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 and 1980s. They starred both in the long-running series Rainbow as well as 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 (later to star in the BBC's ill-fated soap opera Eldorado, 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.
Rod Jane and Freddy Show - 1981 - 1990
They wrote hundreds of songs on various different topics. Most were comedic but several had deeper meanings.
They have written and produced 10 albums, 24 videos, written jingles for commercial radio, theme and title music for TV, songs for Pantomimes and managed to write a massive 2500 songs during the course of their careers!
Their shows 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.
One of their most well known songs is "Big Dogs, Small Dogs".
Episode List
The Farmyard 1989
Chinese Plate 1989
Moving House 1989
Town 1989
Sweets 1989
Food 1989
Snow and Ice 1989
Games 1989
Houses and Homes 1989
Dressing Up 1989
Nursery Ryhmes 1989
Wild West 1989
Fast and Slow 1989
Music and Song 1989
Land of Dreams 1989
Light 1989
Paper 1989
Suitcases 1989
The Wizard 1989
Weather 1989
Feelings 1989
Body Movement 1989
Garden 1990
Dots and Dashes 1990
Friends 1990
Faces 1990
Children's Favourites 1990
Mirrors/ Dressing Up 1990
Toys 1990
Tricks of the Trade 1990
Boxes 1990
Time 1990
Entertainers 1990
Episodes can be found on youtube.com*
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. They also featured in Peter Kay's video for his 2007 Comic Relief release of I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles).