Rod, Jane and Freddy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rod, Jane and Freddy was the most famous name for 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 as well as their own 15-minute show, The Rod, Jane and Freddy Show. The trio have also made numerous guest appearances in several other children's TV shows including The Sooty Show.
The original trio consisted of Rod Burton, Jane Tucker and Matthew Corbett, when they were known as "Rod, Matt and Jane". Corbett left the trio in 1976 to continue hosting The Sooty Show after his father retired. Corbett was replaced by actor Roger Walker, whereupon the trio became known as "Rod, Jane and Roger". When Walker left in 1978 to continue his Career in acting he was replaced by Freddy Marks, leading to the most famous incarnation of the trio. During their 3 decades working on children's television they managed to write over 2500 songs on various topics using many different music styles, Most were comedic and fun but some had deeper meanings. Overall they have written and produced 10 albums and 24 videos. Conceived and performed countless jingles for commercial radio, theme and title music for TV and songs for Pantomimes.
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[edit] The Rod, Jane and Freddy show
Due to the their popularity on Rainbow in 1980 Rod, Jane and Freddy were approach by ITV to make 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 1991 when they left their position as musicians on Rainbow to focus solely on The Rod Jane and Freddy Show.
Their show often followed a certain format:
- Opening with a big song, giving you an idea of the theme of this particular show (music and Song, pets, moving house, etc)
- Rod, Jane and Freddy would usually have solo songs
- There was often a sketch, but these were generally rarer than songs
- They would close with a final song
- As the credits rolled, the first or last song would be sung again.
[edit] Episode List
The following is a list of Episodes. (Fremantle archive episode list use master tape titles where available, if unavailable they use the episode titles as they appeared in T.V Guides)
| TITLE | AIR DATE | INFO |
|---|---|---|
| Pantomime Island(pilot) | 1981 | (The Tx date is the one supplied by Thames, but the TV Times has no record of its transmission on the day in question. It may have been shown, unlisted, within RAINBOW.) |
| Wobbyland | 1981 | Series of musical stories for children. |
| Slumberland | 1981 | Rod Jane and Freddy Sing about sleeping and the land of nod. |
| Castaways | 1981 | On a desert island there is buried a treasure - will castaways Jane and Rod get there before pirate Freddy? |
| On The Moon | 1981 | Jane and Freddy go to meet the `Man in the Moon'. |
| By The Lake | 1981 | |
| Under The Sea | 1981 | songs about life under the sea. |
| Clock Land | 1981 | This edition is about a boy and girl who live in a special clock.(now a lost episode - Master and all known copies destroyed.) |
| Nursery Rhyme land | 1981 | |
| Cowboyland | 1981 | This week features a Wild West Show with Buffalo Biil, Annie Oakleigh and the Big Indian Chief. |
| SnowLand | 1981 | Rolly is a lonely snowman who wishes that Jack Frosy would come and build him a friend |
| Circusland | 1981 | |
| Toyland | 1981 | |
| PictureBook Land | 1981 | A girl who doesn't like her nose goes to see a wizard to get it changed. |
| The Wobblies (1) | 1983 | The story of wobblyland and the wobblies who live their. When our 3 wobbly friend's houses melt away in the sun they must go to the jelly mine to make another jelly house. |
| Comics | 1983 | The story of punky pam and horris blot in a comic strip find out that the colours from their page had been taken (or rather borrowed) by ted the tealeaf. |
| The Chinese Plate | 1983 | The story of the Princess and the gardener who live on the Chinese willow plate. |
| Dolls | 1983 | |
| Germs | 1983 | A sung story about three germs, Susie Squidge, Grott and DK - who live in Mrs Jones' bathroom. |
| Weather | 1983 | |
| Oprea Singers | 1983 | |
| The Fox | 1983 | The story of a fox (Played by Freddy)who is a day dreamer of goes outside in the day and goes to sleep at night.His friends Badger & Hedgehog (played by Rod & Jane)who know that a hunt will come to their wood if they find him so they do a plan to stop fox going out in the day will all go to plan. |
| The Lost Toys | 1983 | One christmas eve farther christmas was in such a rush he dropped to presents in the snow that forget one house altoghter.Pero the clown doll & captain neutron have to find their home before christmas day they go to a house and meet christmas fairy who helps them get to the sirring room where the christmas tree is can they get there in time before the big day. |
| The Vegetables | 1983 | |
| The Three Gnomes | 1983 | |
| The Big Mouth | 1983 | |
| The Evil Garden | 1983 | |
| Nursery Rhymes | 1984 | The story of a dame who lives in a shoe. She opens a milk bottle and gets three wishes and one day to spend them. |
| Red, Green and Witch Hazle | 1984 | |
| Musicland | 1984 | Tom Tom the drum wants to play with the other instruments in the parade to celebrate the King's birthday, but he is told he is too loud |
| Games | 1984 | |
| The Toy Museum | 1984 | |
| Garden Gnomes | 1984 | |
| Tricky Tommy | 1984 | |
| The Grubs | 1984 | |
| On Top Of The Table | 1984 | |
| The Story Of Tristan | 1984 | This is the original Version, it was remade in 1989. This version is filmed without the footlights and theatre effects. Also Jane's character has no name - she simply said "I'm me... we don't have names in the land of nod". |
| The Lost Note | 1985 | |
| Charlies Story | 1985 | |
| The Bees | 1985 | |
| The Wobblies (2) | 1985 | |
| The Wobblies-Olympics | 1988 | The Wobblies get ready for the Wobbolympic Games and hope to win a medal. |
| The Alley Cats | 1988 | Two friendly cats, Tom and Tom, live in the alley. When Siam gets lost they help her find her home. |
| Top Of The Table | 1988 | Trouble is in store for Sunny the character on the butterpack wrapping, and Stodgy the breadboy, when Mrs Jones the lady of the house goes on a diet. |
| The Dragon in the Dungeon | 1988 | The tale of Princess Angelica, Peterkin the librarian and the brave but boring knight, Sir Brian de Bolfrey.
