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The Chippendales - now a household name, probably what people imagine when they think of strippers - now the term is sometimes used in a naff and derogatory way with the greasy self-love stereotype. Dogged with rumours of drug and gun crime and even shootings between there close competitors at the time “Adonis Men of Hollywood” I like to think everyone has moved on from the 80’s however their last 2 UK tours were not popular as far as I am aware signalling the change in UK attitudes toward the brand. |
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The Dreamboys - created by Bari Baco the British style of the Chippendales was a great success – Bari is a king of media and press and the name is one of the biggest in the UK. Unfortunately the brand has been devalued with several companies using the name or names like it to try and cash in over the last 5-10 years. |
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Chico – “What time is it?” I smile fondly at the thought of Chico’s ability to make positivity happen for him, he stripped in the UK for many years and rose to fame as the lovable loony on X factor – taking criticism on the chin and with good humour, which made him very likable keeping him in the competition and on our TV screens for months - a house hold name – many thought that would be the last we saw of him – but he’s caio’d on the Christmas edition of Extras – panto – toured with many new party anthem singles and is currently working with Ant and Dec on their Saturday night show - I have no idea how he turned all the sleaze around and is not a role model for kids... Go brother much respect! |
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Fireball – this was the first stripper in the UK that I saw do a show so outstanding I thought - if I could be half as good as he is I would not be ashamed to be a UK male stripper – all the other UK acts had been poor clichés or dirty acts that I had seen before, and I had only stripped in the more theatrical European circuit before. I contacted Michael Baldwin his manager at the time and he was kind enough to help me get started on the UK scene... later I had the opportunity to tour with Fireball in the theatre show Ultimate Fantasy - his solo shows were outstanding and the queues for his merchandise and for photos with him where out the door and round the corner – but the personal price that comes with such popularity can make some unbearingly arogant and can damage ones soul. |
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Richard the Joker - famous for playing the piano with his organ, Richard was the first stripper I met in the UK who saw things like I did, clinically insane, hysterically funny, but knew stripping especially on the stage and in theatres was entertainment not sleaze and would try everything from fat Elvis to plate spinning and magic while stripping in his solo acts, constantly changing his show just to shock the audience with things you would not expect. |