SIR: John Temple’s article about Anne Shelton (January issue) reminded me of seeing her performing live on stage in Belfast in the 1960s. I believe she was headlining a show in aid of the Royal Artillery Association.
This annual charity show attracted big-name stars from Britain. I remember seeing Dick Emery, Jon Pertwee (the third Doctor Who), the Beverley Sisters, comedians Jewel and Warriss, and a popular duo called Rawicz and Landauer who played spirited arrangements of classical pieces on two back-to-back grand pianos.
The most memorable entertainer to grace the show was Diana Dors. She topped the bill in 1968 when I was an impressionable 15-year-old and she was 37. She was the most glamorous woman I have ever seen. I vividly remember her walking onto the stage in a figure-hugging silver satin dress matching her platinum-blonde hair. She waited patiently at the microphone for the loud, long applause to stop.
In the moment of silence that followed, a man in the audience near me shouted, ‘Get ’em off!’
There were gasps and groans of disapproval. All eyes turned to La Dors to see how she would react. After years of experience working in clubs and cabaret she was totally unfazed. She slowly leaned forwards to the microphone and said in a low voice, ‘You couldn’t afford it, love.’
The audience laughed and applauded. The ice was broken. And she continued her act uninterrupted.
Ian Graham, Holt, Norfolk
