''Animal Kwackers'' was a popular children's television series produced by

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

and broadcast on Britain's

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

in the 1970s. The Animal Kwackers were a four-piece pop band consisting of Rory, a lion; Twang, a monkey; Bongo, a dog; and Boots, a tiger. The characters were played by actors in costumes. The show was similar in many ways to the successful US series ''

The Banana Splits ''The Banana Splits'' is an American television variety show produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and featuring the Banana Splits, a fictional rock band composed of four costumed animal characters in red marching band hats with yellow plumes. ...

'' and

The Skatebirds ''The Skatebirds'' (onscreen title: ''Skatebirds'') is an American live-action/animated package program produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on CBS from September 10, 1977, to January 21, 1978. Overview The Skatebirds consisted of ...

. The music was a mixture of well-known pop songs and original songs, most of which (including the theme song) were written by Roy Apps (of

Heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

) and the producer

Peter Eden Peter Eden (born 1943) is a British former record producer and record label executive, best known for his work in the mid-1960s with Donovan, and later with jazz musicians such as John Surman. Biography Eden was born in Hadleigh, Essex. In his ...

. The jingle from the series was "Rory Rory tell us a story, Rory Rory tell it like it is!"

Cast for series 1 and 2

Nick Pallet and Geoff Nicholls from the band Principal Edwards played Twang and Bongo on series 1 of ''Animal Kwackers'', with Tony Hannaford from G.T. Moore and the Reggae Guitars as Boots and Roy Apps as Rory. In 1980, Pallet, Nicholls and Tony Hannaford would be signed to the EMI label Cobra in the band Electrotunes (known for the single "If This Ain't Love").Electrotunes - "If This Ain't Love" b/w "Bodywork", written by Tony Hannaford. Cobra/EMI Records 1980, catalogue number: COB 5 In series 2, Peter Eden replaced Nicholls as Bongo. * Rory, on guitar - Roy Apps * Twang, on Bass - Nick Pallett * Bongo, on drums -

Geoff Nicholls Geoffrey James Nicholls (29 February 1944 – 28 January 2017) was a British guitarist and keyboardist, and longtime member of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath until 2004. Nicholls also played in the NWOBHM band Quartz before joining Black Sa ...

and (2nd series)

* Boots, on guitar - Tony Hannaford

Cast for series 3

* Rory, on guitar - Bev Doyle * Twang, on bass - Step Morley * Bongo, on drums - Atalanta Harmsworth * Boots, on guitar - John Basset

Transmission guide

*Series 1: 13 editions from 25 September 1975 – 18 December 1975 *Series 2: 13 editions from 30 September 1976 – 23 December 1976 *Series 3: 13 editions from 10 November 1977 – 2 February 1978

Recorded music

The Animal Kwackers released a double album which featured a selection of songs from the show. Whilst the album featured some original music (such as the main title theme and the "Rory, Rory..." interlude) it was mainly made up of cover versions, including The Beatles' " Yellow Submarine" and "

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was written primarily by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partners ...

". Label: Handkerchief Catalog#: KYD 201 Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP Country: UK Released: 1975

DVD

All three series (minus two episodes missing from the archive) were released on DVD on 16 April 2012.

References

External links

*
''Animal Kwackers''
Nostalgia Central

Little Gems Television series by Yorkshire Television 1975 British television series debuts 1978 British television series endings 1970s British children's television series ITV children's television shows Fictional musical groups British children's musical television series British television shows featuring puppetry Television series by ITV Studios Television shows about dogs Television series about lions Television series about monkeys Television series about tigers English-language television shows {{UK-tv-prog-stub