Category: Prue Bury and Swinging London

One of the first Mary Quant models, Prudence Bury was part of Swinging London at its beginning. Prue appeared with the Beatles in “A Hard Day’s Night” before Mary sent her to New York to introduce the miniskirt to America.

Special! Beatles’ Movie Preview

From the July, 1964 issue of Modern Screen magazine, a preview of “A Hard Day’s Night.”

Prue Bury, George Harrison, Pattie Boyd

My all-time favorite Beatles lady is the lovely and delightful Prudence Bury. Actually, I don’t think of Prue as being a Beatles girl, per se, because she’s so interesting in her own right.

Modern Screen, July, 1964

Here is Prue with George and Pattie, but the article incorrectly identifies her as Tina Williams.

Modern Screen, July, 1964

Prue and Pattie are mentioned again, but the pictures show neither of them, and Sue Whitman is incorrectly identified as Pattie.

Modern Screen, July, 1964

And I don’t recall John Lennon ever saying he loved to dress like an English gentleman.

Modern Screen, July, 1964

Prue-fection

Here is something very special indeed. This is a portrait of Prudence Bury at age seventeen, while she attended the Royal School of Ballet. It was taken by Antony Armstrong-Jones, before he married Princess Margaret and was named the 1st Earl of Snowdon. Lord Snowdon is known for many things, among them his numerous portraits of Lady Diana, Princess of Wales.

Prudence Bury, age 17
© Lord Snowdon (Antony Armstrong-Jones)

This is a photo of a framed photo. In the reflection you can see one of Prue’s sons taking the picture, and some bookcases behind him.

Thank you, Prue! 🙂

Catch Prue If You Can

For its American release, the 1965 Dave Clark Five movie “Catch Us If You Can” was given the title “Having a Wild Weekend.” If you look quickly, you can catch a couple glimpses of Prue Bury, where she’s made up to look almost like the original Goth girl!

Prue Bury in \

Prue even dances with… the Wolfman?? There’s a costume party later in the movie with a man dressed as Frankenstein.

Prue Bury in \

The gent with the hat is Clive Swift, best known as Richard Bucket, the long-suffering husband in the English TV series “Keeping Up Appearances.” Here’s one last quick shot of Prue that I found.

Prue Bury in \

Prudence Berry Bury

Here is another take of Prue Bury’s ex-husband, Terry Hooper, from the DVD of “A Hard Day’s Night.” There are a few seconds of the familiar scene with Prue, Pattie Boyd and Paul McCartney, along with a tantalizing, all-too-brief 5-second candid clip of Prue having her hair fussed over by Betty Glasow.

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As you can see, Prue’s name is misspelled, but at least it was done phonetically.

I pronounce it Berry! A curious name as my father was Belgien !!

A friend from Belgium tells me that “Bury” is indeed not a typical Belgian name. The spelling error occurs in two other places that I know of. First, elsewhere in the “Making of ‘A Hard Day’s Night'” documentary…

Isla Blair, Prudence Bury, Pattie Boyd

… and also in the book, “A Hard Day’s Night: The British Film Guide“.

AHDN cast list

I wonder if Prue’s name was originally penciled in as “Berry” when she gave it on the set back in ’64, and that’s why the error has been repeated? Today she is Prudence Bury-Fuchs, and she lives in France. Prue enjoys putting on stage shows, and in fact she did one called “Daisy Daisy” (if I have the date right) just this past week.

Prue Bury in \

And here is lovely Prue, performing! As Prue’s fan Lia Pamina says, she’s “so cool!”

Prue Bury and friends

Prudence is tentatively scheduled to appear at a Beatles weekend in Ouistreham Normandie (Normandy), France, this coming November 5-8.

Prue was a model for designer Mary Quant, who popularized the miniskirt. I’d like to ask Prue what she thought of the way that the Sixties youth culture went from high fashion on Carnaby Street in Swinging London, to being grungy Hippies in torn jeans and t-shirts?

I am delighted to have found gorgeous and gracious Prudence Bury-Fuchs, and to get to know her a tiny bit. Here’s to you, Prue! (With a little luck I should soon be seeing you in that other movie you told me about.)