South Wales Echo reports that a stripper called Peaches has been convicted of benefit fraud after an undercover Government investigator discovered her working at The fantasy Lounge in Cardiff, earning up to £300 a week while claiming state benefits.
A DSS fraud detective - presumably the envy of his colleagues - visited the club and had a private dance from 24 year old Peaches - real name Julieanne Beecher - for £20, and even managed to secretly film her performance.
Cardiff MagistratesØ Court yesterday heard she received £10,856 in income support, housing and council tax benefits whilst working at the club. Mother-of-two Beecher admitted four charges under Section 111 of the Social Security Act. She asked for three further charges to be taken into consideration.
Commenting later, she said "I don't remember dancing for the fraud investigator - I dance for so many people. I'm relieved I didn't go to jail - I'm just glad it's all over and I can put it behind me."

Horrible rapper Mike Skinner - aka The Streets - is reported to be dating Tatia Starkey, granddaughter of Ringo Starr and - allegedly - a member of the 'exotic dance troupe' Narni Shakers. A visit to the Shakers chavtastic website however failed to offer any images of Ms Starkey - presumably she works under a pseudonym.
In true yuzzer style, Skinner has been boasting to his equally scuzzy mates about his sex life, and in turn they've been on the blower to their favourite rag The Sun. "He's been boasting about how filthy she is. It's safe to say it's a pretty physical relationship" states the report. "They've met up for a few dates and they are having a lot of phone sex. He won't say if there is a long-term future."
Yep, he sounds like a real catch...

One of the great urban myths is that while men who visit strip clubs are somehow inadequate, sexually frustrated, sleazy individuals, women who watch male strippers do so for 'a bit of fun' or 'a laugh', and certainly not for sexual thrills. Crap of course, as this story from The Mirror proves.
Allan Sartori, boss of Birmingham's Rocket club, has cancelled his weekly ladies' nights - because the rowdy audiences terrified the male strippers. According to Sartori, The drunken "banshees" tried to grope the dancers and were often so intimidating that a few acts fled and were too scared to return to club. Even the addition of extra security staff failed to solve the problem.
"These lewd women are shocking. They drink ridiculous amounts and grab at the dancers" he complained. "Some were even after 'extras' - which we do not offer - so a couple of guys couldn't face returning."
Sartori suggested that women learn from his male clients: "Men respect the girl dancers. They talk, have a few dances and are very civilised."

Channel 4 this week will show a series of documentaries which they claim show 'the reality of life in the porn industry.' The fact that the series appears under the umbrella title of Porn: The Dark Side should tell you just how 'truthful' it'll be. The documentaries cover the recent HIV scare in the adult industry, the experiences of two new UK-based performers, the story behind hardcore classic Debbie Does Dallas, and the death of huge-breasted Lolo Ferrari.
We should point out - because we somehow doubt the documentaries will - that the speed of the industry shutdown in the wake of the HIV outbreak - and the relatively small number of infections over the last thirty years - shows that the porn business takes this seriously and, condom-free sex or not, is safer than many claim; that most porn stars do not feel exploited or abused in their work; that any 'criminal' involvement in Debbie Does Dallas is entirely irrelevant to the modern industry, given that the film was made in 1978; and that Lolo Ferrari only made a couple of porn films, being better known for her appearances as a camp joke on C4 shows like Eurotrash - so who was really exploiting her?
We at Striporama look forward to C4's series exposing the coke-abusing, sexual predator-infested reality of the British TV industry... but we won't hold our breath.

BUY DEBBIE DOES DALLAS ON DVD

In a lurch back to the Victorian era, a stripper in St. Johns, Canada has been charged with committing an 'immoral act' - in this case, performing with a sex toy.
28 year old Marie-Andree Lauriault was arrested on Thursday night and appeared in court Friday. She was working at Bubbles Gentlemen's Club on George Street when police raided and shut down the club. She has been charged under section 167 of the Criminal Code, which deals with 'immoral theatrical performance.'
As a condition of her bail, Lauriault is not allowed to work at the club, which of course means that she no longer has a job. Which goes to show that even victimless 'crimes' have victims - in this case being the supposed 'criminal'. But at least the strip-club attendees of St Johns will no longer be shocked by wanton displays of immorality.

