Rock stars often have to do kids TV and while some of them were really good at it (I remember Erasure being very good guests on Saturday Superstore) some of them are awful.
This is very WTF. If you are Scottish and in your 40’s or older then you will remember with, probably some resentfulness, that Gaelic TV programmes used to intrude on normal TV programmes with tedious regularity, generally when something good like “Rolf’s Cartoon Club” was on.
But I had no idea that Runrig, in 1979 actually made a TV programme, in Gaelic, for children.
It was called Cuir Car and the title sequence is not terribly inviting.
Can anyone else remember any other interesting moments when rock stars ended up on kids TV?
He showed up on Tiswas too but here is Cozy Powell on Record Breakers
https://youtu.be/kwkgw4_LpQ8
Basil Brush had Lulu, Alvin Stardust, Petula Clarke, Cilla and Demis Roussos etc as guests.
Rammstein v Pingu. They didn’t stand a f***ing chance.
Motorhead visited Tiswas a few times.
Custard pies, buckets of water and Nolans added to the Saturday morning fun.
Tiswas also had Genesis visit – Phil Collins dressed up as a flower in Compost Corner
COMPOST CORNER!
Grapple me grapenuts.
Not a lawnmower in sight.
A collision of culture (?)
Dollar, Bucks Fizz, Modern Romance, The Polecats, Girlschool and Lemmy
(plus Rick Wakeman on keyboards and (what looks like) Kiki Dee on washboard
That clip is magnificent. Pop stars with a sense of silly fun. Joy!
I thought I saw Rick Wakeman in the backing band.
Magnificent, Rigid! Pop stars with a sense of silly fun. What a joy!
John Fogerty on the Wiggles Christmas Special. John does not look at all comfortable but clearly starts enjoying himself during the songs.
There are YouTube videos. Type Fogerty and Wiggles to find them.
The wacky Wiggle world seems a bit too much for poor Fogerty.
Leo Sayer looks far more comfortable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bwy1x0-cZaI
Ralph McTell had a whole series
Tickle on the Tum
Ralph McTell a rock star?
Lawdy mama!
More recently Yo Gabba Gabba a pre school edutainment show featured musical turns from Cornillius, the shins, mos Def, the killers, Ladytron, Weezer, bootsy Collins, the roots among many others. Plus links from Biz Markie and drawing tips from Devo.
A far better line up of musical guest than the last few seasons of later.
Here’s Ladytron … https://youtu.be/biKjL0PlEcw?list=PLGPqDEREpmnZbr-tvse-MWgHfGtFeisXV
Yo Gabba Gabba is quite wonderful TV. Pop music is fun!!
The Ting Tings
The Roots
But I can’t get over the fact that one of the characters seems to be a large condom
What about Nicko McBrain of ‘Ver Maiden and Streetwalkers on Sooty?
Even better, the beat could have had Max Wall doing his classic dance.
Oh my word. Now my life is complete.
That is really quite excellent.
Nico is right to applaud. Sooty and Sweep get a surprisingly full sound out of such tiny kits; they must be really hammering those skins.
Thanks to Gatz’s typo, I thought for one wonderful moment that the Velvet Underground chanteuse had appeared on a TV show with Harry Corbett’s prodigies.
White light White Sweep!
I refer you to this scholarly disquisition on Sooty’s Disco.
Spencer Davis group on Magpie. To explain how they wrote the theme tune.
I may have a false memory here but didn’t a member of Motorhead attempt to spliff up in the cage??
i’m thinking phil taylor………swiftly damped down with a bucket or two.
Matt Bianco on Saturday Superstore. Contians NSFW language – probably the most rock thing they were ever involved with.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEkB25V_ow8
Similar occurrence with Five Star on Going Live
Pop bands and kids TV were the most natural combination in the world back in the days of Crackerjack. All the bands were just queing up to have instant access to the people were going out to buy their singles.
And then of course, a little later, there were the cover versions……
Unbelievable! Making plans for Nigel covered by the Crackerjack crew!!
The agaony and the XTC!
Nice one ,always got a disapproving look from parents when this was on i recall!
No one has yet posted that rather nice clip of Feist on Sesame Street doing “1-2-3-4”, accompanied by various monsters and penguins, etc.
That’s because it doesn’t exist. Step away from the peyote my friend.
Oh it exists and it’s charming as hell…
Ohh mama. Tell me that ain’t some trippy shit right there.
I am reliably informed that my youngest grandchild enjoyed listening to the Ceebeebies bedtime story last week delivered by Guy Garvey. That must be a great gig for any Rock Dad
He’s done that a few times! Guy Garvey, Tom Hardy, David Tennant, Rosamund Pike, James McAvoy, Simon Callow. Some big names turn up there…
I very much enjoyed the Tom Hardy one. More than once. Especially the end, where he told us (quite firmly) to get to bed.
I can’t believe we’ve got this far….and no-one has mention Peter Hammill’s appearance on PlayAway….
Hammill on Playaway. I’m crying with gratitude. That has to be the seventiesest thing in the known universe.
The problem with rock on kids TV these days is that the only bands who get to play are dinosaurs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9in5Onuz-Jw
Spear of Destiny doing ‘They’ll Never Take Me Alive’ on ITVs Get Fresh, with a bunch of medieval reenactment actors dancing alongside. Sadly, I can’t find a copy to share.
I had never heard of Get Fresh and Gilbert the Alien.
Wacky with some interesting guests.
Captain Sensible
And here is Alan Moore talking about Swamp Thing.
Then you get times when rock stars are children’s TV – 70s Ozrockers Skyhooks’ lead singer Shirley Strachan had his own kids TV show “Shirl’s Neighborhood” for some years…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOksqT_OsAE
I have shared this before but I am convinced that a unicycling Mark Knopfler appeared on the Saturday morning show called (possibly) Get Fresh presented by Gaz Top and featuring Gilbert the Alien. He wasn’t listed as a guest – it was an outside broadcast with a large crowd. His presence was a surprise and he was incredibly cheerful and having a right laugh. He had a go at unicycling.
This was smack in the middle of the horrible headband phase and, to me at least, he was a mumbling, miserable eld get groaning for 10 minutes about Telegraph Road or something. Had no idea he was Captain Crazy in his spare time.
How about Kylie on the Wiggles…singing a Toots and the Maytals number from the 60s.