THE 1990S SAW THE RISE OF LAP DANCING IN BRITAIN. STRIPTEASE WENT FROM STAG NIGHT, TO EVERY NIGHT, AS GIANT CORPORATIONS OPENED STRIP CLUBS UP AND DOWN THE COUNTRY, OFFERING NAKED GIRLS AS ENTERTAINMENT – HAVING MEN PAY FOR THE FANTASY OF SEX BUT NEVER, EVER GIVING THEM THE REAL THING.
Dancers on stage pan to light – MJP film
THIS FILM TELLS THE BEHIND-THE-SCENES STORY OF HOW LAP DANCING CONQUERED BRITAIN
Shots Peter, Stringfellow, Whitehead, Gray
FOR THE FIRST TIME, WE CAN REVEAL THE MEN WHO STARTED IT ALL, AND SHOW HOW THEIR PERSONAL RIVALRIES SHAPED THE BUSINESS
Dancer on stage
Magnifying glass "word Spearmint"
IT IS A BIG MONEY STORY OF BACKROOM DEALS, CORPORATE SPIES, AND DIRTY TRICKS.
Peter Stringfellow
I suppose you could say that it was a secret war between myself and Spearmint Rhino. It was a war I didn’t want.
A WAR THAT TURNED THE ALLURE OF SEX, INTO AN INDUSTRY
Cabaret girl
80s blinds swiped
Manacled man
Woman hand & lower body
Machine prints nude calendars
Internet images
Lad Mags flick
Lap Dancer on stage
IN THE 1980S, THANKS TO ADVERTISING AND MUSIC VIDEOS, SEX HAD BECOME A MAINSTREAM PART OF BRITISH CULTURE. BUT IN THE 90S SOMETHING NEW HAPPENED. SEX WENT COMMERCIAL, AS EVER MORE INGENIOUS WAY WERE FOUND TO PACKAGE AND SELL IT.
AGAINST A BACKDROP OF INTERNET PORN AND THE RISE OF LAD MAGS, A NEW KIND OF STRIPPING EMERGED – LAP DANCING MADE ITS CREATORS MILLIONS.
FOR DECADES, THIS IS WHAT STRIPTEASE IN BRITAIN USED TO LOOK LIKE.
A HIDDEN WORLD CONFINED TO THE BASEMENTS OF SOHO
WHERE RESPECTABLE MEN FEARED TO TREAD.
BY THE 1990S, STRIPTEASE WAS STILL A SMALLTIME BUSINESS – AS FOOTAGE FROM AN UNDERCOVER REPORTER REVEALS.
GIRLS GOT PAID BY TAKING A PINT GLASS TO CUSTOMERS, UNDRESSING FOR COINS IN SPIT-&-SAWDUST PUBS UP AND DOWN THE COUNTRY.
Business men with case
BUT SOMETHING WAS ABOUT TO CHANGE ALL OF THAT.
A FEW BUSINESSMAN REALISED THAT IF ATTITUDES TO SEX COULD BE SHIFTED, THERE WAS A LOT MORE MONEY TO BE MADE THAN PENNIES IN A PINT POT.
ACROSS ENGLAND, NEWSREADERS WARNED A CHANGE WAS HEADING OUR WAY.
Blackpool strip club opening archive
The American style attraction involves scantily clad women dancing erotically close to customers
Montage American-style lap dancers
You’re unbelievable
MUSIC- "unbelievable – EMF"
SO WHO HAD BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR TURNING BRITISH MEN INTO VOYEURS?
MEET THE MAN WHO INVENTED LAP DANCING:
Michael J Peter
My name is Michael J Peter. I am the creator the founder some say the godfather of the gentlemen’s club concept that was born here in the US in the early 1970s.