Evolution Entertainment has been ordered to pay £1800 in court costs after losing an appeal to open a 'lapdancing' club in Barrow. The company had been attempting to open the Bluebird Club.
Furness MagistratesØ Court heard the firm had failed to provide enough information on its plans to Barrow Borough CouncilØs licensing committee. It was also deemed the company had not been open enough about who was involved in the organisation. But District Judge Mr Gerald Chalk rightly rejected the councilØs fatuous claims that the club would cause 'public disorder and harm to children'.
After the hearing, Evolution's Eddie White commented "At least the judge agreed with us that the club wouldn't threaten children or cause nuisance. We are going to reapply for the club under new legislation this year. It is important Barrow opens its eyes to the rest of the world. People should be allowed to do what they want. Barrow is behind the times. Every city has lapdancing clubs and it's about time we had one."
Meanwhile, the council's Environmental Health Officer Gary Ormondroyd trotted out the usual line in misinformed, not-even-slightly-supported-by-facts crapola, stating that "the club would have resulted in bus loads of blokes coming into Barrow. Children may have been exposed to prostitution and members were concerned there would have been adverts recruiting dancers outside the club.Ó

Nottingham City Council have for some years now fought a war against immorality and lewdness, but recently have been forced to backtrack by court decisions which saw the licensing of two sex shops and the opening of Senoritas strip club, all of which had initially been refused permission to open. Now, having seen a predictable zero increase in crime and anti-social behaviour due to these venues being operational, it seems that the council have begun to see reason.
Senoritas has been given permission to double its capacity, and run promotional offers, while city centre club Cabaret has been given permission to feature nude dancers. The venue intends to run Moulin Rouge style nights, and will - all being well - soon be home to a series of burlesque nights - we'll tell you more about those once negotiations are complete!

A lawsuit filed by San Antonio topless bars and strip clubs against new city council restrictions is due to go to court next week after attempts to find a compromise fell through.
Back in December, the local council passed a repressive law to control adult entertainment establishments, forcing dancers to stay a certain distance from customers when performing (thus outlawing lap-dancing), imposing 'stripper fees' on dancers, clubs and managers, and requiring dancers to wear an ID badge fixed to the back of their g-strings (it goes without saying that full nudity is a no-no).
Dancers have complained that the proposal will affect their income, which is based mainly on fees earned through table dances, and that the badge idea is potentially dangerous. As one performer pointed out, "Even though it will only have our stage name on it, it is not difficult to imagine how easy it will for an unscrupulous person to learn our real address. Why they think this is a good idea, I don't understand."
It was also pointed out that other entertainers outside the adult industry are not forced to identify themselves in this way.
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery had asked the clubs and the city council to try and reach a settlement of the dispute, but they have failed to do so and now the new laws are to be contested in court.

The Fox Television Network in America is to challenge a proposed $1.2 million fine imposed by the moralising Federal Communications Commission after the broadcast of reality show Married By America. The fines were levied against 169 stations affiliated with Fox after the April 2003 broadcast which included (blurred) scenes of "a topless woman straddling a man and male stripper putting a woman's hand down his pants". Shocking stuff!
Fox are refusing to pay the fine, which is not legally binding, and are insisting that the matter goes to court. Married By America was a short-lived show in which viewers followed the prenuptial antics of several couples; contestant Jillian Nicolini went on to pose for Playboy (see illustration).
Other US broadcasters fighting back against the tidal wave of censorship threatening to engulf them are NBC (fined for 'allowing' U2's Bono to swear live on air) and Viacom (responsible for the Janet Jackson debacle which started the whole moral backlash).

Suddenly, the plot of Stripped to Kill doesn't seem so far-fetched. Authorities in Ohio are defending their decision to pay Michelle Szuhay, a criminal justice major at the University of Dayton, 100 dollars a night to strip at the Total Xposure bar near Troy.
Undercover state liquor control agents watched the club while Szuhay stripped, looking for liquor violations - clearly a crime worthy of such costly undercover sleuthing, though there is no word on whether or not any violations were ever spotted.
Troy Police Captain Chuck Adams stated that Szuhay's stripping wasn't like the other dancers (not as good, we assume), and added says she seemed ashamed of what she was doing (what, stripping or working for the police?). Szuhay has refused to comment.

The Fantasy Bar in Dundee is on the market . For the bargain price of just £650,000 you can become the proud owner of the venue, as well as two nightclubs, a sports bar and Liberty, a gay and lesbian club.

The Art of Bohemia is the latest part of the Inside Theatreland season of events at London's Theatre Museum, and takes place tomorrow.
To quote the press release: "This will be a unique event, combining performance, discussion and decadence. Following on from the popularity of Art of Seduction, Art of Bohemia shines the spotlight on you - le beau monde. Who were the movers and shakers of times past and what part would you have played? On 14 April the Theatre Museum opens its doors to the bon vivants that make up contemporary bohemia. Drawing on archives from some of the West End's most famous lost venues, a panel of experts will explore where it was all happening, whilst some remarkable performers reveal their own bohemian spirit... "
Coming up next (on May 12th) is The Art of Dressing, while June 9th sees The Art of Exotica, and a yet-to-be-specified date has The Art of Tease Ball. Hopefully, we'll be able to report on some of these events here on Striporama. More details from www.theatremuseum.org/insidetheatreland

The Daily Record reports that one of the stars of the Royal bank of Scotland's TV commercial also works as a lap dancer and nude model.
22 year old Jennifer Spence appears in the One Account ad, stating "one day I'd like to be sensible." But while waiting for that day, she's been busying herself dancing at Glasgow clubs Legs & Co and Seventh Heaven, and appearing on websites like Scottish Nymphos and Fuel and Fantasy (a sample of which may or may not be reproduced here).
"I love dancing and modelling" Spence is quoted as saying. "I taught myself to pole-dance and got my first job at Legs & Co when I was 19. Then I got involved in modelling. I have done completely nude shots. And I've also done some video shoots that can be downloaded from the internet."
The Bank's only comment was "The advertisements were produced by our advertising agency."

