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.

Prue sets her Beatles record true

Prudence Bury attended the Royal Ballet School in London, and she would have continued as a dancer, if her breathtaking beauty had not led her to become a fashion model.

Prue’s Classical background is evident in every way in “A Hard Day’s Night”. Prue has beauty, poise, and refinement that set her apart from the other girls on the train — including, in my opinion, her friend Pattie Boyd.

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It is Prue who leads Pattie when walking to their seats into the dining car. It is Prue who Paul McCartney refers to when he says, “Excuse me Madam” — gesturing to Pattie only when he says “two of us” — and it is Prue who is closest to the camera. Pattie had a word of dialog, but it seems to me that from the point of view of director Dick Lester, visually it is Prudence Bury who was his focus.

So how did Prue come to be in “A Hard Day’s Night”? Her former husband, Terry Hooper, tells his version of the story in this excerpt from a supplementary feature on the AHDN DVD.

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Prue takes exception with pretty much every point made by Hooper, and she would like to set the record straight. The following was taken from a message sent to me by Prudence Bury, and with Prue’s approval I put her comments in a ‘bullet’ list.

  • We were not married [during the making of “A Hard Day’s Night”]. This took place in 1965.
  • Terry was a croupier. He had been since I met him in 1958.
  • I attended an audition for the film and met Dick Lester and Walter Shenson.
  • I was chosen along with Pattie to play the part of a school girl on the train, not a screaming teenager.
  • Terry had never met (nor even heard of) the aformentioned men.
  • When during the making of the film Dick said they were looking for a croupier, it was I that suggested Terry, as that was his job.

And there you have it, from the lady herself. I’ll have a more of Prue Bury, including a new photo, in my next post.

Pure Prue

Prudence Bury will be here soon! Please be patient. I’m working out the details with her of exactly what she wants to say, and how it will be said. Don’t expect an extensive interview. It will be brief and to the point, allowing Prue to save her whole story for better, larger venues. She will be appearing at a Beatles weekend in November. More about that later.

If you’ve never known the name of Prue’s character in “A Hard Day’s Night,” it’s Rita. Pattie Boyd played Jean. Now you know!

Page from screenplay to \"A Hard Day\'s Night\"

No More excuses

I have more posts to publish, but a couple of things have come up, including a surprise bit of correspondence from somebody who I have featured prominently here. I’d like to say more, but I don’t know yet what direction this exchange will take, so for now the prudent thing for me to do is remain silent.

P.S. (24-hours later): Now it can be told. The mystery correspondent is none other than the stunning PRUDENCE BURY herself. I kid thee not. Prue has some things she would like to say, as you will soon see for yourself.

Bingo rhymes with Ringo

As promised last week, here is Terry Hooper, the future husband of Prudence Bury, as the croupier in A Hard Day’s Night. When I was a kid I thought Wilfrid Brambell was an unnecessary extra bit of comic relief, but now I think he was essential to the overall success of the movie.

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Is Astrid in AHDN?

It’s long been the assertion of D.F. Rogers that Astrid Kirchherr makes a brief appearance in A Hard Day’s Night with John Lennon during the discotheque scene. I’ve spliced it together, omitting the parallel sequence with Paul’s grandfather gambling, in a James Bond parody, with Prue Bury’s future husband, Terry Hooper, playing the croupier. I’ll post that later.
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