MY LIGHT BULB MOMENT

Dancewear founder Debbie Moore OBE

DEBBIE MOORE, 70, launched Pineapple dance studios and clothing line in 1979, despite leaving school in Manchester at 15 with no qualifications. She is single and lives in London.

THOUGH I had early success as a model (I was a muse to photographer John Swannell), an underactive thyroid put paid to my career in my early 20s and I piled on 3st.

A homeopathic doctor suggested I try dancing as a form of exercise. So off I went to the Dance Centre in London’s Covent Garden and signed up for Arlene Phillips’ rock jazz class.

It was a revelation! I even returned to modelling.

One Monday a notice went up saying the Dance Centre would be closing. The dancers were devastated. My light bulb moment happened there and then. I was going to open a dance studio.

I found a disused pineapple warehouse with a flooded basement and dead pigeons everywhere. I was only 30 and had no knowledge of building regulations, but when I found out the man from the planning department was Mr Dance, I knew it was a sign.

Pineapple Dance Studios opened in 1979. At that point, dancewear was all shiny, in maroon and brown. I developed cotton/Lycra with manufacturers DuPont and was the first to use it in leggings (or footless tights as they were known then).

Since then Pineapple has become a global clothing brand. We have a collection at Oasis and have just launched a dance-inspired capsule wardrobe with designers Finery ( finerylondon.com).

People sometimes ask what my exit strategy is. I don’t have one! I refuse to sell my business because whoever buys it will keep the clothing and let the studios die. I won’t let that happen.

They are tough to keep going, but where else could you find Madonna shooting a video and a cabbie taking tap lessons?

Pineapple.uk.com