MUSIC – Best disco in Town
HE’D STARTED OUT RUNNING DISCOS – BUT REALISED A ROOM FULL OF UNDRESSED WOMEN COULD PULL A BIGGER CROWD THAN AN ORDINARY NIGHTCLUB. MICHAEL J PETER GAVE BIRTH TO A MULTI-BILLION POUND INDUSTRY WHEN HE CHANGED THE RULES OF STRIPPING.
Michael J Peter
To give the customers an experience so we could replace the discotheque concept we had to a girl to the customer. We had them dancing at the table. It was originally termed table side dancing so they were not just tipping a one dollar bill for the girl on stage, and that was the only opportunity tot make money.
BY HAVING A GIRL FOR EACH TABLE, AND MAKING THE CUSTOMER PAY FOR IT, MICHAEL J PETER TURNED NUDITY INTO A MONEY MAKING MACHINE.
Michael J Peter
We created a system that could support 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 700, a 100 girls
BY 1990, TABLE DANCE HAD BUILT MICHAEL J PETER A 25-CLUB EMPIRE, PROMOTED BY SOFT-CORE VIDEOS THAT SANG THE PRAISES OF HIS PLAYBOY LIFESTYLE.
Archive of MJP on Yacht
"So on the Solid Gold Yacht I sail with MJP."
MICHAEL J PETER LED A LIFE OF EXCESS – BUT THERE WAS ONE THING HE REALLY WANTED:
A CLUB IN NIGHTLIFE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD, MANHATTAN.
Manhattan skyline
THERE WAS ANOTHER VETERAN OF THE DISCO ERA, WHO HAD EXACTLY THAT.
Exterior Stringfellow club
ITN Stringfellow kissed by girls on both cheeks
BRITAIN’S KING OF CLUBS, PETER STRINGFELLOW, HAD GONE TO AMERICA TO OPEN A CHAIN OF DISCOTHEQUES, STARTING OUT IN THE BIG APPLE.
STRINGFELLOW
Hey I’m I’m just gunna build you the best club New York had ever seen. Ummm. OK. A bit cocky, but there you go.
BUT THE GOOD TIMES WEREN’T TO LAST. WHEN THE AMERICAN ECONOMY WENT INTO RECESSION, STRINGFELLOW’S BUSINESS COLLAPSED. HIS DISCOTHEQUES IN NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES AND MIAMI WERE LOSING MONEY, AND HE WAS IN NEED OF CHEERING UP.
I/v from ITN of Stringfellow
So one night a very good friend of mine came into the club.
He said to me, his name was Carlos, umm, "Peter, you look a bit depressed I wanna take you to a club, come on. cheer you up"
Stringfellow sync ITN
I said "just a minute, the way you are describing it, you mean it’s a strip club, I was thinking "Me. To a strip club?"
Arrival Solid Gold club MJP archive
And we went into this club. It was called Pure Platinum and I was walking in a bit like this, you know, ohh, if anyone sees me, Peter Stringfellow, oh my God. Oh if anybody knows. if my mother found out." All that kind of stuff.
Stringfellow sync ITN
I walked in and I was blown away.
I saw what I realised was a kind of a disco.
BUT THIS DISCO HAD BEEN TRANSFORMED BY MICHAEL J PETER’S TABLE-DANCE. PETER STRINGFELLOW WENT IN A DISCOTHEQUE PROMOTER, BUT WHAT HE SAW INSIDE CONVINCED HIM, THIS WAS A BETTER NIGHTCLUB CONCEPT.
ITN Stringfellow i/v
And I was watching a girl on the stage, and I was saying "my god, she is actually gunna take her clothes off" and she did! I had had never seen anything like this.
STRINGFELLOW THOUGHT HIS FAILING DISCOTHEQUES COULD BE SAVED BY TABLE DANCE
Peter Stringfellow
You know those cartoons when a little bulb comes on your head. Boing.
By the end of that night I knew what I wanted to do.
Peter Stringfellow
I found the man who owned that club. His name was Michael J Peter.
