A Salute To Vivien Neves, The First Naked Woman Ever To Appear In A British Newspaper

Despite recent indications that the legendary Page 3 girl may be on its way out of the British newspaper biz, the tradition of topless women appearing in British newspapers dates all the way back to the early 70s. A new piece by Flashbak (link below) traces the history back to the sadly forgotten Vivien Neves.

Though The Sun, Rupert Murdoch's tabloid paper, first featured a topless Page 3 girl in 1970, Vivien was the first woman to appear topless in a legit newspaper when she was featured completely topless on a full page spread in The Times in March 1971. Neves had previously appeared topless as a Page 3 girl nearly a year earlier, but this was big news for a woman to appear topless in a reputable newspaper like The Times.

On March 17 that year, the chemical company Fisons had bought out all the display advertising space in the newspaper to promote its various products, which included slimming biscuits and shampoo. Neves’s slender, curvaceous — and unclothed — figure appeared above the caption: “What’s a nice girl like you doing in a firm like this?” The full-page advertisement was in black-and-white because the Editor, William (now Lord) Rees-Mogg, feared that a full-page advert of a young, female nude in glorious colour might prove too much for some readers.

But even in black and white, it still proved to be too much for some readers, who flooded the paper with messages such as these...

“The Times should not use such matter which degrades womanhood and uses the female body as an eye-catcher”

Are you trying to drive away your readers by subscribing to the present advertising belief that it is only sex and nakedness that sells?”

“I hope this delightful picture has the same effect on The Times’ circulation as it does on mine.”

“It’s disgusting! It isn’t even in colour. Tut tut.”

Neves became something of a sensation following the advertisement, appearing in several television shows before announcing her retirement in 1973. Sadly, Neves passed away in December 2002, and though she may be gone, her work will never be forgotten.

Via Flashbak