Rupert Murdoch, controversial owner of The Sun, launched "The Birthday Suit Girl", a topless photo feature, on 17th November, 1970. Within a year, the paper’s circulation had nearly doubled to 2.5 million.

Editor Larry Lamb intended his ‘Page 3 girls’ to be wholesome and clean, skating on the edge of what was acceptable in a family newspaper. But by the 80s, Editor Kelvin Mackenzie had introduced raunchier shots, to compete with a resurgent Daily Star.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall how the long-running feature eventually fizzled out; reveal how little money massive stars like Samantha Fox, Melinda Messenger and Jordan were paid for their appearances; and examine how the Editorial team got their knickers in a twist over News in Briefs…

Further Reading:

• ‘What 80s glamour models did next - from selling 30m records to dating Eric Clapton & jail time for money laundering’ (The Sun, 2021): https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/17129778/glamour-models-page-3-linda-lusardi-sam-fox/

• ‘No More Page 3: how a feminist collective took on a media behemoth to challenge everyday sexism’ (The Conversation, 2021): https://theconversation.com/no-more-page-3-how-a-feminist-collective-took-on-a-media-behemoth-to-challenge-everyday-sexism-156478

• ‘Did Page 3 make the world a better place?’ (Southbank Centre, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxkI955FiK8

#Publishing #70s #Sexism #UK

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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023.

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