One of them will kill the dragon, to win the hand of the beautiful princess but who will it be? |
| The Ship In The Bottle | 1988 | The story of a fishing trip which suddenly changes course when Red Beard the pirate appears. |
| The Man With No Shadow | 1988 | What happens to the man with no shadow and how can he discover a way to get it back? |
| The Weathervane | 1988 | The story how Mr and Mrs Corkinbottle lose their home in the weathervane, and how Hieronamous the gnome comes to the rescue. |
| The Adventures of Mary Mary | 1988 | Mary Mary from the nursery rhyme meets Zap and Zoom the space heroes and they have adventures together. |
| The Scarecrow | 1988 | The story of the scarecrow who asks Mr Sun and Mr Cloud to give him a change of weather. |
| Small World | 1988 | The story of how Cob the Cobbler and Thimble the Tailor help a fairy go to the Springtime Revels. |
| The Magic Socks | 1988 | The magical musical story of the wizards socks. |
| The Riddle of the Clock | 1988 | Young Alice pays a visit to Old Father Time, and arranges some extra time for the Mad Hatter and March Hare to prepare tea for the Queen of Hearts. |
| The Funny Shape | 1988 | It's strange and a bit frightening when you can't find anything or anyone that looks like you. But the Square and Triangle come to the rescue. |
| Mirrors/Dressing Up | 1989 | The setting is a theatre where our three musicians are into Dressing Up, helped by their dressing room mirrors.
Having braved the stormy seas as sailors, and with a few pieces of clothing and some grease paint, Rod becomes a clown and Jane a fish, a princess, a great explorer and a ballet dancer. |
| The Attic/Looking Back | 1989 | Rod, Jane and Freddy sort through there things and remember the past. |
| Domestic Animals | 1989 | Rod, Freddy and Jane sing about all the different kinds of pets they have met. |
| The Farmyard | 1989 | All about animals you may find on a trip to a farm. |
| Wild Animals | 1989 | Rod, Jane and Freddy go exploring in the jungle. |
| Counting | 1989 | |
| Nursery Rhymes (1) | 1989 | Rod, Jane and Freddy sing various nursery rhymes in modern and traditional styles. |
| Day Out/The Seaside | 1989 | Rod, Jane and Freddy go on an adventure. |
| Vegetables | 1989 | Featuring songs about vegetables. |
| Colours/Shapes | 1989 | Featuring songs about balloons and colours. |
| London Town | 1989 | Take a trip with Rod, Jane and Freddy to old London town. |
| Illusions | 1989 | Can you believe your eyes? |
| Tramps / Riff Raff | 1989 | |
| Putting On A Show | 1989 | |
| Hats | 1989 | Featuring songs about hats. |
| Daytime/Night-time | 1989 | Jane and Rod sing songs about both DAY and NIGHT |
| Books and Words | 1989 | Let Rod, Jane and Freddy show you what kinds of adventure you can have when you read. |
| Entertainment | 1989 | A musical themed episode. |
| Nursery Rhymes (2) | 1989 | Rod, Jane and Freddy sing various nursery rhymes in modern and traditional styles. |
| The Street | 1989 | This episode is all about life on the street. |
| Party/Fancy Dress | 1989 | Rod Jane and freddy get dressed up for a party. |
| Emotions (1) | 1989 | Rod, Jane and Freddy explore all different kinds of emotions. |
| Fast and Slow | 1989 | Featuring songs about fast and slow people and animals. |
| Moving - Decorating | 1989 | Rod Jane and Freddy have lots of fun with boxes |
| Sounds | 1989 | Featuring songs about all various kinds of sounds. |
| Emotions (2) | 1989 | Rod, Jane and Freddy explore all different kinds of emotions. |
| The Girl With The Long Nose | 1989 | The story of a girl who doesn't like her nose goes to see a wizard to get it changed but he can only a cast a spell if she meets someone with an even longer nose. |
| Colours (1) | 1989 | Featuring songs about colours and painting. |
| Food - Sweets | 1989 | Featuring songs about sweets and fruits. |
| Food - Normal | 1989 | Featuring songs about different kinds of food |
| Paper (1) | 1989 | Featuring songs about paper. |
| Suitcases (1) | 1989 | Rod, Jane and Freddy make a train and car out of suitcases. |
| Tristan | 1989 | Nod is the keeper of all the dreams in the land and is writing a dream for a boy called Tristan. Nod's assistant Dreamboy meets Tristan and takes him to many different places in his dream,but he ends up not liking any of them. Will Nod manage to finish writing his dream? |
| A Day in the Country | 1989 | Rod, Jane and Freddy have a musical day in the country. As well as having an enjoyable picnic, there are some strange and exciting animals, birds and insects to meet. |
