Bums on walls

The famous “Tennis Girl” poster sold two million copies in the UK in the 1970s and 80s, becoming as iconic a bedroom-wall hanging of the era as Farah Fawcett-Majors’ red swimsuit poster (though that sold 12 million), and has been much parodied and imitated, including by another well-known bum.

Tennis Girl did for naked bottoms what Farah did for nipples, providing a respectable way for teenage boys to get rude bits on their bedroom walls without being embarrassed in front of their mums. And while the Farah poster is all-American — bursting at the seams with teeth, hair, and have-a-nice-day vitality — Tennis Girl couldn’t be more British: It’s saucy rather than than dirty (cheeky, even!) and is really just a naughty seaside postcard given the soft-focus and gauzy lighting of upmarket “artistic” erotica like the movie Emmanuelle which was also a big mainstream success back then.

I didn’t have one on my wall (or Farah either) because even back then I thought it was a bit naff. Marilyn and Kate Bush were my choice of bedroom-wall totty, and I kept the naked bums hidden in my closet where my mum couldn’t find them.

Download: Pictures Of Lily – The Who (mp3)