Lancashire nostalgia in 1992: Striptease ban, human phone book and a phantom wallpaper stripper

Here's a look at some of the stories that were making the headlines back in 1992:
A petition is being brought to Sefton Council to ban acts like The ChippendalesA petition is being brought to Sefton Council to ban acts like The Chippendales
A petition is being brought to Sefton Council to ban acts like The Chippendales

Bid to ban strippers in Southport venues

An all-out bid to ban raunchy strip acts from Southport’s entertainment scene has been launched by anti-porn campaigners in the resort.

They have targeted saucy American striptease acts the LA Centrefolds and their male counterparts the Chippendales.

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Campaigners are presenting a petition to Sefton Council at Bootle Town Hall.

The call to outlaw the saucy acts from Southport has been spearheaded by pressure group Care - Christian Action Research and Education - and has won the backing of Victims of Violence boss Mrs Joan Jonker.

The Labour group of Sefton Council has also pledged support for action.

Mr Jim Gray, chairman of Care, has also written a letter of protest to Southport tourism boss Mr Phil King.

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Mr Gray said: “The shows do bring in a lot of money but it is a sad day for the management of Southport Theatre if it has to rely on pornographic acts such as the LA Centrefolds to sell its shows.”

He said that the same applied to the Chippendales who he claimed were being mimicked by copycat male hard-core acts who take all their clothes off.

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Look back at a selection of pictures from 1992 here

Memory man Tom is a walking, talking human phone book

Memory ace Tom Morton has got British Telecom in a terrible tangle.

Ever since Telecom started charging 37p a time for directory inquiries, talent Tom has been giving the service for - NOTHING.

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The 27-year-old cabble’s total recall ability means he knows instantly thousands of telephone numbers and addresses.

His skill has already astonished the publishers of Yellow Pages who asked for a private demonstration.

In a 30 minute test Tom passed with flying colours giving correct phone numbers, Telex numbers and fax numbers to businesses and names taken at random from Yellow Pages.

He started by learning the Preston area phone book which covers his home town of Blackpool.

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Then he moved onto the Yellow Pages before turning to Lancaster, Morecambe and South Lakeland.

Tom is barred from casinos because his ability means he is always one step ahead of any card game dealers.

“I can remember 20,000 numbers instantly,” said Tom. “Others may take a bit longer.”

He added: “It began when I started to read a phone book when I was bored one day and has gone on from there. I read them all the time now”

Beware phantom wallpaper stripper

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Rockers in Southport are being asked to keep a look out for a “phantom wallpaper stripper”.

The unknown offender has been targeting the womens toilets in the Floral Hall on the regular Saturday Rock Nights.

Mr Phil King, chief of tourism in Southport, said: “We have the phantom wallpaper stripper around who takes whole pieces off the wall, rolls them off and puts them in the corner.”

He added that the culprit does not do a very good job.