Former Prime Minister, mother of a convicted felon and demented old bat Margaret Thatcher attended a Conservative Party fund-raiser at Stringfellows on Sunday. The 79 year old hag joined four hundred other right wingers at the lap dancing club, though there was no performance on the night. Reports vary over whether the girls kept their clothes on or simply had the night off. 64 year old Peter Stringfellow gushed "Margaret Thatcher has always been a heroine of mine, so I was genuinely humbled to welcome her to the club."
Readers may recall that under Maggie's reign of terror, we were subjected to the Indecent Displays Act (banning nudity from shop windows and magazine covers), the ultra-repressive Video Recording Act, sex establishment licensing, Operation Spanner, the purging of Soho, Clause 28, and increased obscenity raids - to name just a few anti-sex laws.

UPDATE: It's not just the Tories who are moralising scumbags of course. Opportunist obscure Labour politician Dennis MacShane has used the Thatcher visit as a change to grab some cheap publicity. Writing an open letter to Thatcher, he rants "I saw you took time off to go to some squalid lap-dancing emporium in Soho to raise money for the Tories. Can I suggest your next stop is a working men's club in South Yorkshire. Perhaps you could find time along with John Major to come to Rotherham and explain why South Yorkshire was targeted by the Conservatives in the 1980s and 1990s in an attempt to lower living standards without precedent in British history."
MacShane also referred to Stringfellows as "a horrible place" before admitting that he's never actually been there.

The Ipswich Evening Star reports that thirteen dancers are now out of work after the Laplands club was forced to close.
The club, held at The Giles Tavern in Ipswich, was closed by manager Julie Denny after complaints about noise from a resident living above the pub resulted in £6,000 fines for 'ignoring' noise abatement orders. Denny maintains that the complaints are the result of malicious moralising however. "I know everybody says the noise complaints are not anything to do with the lap-dancing club but I feel it is. I tried to bring Ipswich into the 20th century but nobody wanted it and now I am paying a heavy price. I can't afford to be taken to court again so the nights will stop in an attempt to prevent any more complaints happening."
Denny seems likely to follow her dancers onto the dole queue. "I have been given until April 25 to pay my fines but I cannot afford them and there is nobody I can borrow that kind of money from" she admitted. "There is a chance I will have to declare myself bankrupt and if that happens I can no longer run the pub or take on another one. I don't know what the future holds or if I will still be here in a month or two. The future certainly doesn't look bright."
But at least the person who moved into a flat above a pub and expected silence will be able to sleep smugly.

Striporama's Film gallery now includes brief critiques of/comments on the films. We'll be adding some biographivcal info to the club and stripper galleries soon too.

Striporama would like to wish a happy birthday to Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, who turns 79 today. We trust that the man who more or less invented glamour publishing and remains the epitome of the lounge lizard will be celebrating in the time honoured fashion - surrounded by beautiful women and not bothering to get dressed.

It was an amusing scam for sure: when Boise, Idaho banned full nudity at pole dancing clubs, the owners of Erotic City instigated 'art night', with patrons handed paper and pencils and encouraged to 'sketch' the dancers - full nudity being allowed for performances of "serious artistic merit".
Clearly such a clever and witty bit of law-bending was unlikely to sit well with America's foaming-at-the-mouth moral guardians - 'serious' art is that which only the elite enjoy, and sure enough, the authorities have cited the club for violation of local laws.
Erotic City owner Chris Teague remains defiant. "The only thing we're going to be paying is our attorney," he commented. "We're here to protect our constitutional right. It's nothing less than communism -- when are they going to say you can't get naked in your own home?"

Meanwhile, bigots in Peoria have voted to ban full nudity in the city's strip clubs. Citizens for Community Values in Peoria Inc - who you just know will be a blast at parties - forced through a vote in a nonbinding (i.e. meaningless) referendum this week with 11,695 people voting "yes" to a nudity ban and just 7,209 voting "no". Local erotic emporium bosses are confident that the city council will ignore the whole thing.

