''Animal Kwackers'' was a 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: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

from 1975 to 1978. 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 children's television variety show produced by Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera Productions and featuring the Banana Splits, a fictional rock band composed of four costumed animal characters in red helmets with ...

'' and ''

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''. 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 Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' are referred to as bi ...

) 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 hi ...

. 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 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 with assistance from Paul McCartney, and credited to the Len ...

". The album was released on Handkerchief, a label also featuring releases by

Patti Boulaye Patricia Ngozi Komlosy OBE (née Ebigwei; born 3 May 1954), known professionally as Patti Boulaye, is a British-Nigerian singer, actress and artist who rose to prominence after winning ''New Faces'' in 1978 and was among the leading black Briti ...

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British Jamaicans, British-Jamaican comedian, actor and writer. He gained success as a Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in ' ...

and Harvey Smith Title: ''Animal Kwackers''
Label: Handkerchief
Catalog#: KYD 201
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP
Country: UK
Released: 1975
A second double album ''Let's Play Together'' was also released on Handekerchief in 1976 as was a single album ''Swinging on a Star'' Title: ''Let's Play Together''
Label: Handkerchief
Catalog#: KYD 202
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP
Country: UK
Released: 1976
Title: ''Swinging on a Star''
Label: Handkerchief
Catalog#: KYD 101
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: UK
Released: 1976

DVD

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

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0266115, title=Animal Kwackers
''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 British children's musical groups 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 British English-language television shows