EROTIC table-dancing is big in America and looks set to expand on this side of the Atlantic. But could it really take off here in Bury, asks reporter TONY MOONEY.

On Friday my news editor dispatched me to Sooners fun bar at Monty's night club to find out. Table-dancing is new to Bury and it was all a mystery to me. So I asked Steve St James, promotions manager at the Bright Street venue, for a few tips.

As we talked the scantily-clad girls wiggled and wobbled for a handful of punters who arrived for a drink and a lunchtime nibble. Entry is £1, lunch is £1 and customers pay £1 for their first drink.

The girls perform on stage but can be coaxed down to briefly dance at individual tables - for a small fee! Punters buy vouchers at the bar.

A comedy DJ is on stage offering disco music and patter to fill in any pregnant pauses as the girls strike their poses on stage.

After fixing himself a stiff drink, Steve told me: "Sooners is the first place in Lancashire to try this idea.

"Eventually erotic dancing will be available in every major town and city in England.

"This sort of thing is not seedy. It is massive in America and the places over there are packed.

"I am from Bury and know what a good town it is. We just want to give the people here something to do on a Friday afternoon.

"The girls come from all over the country. They dance on stage but will perform at a customer's table for a small charge. But there is a strict code of conduct. The girls just dance, there's no touching."

When I went on "opening" day Sooners wasn't exactly heaving - even if the dancers were. Mind you, I had forgotten my glasses so I couldn't see the stage that well. I suppose they would only have steamed up anyway.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.