Police in Berlin, Connecticut have charged the manager of the Infrared Cafe with employing a minor in an obscene performance and risking injury to a minor. Kenneth Pina, 61, had been employing the girl to dance at the club. There is no word of whether or not he knew she was a minor.
Police acted after complaints from the girl's family about her working at the club. Makes you wonder why they didn't talk to their daughter or the club manager.

Peterborough Today reports that "good progress" is being made for the opening of Angels, which they rather sweetly refer to as a "gentlemen's club".
General Manager Ross Lincoln told the newspaper that the club will set high standards and provide a classy night out. The project received a boost in September when city magistrates granted the venue at Earlham House, Northminster, in the city centre, a liquor licence and a late opening hours certificate. Dancers are expected to earn £1000 a week, and Lincoln is also on the lookout for male performers to appear at Ladies Night.
It all sounds like a boost to the local area to us, but inevitably, repressed, bigoted and religiously motivated protesters have crawled out of the woodwork, headed by local Councillor Mohammed Sabir. With exactly no evidence whatsoever to back up his claims, Sabir commented that "It could attract sex maniacs. I feel it is going to lead to an increase in prostitution in the city, because people will be looking for prostitutes after coming out of the club."

A couple of crime stories this week have had stripper connections.
In Stockport, an open verdict was recorded in the case of 19 year old chav Fabian Flowers, who died of a single gunshot wound in the town's High Society pole dancing club.
According to witnesses, Flowers - a member of some fuckwit gangsta crew - shot himself while testing a 'faulty' keyring gun. The inquest heard that Flowers said "I'm going to put it to the test - watch." One friend said: "He put it to his head and I heard a bang." Brilliant.
Meanwhile, in LaPorte Indiana, 24 year old stripper Tiffany Edmonds is now serving twenty years after robbing, beating and leaving for dead a truck driver.
The driver answered his motel door believing it to be the maid, and was then attacked by Edmunds and an unknown male accomplice who struck him on the head with a handgun, tied him up, taped his mouth and robbed him of $800.

The fashion world is all a tizzy after burlesque icon Dita Von Teese and pop star Gwen Stefani beat Kate Moss in a list of the 100 Most Fashionable Women compiled by Harpers and Queen magazine.
A spokeswoman for the magazine - out on Monday April 11th - suggested that Moss is too conservative compared to Stefani and Von Teese. We suggest that Dita does a better striptease performance too, having seen Moss' efforts on the White Stripes video.
proving that burlesque really is the in thing right now, the H&Q spokeswoman added that "the theme is nostalgia for days when women revelled in dressing and having fun."

The Independent reports that an entirely pointless and moronic study by sex-hating feminist academics has discovered that many men see lap dancing clubs as perfectly acceptable forms of entertainment and don't believe that the women working in these establishments are being exploited.
According to the report, "far from seeing dancers as unwilling participants in the sex industry, regular visitors to the clubs believe they are either helping the women or that they themselves are the victims." Which is all true.
But for Dr Victoria Clarke, who presented the research at the British Psychological Society's annual conference in Manchester this weekend, this belief seems to suggest that the men - possibly the unreconstructed Northern types not allowing their women to attend the Erotica festival down the road - are somehow blind to the truth. The suggestion that it might be the anti-sex campaigners who are seeing degradation and exploitation where normal people see freedom of choice, self-expression and nothing to be ashamed of is clearly beyond them.
Notably, no mention is made of the views of women in the industry. But I suppose if any had been consulted and expressed enjoyment in what they did, they would be dismissed as brainwashed sheep anyway.
Of course, lots of jobs exploit people - bar staff, waitresses, checkout girls, telesales staff. But no-one studies their customers. I guess low wages, bad working conditions and poor job security are okay as long as you keep your clothes on.

Organisers of the Erotica Festival. taking place this weekend in Manchester, have come up with a unique way of drumming up business - rubbishing the locals.
Complaining about low attendance of the event compared to the London show, the organisers have suggested that Northern men are repressing the natural urges of their womenfolk. Spokeswoman Emma Sayle stated that "We thought Manchester was a sexy city, but perhaps we were wrong. Ironically, more women from the North head to our November event at London's Olympia than are prepared to be seen to be having fun in their own city. Our research has shown that they are intimidated by their men, who don't want their inadequacies exposed. Northern women seem far more comfortable getting out of town so that they can express themselves."
Well, I hate to fly in the face of 'research', but I might suggest a simpler explanation which might not fit with the Londoncentric media's love of portraying anywhere north of Watford as a prehistoric cultural wasteland but is probably more accurate. Simply: the Manchester Erotica is about a quarter the size of the London show, without a corresponding ticket price reduction. With fewer stalls and a restricted stage show (thanks to the local council, who are prehistoric morons) - not to mention the fact that the London show is far more heavily publicised - it's unsurprising that more people opt for the one run by slimy Southerners.
The Striporama review of Manchester 2005 is now online - read our thoughts here.