| Snow and Ice | 1990 | A winter themed episode. |
| Dressing Up | 1990 | Rod, Jane and Freddy are dressing up and pretend to be in the theatre. |
| Houses and Homes | 1990 | Featuring songs about the different kind of homes where people and animals live. |
| Suitcases (2) | 1990 | Rod, Jane and Freddy make a boat and a desert island out of suitcases using a green umbrella for a palm tree. |
| The Garden | 1990 | Featuring songs about the garden, nomes and different seasons. |
| Games | 1990 | Featuring songs all about games. |
| Cowboys | 1990 | This week features a Wild West Show with Buffalo Biil, Annie Oakleigh and the Big Indian Chief. |
| Music and Song | 1990 | Rod, Jane and Freddy perform a musical themed episode. |
| The Chinese Plate | 1990 | The sung story of the Princess and the gardener who live on the Chinese willow plate. |
| Pets | 1990 | Rod, Freddy and Jane sing about all the different kinds of pets they have met. |
| Flowers | 1990 | Featuring songs about flowers and the garden. |
| Paper (2) | 1990 | Featuring songs about paper. |
| Time | 1990 | Featuring songs about the time and clocks. |
| Faces | 1990 | This episode is all about different faces. |
| Feelings | 1990 | This episode is all about Feelings and thinking about how others feel. |
| Colours (2) | 1990 | This episode is all about different colours. |
| Mechanical | 1990 | This episode is all about with machines. |
| Moon and Stars | 1990 | Featuring songs about nighttime. |
| Improvisation | 1990 | The trio make many different things such as a music machine from bottles and saucepans. |
| Dots and Dashes | 1990 | Featuring songs about dots, dashes and dice. |
| Costume | 1990 | Rod, Jane and Freddy dress up in different costumes. |
| Daytime | 1990 | This episode is all about getting up and parts of the day. |
| Boxes | 1990 | Rod, Jane and Freddy make various things from boxes. |
| Toys | 1990 | A Christmas themed episode. |
| Children's Favourites | 1990 | Classic nursery rhymes given new tunes. |
| Entertainers | 1991 | The trio are in the theatre today. |
| Light | 1991 | Featuring songs about lights and the stage. |
| Funny Noises | 1991 | This episode is all about different kinds of noises. |
| Musical Instruments | 1991 | Featuring songs using different instruments. |
| Body Movement | 1991 | Featuring songs about movement. |
| Tricks of the Trade | 1991 | Featuring songs about tricks and magic. |
| Country Matters | 1991 | Featuring songs about the farm. |
| Rhythm | 1991 | This episode is all about different kinds of rhythms and sounds. |
Due to a fire at the ITV vaults in 1992 many of the master tapes from 1981 - 1982 have been destroyed, the fire also damaged a few other masters including, LIGHT (1990) and PUTTING ON A SHOW (1989).
[edit] Touring
In 1990 Rod, Jane and Freddy toured all across the country until 1996, their stage show followed the same format and the 15 minute ITV show, filled with songs, dancing, mime and their general comedy routine. In 1996 they won a Gold Badge Award from The British Academy of Composers and Songwriters.
[edit] Videos
The trio released a number of videos in the late 80s and early 90s. These include:
| TITLE | Date | Info |
|---|---|---|
| Meet Rod, Jane and Freddy | 1984 | Contains 2 episodes of The Rod, Jane and Freddy Show, plus an introduction by the trio.
-Episode list Castaways By The Lake |
| Rod, Jane and Freddy | 1987 | Features 5 musical stories from the early 80s.
-Episode list Comics The Fox The Chinese Plate The Wobblies (1) The Lost toys |
| Rod, Jane and Freddy's Stories and Rhymes | 1990 | Features 5 musical stories from their 1987 series.
-Episode list The Adventures of Mary Mary The Dragon in the Dungeon The Riddle of the Clock Magic Socks Small World |
| In A Winter Wonderland | 1991 | The trio perform a special Christmas themed show. |
| Live on Stage | 1992 | The trio perform a live stage show from their 1992 stage tour. |
| Say No! To Strangers | 1992 | Highlights the important message of saying no to strangers, through song and roleplay. |
[edit] Present Day
Although the trio no longer regularly appear on television (apart from repeats of Rainbow from the early 1980s on the UK digital TV channel Nick Jr.), they remain a popular attraction in British children's theatre and in pantomime. The trio can also be spotted in Peter Kay's video for his 2007 Comic Relief release of I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles).
In January of 2008, Jane announced that She, Freddy and Rod are currently working on putting together a "greatest hits" CD.
