Rod Burton is a British singer, songwriter, actor, musician and entertainer. He is best known for being part of the trio

Rod, Jane and Freddy Rod, Jane and Freddy were a singing trio who appeared in children's programming on the British TV channel ITV in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. They starred both in the long-running series ''Rainbow'' and their own 15-minute show. The trio ...

along with their appearences on the children's TV series Rainbow and their own series "Rod, Jane and Freddy" between 1980–1991.

Early life

Burton studied graphic design at the London College of Printing and started his career illustrating books. He left this field to pursue music. He spent several years 'busking' in the south of France and playing in pubs and bars until an audition with his then wife Jane got him a job on children's TV show ''

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows ...

''.

Career

''Rainbow''

Burton formed part of Rod, Matt and Jane; a trio with

Matthew Corbett Peter Graham "Matthew" Corbett (born 28 March 1948) is an English actor, singer, comedian, magician, puppeteer, television presenter and writer, best known for presenting '' The Sooty Show'' and later '' Sooty and Co''. He is the son of Sooty' ...

and

Jane Tucker Jane Tucker (born 20 October 1949) is a British actress, singer, songwriter, musician and keyboardist. She is best known for being part of the musical trio Rod, Jane and Freddy who appeared in many TV series, notably '' Rainbow''. She was born ...

. Their contribution to the show was to sing a song everyday invoking the theme of the day. Burton played banjo and guitar, Corbett played guitar and bass and Tucker played keyboards. When Corbett left in 1976, he was replaced by Roger Walker (the group became Rod, Jane and Roger). Walker was later replaced by

Freddy Marks Frederick Marks (10 September 1949 – 20 May 2021) was an English actor, singer and entertainer. He was best known for being part of the musical trio Rod, Jane and Freddy which appeared in children's programming in the 1980s and 1990s. Early ...

(making the group's name Rod, Jane and Freddy). In 1979, Burton divorced Tucker, who entered a relationship with Marks in 1985 and married him in 2016.

''Rod, Jane and Freddy Show''

Towards the end of 1980, the trio were approached by ITV to do their own show. Plans went through, and ''The Rod, Jane and Freddy Show'' aired its first episode on 15 January 1981. Rod, Jane and Freddy appeared in both their own show and ''Rainbow'' until 1989, when they left ''Rainbow'' to focus solely on ''The Rod, Jane and Freddy Show''.

Touring

In 1990, Burton toured with Jane and Freddy in their stage shows all across the country until 1996. In 1996, he won a Gold Badge Award from the

British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors The Ivors Academy (formerly the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors – BASCA) is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe. The academy exists to support, protect, and campaign for the interests ...

. Burton currently lives in London and is semi-retired, although he still writes songs.

References

External links

*
Rod, Jane and Freddy biographyRod, Jane and Freddy songsOfficial Episode List
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burton, Rod English male television actors English composers Living people 1948 births