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  Established in 1998, Nostalgia Central is your one stop reference guide through five decades of music, movies, television, pop culture and social history

Television

1 9 7 6 - 1 9 7 7 (UK)
12 x 50 minute episodes

THE CAST

"Q" Nancy Cunard de Longchamps
Rula Lenska
Devonia "Dee" Rhodes

Julie Covington
Anna Ward

Charlotte Cornwell
Derek Huggins
Emlyn Price
Jack

Stephen Moore
Spike

Billy Murray
Stavros Kuklas

Michael Angelis
Harry Moon

Derek Thompson
Stevie Streeter

Tim Curry
Kitty Schreiber

Beth Porter
Rox

Sue Jones-Davies
Sandra

Little Nell
Ken Church 

Denis Lawson
David Maxwell 

Gregory Floy
Jeffrey Fisher 

Peter Birrel
The Angel

Trevor Ward
Sal Banducci 
Dee Christopholus
Eddie 

David Schofield
Razorblade 

Philip Sayer
Jimmy Smiles 

Ian Charleson
Maxine 

Liz Goulding
Doodlettes 

Linda Bainbridge
Leueen Willoughby
Rosita Yarboy

 

Rock Follies/Rock Follies of 77


The Rock Follies followed the fortunes of singers Dee (Julie Covington, who later went on to fame as Evita with Don't Cry For Me Argentina), Anna (Charlotte Cornwell) and Q (Rula Lenska), through the ruthless world of the music business with all it's ups and downs. 

The three girls initially meet up at a West End audition for a 1930s musical called Broadway Annie. Dee is working as a magician's assistant, Anna is a "resting" actor and 'Q' has been starring in skin flicks. 

Fate brings them together and they become The Little Ladies, dreaming of gigging at Wembley as the greatest female rock group in the world.

The Little Ladies tour Britain singing in pubs, bingo halls, discos and clubs, and when they earn an encore at Cambridge, they know their plan is working. Meanwhile, Dee picks up a groupie who becomes their roadie. 

Following a number of ups and downs, the group meet Stavros Kuklas, a Greek millionaire who has decided to diversify from shipping into rock 'n' roll. 

Stavros doesn't like their style, their look, their clothes, their songs or their arrangements - but he does like their raw material. 

He has big plans, big ideas and an image change for the girls, which results in them becoming a sensation at 'Idols' nightclub.

In the second series, Follies of '77, The Little Ladies are managed by the dynamic and splendidly outrageous Kitty Schreiber (Beth Porter), whose catchphrase is "Kray-Zee".

Hitting the recording studio, success becomes a reality for the girls as the group score on Rock Box, a TV show, with their single Welcome to the Follies of '77. And at the Electric Empire they pack in the fans. 

However, their success begins to create tensions, and Kitty has her hands full trying to paper over the cracks. The girls are briefly joined by a Welsh singer, Rox, making the group a quartet.

The Little Ladies celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee with an electrifying tour and finally make it all the way to Wembley. But as the show bit the dust, Anna discovers that her voice had been re-recorded behind her back by Dee.

This show was very hip at the time - Drugs, sex, gays, the whole seventies trip . . . and it was as exciting visually as it often was musically. Dee and Anna were the only two who could actually sing but Q looked fantastic! 

The original Rock Follies series aired between February 24th and March 30th, 1976. The Follies of '77 series aired between May 4th and June 8th, 1977.

Two albums of surprisingly good music from the series were released. The songs on the albums were;

Sugar Mountain Good Behaviour Stairway   Daddy Lamplight The Road Glenn Miller Is Missing  Biba Nova Talking Pictures Hot Neon Roller Coaster Rock Follies

Follies of '77 Struttin' Ground   Round 1 The Hype   Dee's Hype The Things You Have To Do  The Band That Wouldn't Die Wolf At The Door Loose Change Jubilee OK? Real Life.

A few years after The Rock Follies ended, the Americans attempted to recreate the success with Three Girls Three. It was described as "a variety show about the lives of three cabaret-style singers". It did not translate well and was a flop.

EPISODES
The Show Business | The Little Ladies | The Road | The Talking Pictures | The Pounds Sterling | The Blitz 

The Band Who Wouldn't Die | The Empire | The Hype | The Loony Tunes | The Divorce | The Real Life