Peter Stringfellow
I did a deal with him. I said I have got a club in new York, which is suffering bad. So much so I’ve closed it. And I’m looking for something new, what about bringing your girls up.
BUT THE ONLY WAY MICHAEL J PETER WOULD AGREE TO SAVE STRINGFELLOW’S CLUB, WAS IF HE COULD USE IT TO ADVERTISE PURE PLATINUM, HIS OWN CHAIN OF STRIP BARS.
Peter Stringfellow
And he said, "Ok, let’s do a deal".
Michael J Peter
I insisted that the Stringfellow’s name be Stringfellow's presents Pure Platinum, my name had to be Pure Platinum, 3 times larger than his name which was Peter’s ego speaking.
Peter Stringfellow
So now we go to New York. And we launched the old Stringfellow’s
Pure Platinum opening
THE DYING DISCOTHEQUE RE-OPENED WITH MICHAEL J PETER’S BRAND.
Stringfellow ITN
Opening night footage of Stringfellow’s New York
MICHAEL J PETER
Opening night was an absolute phenomena. There was Peter in his tux, me in my tux. The lines were around the block. I would see girls being tipped Corvettes. It was only months before we were exceeding $200,000 a week.
Stringfellow
Wonderful success
THE CASH SAVED HIM, AND THE CLUB BECAME THE TALK OF MANHATTAN.
MICHAEL J PETER
The media grabbed hold of this concept of mine
NOW STRINGFELLOW USED HIS COLOURFUL PERSONALITY TO DEFLECT CRITICISM AND GENERATE PUBLICITY ON TELEVISION.
Sally Jesse Raphael
These sexy gorgeous women parade around first in evening gowns, and then they go topless.
Peter Stringfellow appearance
Sally Jesse Raphael
I’m English and what I’m seeing here is what we present at our club Stringfellow’s Pure Platinum is an internationally recognised entertainment and it’s going down beautifully well and we don’t think we are morally upsetting anyone.
They’re beautiful women.
Stringfellow and Michael J Peter sip champagne
STRINGFELLOW HAD TO PAY MICHAEL J PETER A WEEKLY FEE TO PROVIDE THE GIRLS.
BUT A ROW OVER MONEY TURNED INTO A POWER STRUGLE OVER WHICH MAN CONTROLLED THE NEW STRIPTEASE.
Peter Stringfellow
He said "My girls won’t be here tomorrow." I said "oh yes they will" and I went "girls" (clicks fingers)
MICHAEL J PETER
I, you know snapped my fingers, and said "you know, nobody reports to work tonight". Six people showed up for work out of about 200 and the place went dark.
MICHAEL J PETER PULLED HIS STRIPPERS OFF THE FLOOR, THEN HAD STRINGFELLOW HAULED BEFORE A JUDGE.
THE LAP DANCE STRIKE ENDED WHEN THE MONEY WAS PAID UP – BUT IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR STRINGFELLOW. HE DECIDED TO LEAVE AMERICA AND RETURN TO LONDON.
Stringfellow ITN archive
But I knew what I wanted to do now
HE WAS GOING TO BRING LAP DANCING BACK HOME WITH HIM TO BRITAIN. IT WOULD BE AN ASTOUNDING COME BACK – BUT PETER STRINGFELLOW WOULD COME CRASHING DOWN ONCE MORE.
IT WOULD BE AN ASTOUNDING COME BACK – BEFORE PETER STRINGFELLOW CAME CRASHING DOWN ONCE MORE.
BUT THE ONLY WAY MICHAEL J PETER WOULD AGREE TO SAVE STRINGFELLOW’S CLUB, WAS IF HE COULD USE IT TO ADVERTISE PURE PLATINUM, HIS OWN CHAIN OF STRIP BARS.
Pure Platinum opening
MICHAEL J PETER
IT WOULD BE AN ASTOUNDING COME BACK – BEFORE PETER STRINGFELLOW CAME CRASHING DOWN ONCE MORE.
Dancer on stage
Cabaret girl