Real Dancing Action Dee Dee Doll

Previously recorded as a "black Barbie doll", this doll actually appears to be a Dee Dee doll, part of the Barbie and The Rockers set which was made in the mid 1980s. Other members of The Rockers group were Barbie, Ken, Diva, Dana, and Derek - each sold separately. This version of the Dee Dee doll was advertised as having "Real Dancing Action", which meant her arms and legs could bend, and was released a year after the original Dee Dee in 1985. Dee Dee was an African American doll, while Diva was a Scottish-Irish-American and Dana was a Korean-American.

This doll is not wearing Dee Dee's original costume. She is wearing a blue faux fir coat and silver jumpsuit, which was part of the SuperStar Barbie Fashions range. "Dramatic Blue & Silver Aglitter! #2481" was released in 1978 as a play set, which also included blue jewellery, a silver clutch bag, and blue shoes. It also came with a child-sized necklace.

Barbie and the Rockers (known as Barbie and The Rockstars in some parts of Europe) was released by Mattel in 1985 to compete with Hasbro's Jem and her band, the Holograms. Mattel's stronghold over retailers meant that the Barbie toys had more room in toyshops than the Jem range, as well as a much larger back catalogue of clothing and accessories for children to play with. Combined with a large marketing campaign, which included appearances at both 1986 and 1987 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parades, Barbie continued to outsell Jem significantly.

Designer Carlyle Nuera, the Lead Designer for Barbie Signature at Mattel, re-designed Barbie and The Rockers for the American chain Target in 2017, featuring a similar line up. The line also included clothing for children and adults featuring the fictional band, and played on the nostalgia of a generation of shoppers who had been children when Barbie and The Rockers were released along with several singles and music videos.