Sandy Penson

Sandra Pearl (Sandy) Penson
Ken Porter

Sandra Pearl Penson was born in 1947.  She lived in Laindon and appears on the 1958 Laindon High Road School photo i.e., no. 61 in the front row of section 2.

Sandy, sometimes known as Pearl, was a keen member of Laindon’s “Revellers Concert Party” and performed along with other members of her family in many productions at the Memorial Hall and other venues as an all-round singer, dancer and actress.  Later she joined Dougie Squires’ dance troupe The Young Generation followed by The Second Generation.

She could often be seen on our TV screens on Saturday evenings in the early seventies singing and dancing on various variety programmes.  There are a few clips on “YouTube”, here are three of them:-

In the first clip “Pretty For Me”, where she is introduced as Sandy Penson and can be seen dancing in a gold dress:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euh6sI_lW1s

The next two clips are from a show produced by Dougie Squires called “2Gs and the Pop People” which ran from 10th June 1972 to the end of July 1972.  The first is a tribute to the Eurovision Song Contest and Sandy can be seen as Pearl Carr singing ‘Sing Little Birdie’:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCBWdpSUcV4

The last clip is from the same shows and features the pop group “Slade” performing “Take Me Bak ‘Ome” with girl dancers shadowing their dance movements.  Sandy is shown shadowing Dave Hill and goodness didn’t he make her work hard!  Around that time, Sandy appeared with Slade on the front cover of the TV Guide, The Radio Times.  Unfortunately, I didn’t keep my copy and I haven’t yet been able to track down a photo of the front cover:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEOoXjdnOmw

In 1972 Sandy married fellow dancer Brian Rogers at St Nicholas Church, Laindon.  Sadly the marriage didn’t last and she later married Anthony Craig in 1982.

Wherever she is today, let’s hope she is keeping well and enjoying life.

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  • Do we know who the other shadow dancers were please?

    By Martin Swann (14/07/2021)
  • I knew Pearl ( her real name ) from the sixties. Her mum and dad owned a caravan next to my mum and dad’s caravan on the Dovercourt Caravan Park. They were extremely nice people who were friendly and kind. I was a young dad with my wife Gloria at that time with our first son. That would be about 1965/6. Remember one night at the clubhouse on the site, Pearl doing the Charleston absolutely a great dancer. Lost contact with her parents when my parents moved to another caravan site. Lovely family and my mum did keep track of her career with the dance groups she danced with. Often wonder where she is now. Hopefully having a good time. John Claydon

    By John Claydon (28/08/2020)
  • I remember Pearl from the Bush Davies dance school in Romford, Essex. Pearl was my national partner and I remember her as a very bright and bubbly personality with a great voice.
    My wife and I did keep in contact and saw her on several occasions when she lived at May Road in Twickenham with Brian Rogers.

    By George May (11/01/2020)
  • Who were the other girls with Slade?

    Editor: Other members of Dougie Squires’ Second Generation dancers – individual names unknown.

    By Wayne (27/08/2019)
  • My good friend Pat Potts is looking for her old friend and bridesmaids! Pearl (Sandy) Penson. If you are out there Pearl, please contact me as Pat has been looking for you for years, and I have now taken up the search on her behalf, as she can’t use computers.

    By Heather (28/05/2019)
  • Yeah I’ve just been looking at Pearl Penson’s image on the Laindon High Road 58 photograph. Although she was in my year, she was born in 1947, I don’t think she was in my class. I am presuming she was previously at Laindon Park School but once again I don’t remember her, maybe it will come back to me. I know that her brother, Fred went to Laindon Park as he has written on here about playing cricket on the school field. I do remember the girl next to her on the photograph, Pat Brummel who was very popular and pretty.

    Going on to Nina’s TV clips it is strange to think that a Laindon girl dancer would end up on the same stage as Noddy Holder and Dave Hill. I believe Noddy had some similarity, voicewise to John Lennon and I recall the first time I heard Merry Christmas Everybody thinking it was a Beatles song. Pearl Penson looks cute and is the height of 1970s fashion in those hot pants, fantastic, wow it does bring back some brilliant memories thanks Miss Marple.

    By Richard Haines (12/12/2016)
  • I was a little surprised to learn, via this website, that her name was Sandra/Sandy. We were in the same class in school and she was just known as Pearl then, quite fitting really as she turned out to be a real gem. Am I correct in thinking that her Dad ran a library or bookshop along the High Road almost opposite Toomeys?

    By Donald Joy (11/12/2016)
  • I remember Pearl as I knew her and being the Revellers with her family. A few years ago, I met her brother Fred while he was on holiday in Norfolk and still have the photo of us together.

    By Brian Baylis (09/12/2016)

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