part 1
This song wasn't as familiar to me as Chairmen of the Board's other big hits, Give Me Just a Little More Time (another Pan's People routine) and You've Got Me Dangling on a String.
But I've grown to like it purely because of the girls' charm and perfect chemistry. Lovely to watch. Still find the costumes a bit odd, however. Floppy hats and 'pantaloons', I think A bit like those Victorian bathing suits.
Ruth is the only one to have a good close-up. After this brief solo sequence she blends in with the others. The third capture here is the image that stuck in the mind before today's screencapping session, but I found some interesting shots along the way:
Broadcast 25th February 1971, when George Harrison was
#1 with My Sweet Lord . Yet another Pan's People routine.
Everythings Wonderful There Cornershop
Thanks for adding those Cornershop, this is my 2nd all time favourite Pans People routine, please if you could include more from this routine with some of the other members, I think they all looked so elegant and lovely, great captures of lovely Ruth.
Ruth in 'Everything's Tuesday' - Part 2
I hope we get to see a clearer version in the not-too-distant future:
Everything's Tuesday / Chairmen of the Board (TOTP, 25th February 1971)
More Please
Thanks Cornershop,
This is one of my favourite Pans People routines, I would love to see more screencaps of the girls from this routine, I love their 1970s Floppy Hats and their lovely long hair and what a cute dance.
Thanks!
That's one of the routines still missing in my collection (I'm not really into Youtube quality), so a big thank you from me too for posting those lovely screen grabs.
Great photos of Ruth.Thanks
Great photos of Ruth.Thanks for them.She was dancing & looking utterly magnificent by 1976 shame she didn't continue on in Ruby Flipper.
Ruth in 'Get Down'
Thanks for your kind words. A Happy Easter to you all, and especially to darling Ruth:
Broadcast 25th December 1973, when Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody was No.1.
Only one close-up in this routine but it's among my favourite captures of her.
Ruth in 'Ain't No Sunshine'
An even briefer close-up of Ruth, again towards the end of the routine:
With Andrea. Not happy with how this has turned out, but if there's a better version ...
Broadcast 14th September 1972, when Slade were #1 with Mama Weer All Crazee Now
Unhappily, those yellow flashes appear throughout this great routine:
Pan's People: Ain't No Sunshine / Michael Jackson
Peak Position: #8
I'm sure it's a home video recording from a lost show. Two other performances from this edition exist elsewhere - Sweet's Wig Wam Bam and Children of the Revolution by T. Rex.
Ruth captures.
As one of the prime Ruth fans panfan talked about earlier, 'back in the old ,net days' (and before that)..I well appreciate all these pics of Ruth here.
A video I'd love to see in good condition, is my favourite with Ruth in, the one with Aretha Franklin 'Thats all Im Gonna Do' or is it 'Until You Come back To me'...I tell you, the way she looks there, those eyes....I'd die a happy man!! ;-)
Even though 'down down' by Status Quo is the holy grail (unless things have changed), somehow I dont think theres any Ruth video could compare with this Aretha franklin one, for sensuality, plus its damn good music...Tamla Motown and soul seemed to bring out some great moves and looks from the Pans members, I reckon.
So, that would be my request...some stunning pics of Ruth from that video, or decent video of that routine. Your karma would be assured for eternity cornershop !!
In pandom,
pastpanfan
Ruth in (inferior copies of) 'Until You Come Back to Me'
I can't improve on these I'm afraid, pastpanfan. As far as I know, the only available version of the full routine is a black-and-white telerecording.
This is actually clearer than the colour excerpt shown in a Pan's People compilation (about 47 seconds in, after Elvis Presley's Promised Land).
From the 4 DVD Collector's Set:
The colour version, fromYouTube:
After I cropped the pictures I noticed the colour screencaps are wider. Not sure which is the more accurate. Ideally, I want all of them to be the same size so this storyboard looks a bit of a mess. I think both sets match pretty well, however:
'Until You Come Back to Me' in colour and black-and-white (Picasa album)
I do know that the final one of Babs, Louise and Cherry IS an identical image.
Missing from that selection is this capture of Ruth from a few seconds later:
That's probably the best shot of her. If only I had the proper version to work with.
For all it's worth ...
Broadcast 14th March 1974, when Alvin Stardust was No. 1 with Jealous Mind.
Now you know why Theme from Mahogany was my first choice. Very depressed about the state of these copies. It is indeed a "classy" routine and deserved a kinder fate. Imagine what that Collector's Set would be like if they were all as intended.
As for Ruth, I've read that she's a big fan of Aretha Franklin and understand why she couldn't help herself when singing along to the record. Most charming! It wouldn't surprise me if this was her favourite routine, and the introduction her happiest moment.