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, Staring in both in the long-running series Rainbow And their own 15-minute show, Rod, Jane and Freddy. They 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 in 1976 to host The Sooty Show and was replaced by actor Roger Walker, whereupon the trio became known as "Rod, Jane and Roger". When Walker left in 1980, he was replaced by Freddy Marks, leading to the most famous incarnation of the trio.
They wrote hundreds of songs on various different topics. Most were comedic but several had deeper meanings.
Their shows always followed a certain format:
- Opening with a big song, giving you an idea of the theme of this particular show (music, 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
One of their most well known songs is "Big Dogs, Small Dogs".
The UK digital TV channel Nick Jr. has recently begun repeating episodes of Rainbow from the 1980s featuring Rod, Jane and Freddy.
They feature in Peter Kay's video for his 2007 Comic Relief release of "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)"
