The Bagpuss Show
In the early 70's John Faulkner and I were asked to write the songs and music for a children's TV series called Bagpuss. Twelve 15 minute programmes of animated puppets based around a legendary fluffly cat called Bagpuss and created for the BBC by the masters of animated puppetry at the time; Oliver Postgate and Peter Fermin.
The series ran and ran, was hugely popular and was repeated for over a decade. So much so that twenty years later Channel Four bought the rights from the BBC for another ten years. In Britain it was voted the ‘best children's TV show of all time’. In a new international listing of the greatest TV cult series ever made, compiled to mark the release of the reference book "The Penguin Television Companion" it was voted 20th being beaten by the likes of "Doctor Who", "Star Trek", "Monthy Python" and "The Simpsons". The Show:
With the delightful and musically brilliant addition of Nancy Kerr and James Fagan, John and I present a live show of the music and songs and some of the stories from Bagpuss. We’ve played theatres all over the country, and many folk festivals, including Cambridge, Sidmouth and Whitby, to great acclaim. I am immensely proud to have been involved in this series: it’s ecological theme of re-use and re-cycling is timely and satisfyingly anti-consumerist – and besides which, we had an absolutely hilarious time making the films!’ “Mouse ears are helpfully provided at the door, and they ( the audience) play the part with enthusiasm. Just a step away from Playsongs lies the wonderful world of Bagpuss, voted the most-loved children's tv series of all time. The bridge between them is Sandra Kerr, the brilliant musician behind Bagpuss, and key contributor to the music of Playsongs since its very beginning. There were thirteen Bagpuss episodes in total, and we've created a printable download for each one. They provide you with the musical notation, the lyrics and guitar chords for all the songs in the episode, along with singing and sound-making suggestions to try at home or in school if you're an educator. Available NOW from my shop |
Cat that got the cream of British music - From Sunday Times Lots of BAGPUSS on the media, celebrating his 50th birthday
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2024/feb/12/how-we-made-bagpuss-meccano-cameras-clanger-pink-cat https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00pht5q/timeshift-series-9-6-oliver-postgate-a-life-in-small-films https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/bagpuss-50-anniversary-2899381 https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001w19t CLICK TO BUY THE CD OF THE MUSIC |