Animal Kwackers was a children's television series produced by Yorkshire Television

Yorkshire Television

Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...

 and broadcast on Britain's

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 ITV

ITV1

ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...

 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 United States of America (US) series, Banana Splits

Banana Splits

The Banana Splits were four comedic animal characters who featured in a late 1960s children's variety show made for television. The costumed hosts of the show were Fleegle , Bingo , Drooper and Snork .The Banana Splits Adventure Hour was an hour-long, packaged television program that featured both...

. 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 and the producer Peter Eden.

A popular quote from the series was "Rory Rory tell us a story, Rory Rory tell it like it is" !

Cast For Original first two series

• Rory, on guitar - Roy Apps
• Twang, on Bass - Nick Pallett (who was also a member of Principal Edwards Magic Theatre
  Principal edwards magic theatre
  Principal Edwards Magic Theatre was a 14-member communal performance art collective in the United Kingdom made up of musicians, poets, dancers, and sound and lighting technicians.-History:...
  
  )
• Bongo, on drums - Geoff Nicholls and (2nd series) Peter Eden
• Boots, on guitar - Tony Hannaford

Cast for third series onwards

• Rory, on guitar - Bev Doyle
• Twang, on bass - Step Morley
• Bongo, on drums - Atalanta Harmsworth
• Boots, on guitar - John Basset
  John Basset
  John Basset was a writer on Cornish mining. He was deeply interested in Cornish mining, mining technology and economics....
  
  

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.

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

External links

• Nostalgia Central: Animal Kwackers