Web Page No 2310
22nd October 2016
Top Picture: Pinky and Perky EP Cover
Third Picture: With creator
Vlasta Dalibor
Two
Little Pigs
Looking back, what a ridiculous scenario it was to
have two marionettes clattering and dancing on a television programme whilst
singing the latest pop songs.
Yes I am talking about Pinky and Perky.
But did you know that they were originally going to
be named Pinky and Porky but there was a problem registering Porky as a
character name. This was solved by Margaret Potter, the wife of their producer,
Trevor Hill, who also discovered them, when she woke him up one night
announcing "I've got it! Pinky and Perky!
They were created by Czechoslovakian immigrants Jan and Vlasta Dalibor.
The characters of pigs were chosen because the pig is seen as a symbol of good
luck in their home country. If you remember the puppets, who had only very
limited movements, looked very alike. Pinky wore red clothes and Perky wore
blue, but this distinction was of little use on black and white TV, so Perky
often wore a hat.
They spoke and sang in high-pitched voices, created
by re-playing original voice recordings at twice the original recorded speed;
the vocals were sung by Mike Sammes, the originator of the Mike Sammes Singers. while
the backing track was played at half normal speed (Mike Sammes did the same job
for Ken Dodd's Diddymen, as Ross Bagdasarian did for the original
Chipmunks in the early 1960s. As we must all remember Pinky
and Perky would often sing cover
versions of popular songs, but who remembers that they
also had their own theme song, "We Belong Together".
They had their own fictional TV station "PPC
TV. on which they also performed comedy sketches usually with a human
foil. Actor John Slater worked
with them as a straight man for many years, enduring soakings from water
pistols and similar pranks. Other human companions included Roger Moffat, Jimmy Thompson and Fred Emney.
Their show included other puppets such as the
Beakles, (a bird parody of the Beatles), Topo Gigio, a mouse puppet
who appeared in many later episodes, as well as a female pig. Other puppets
included Ambrose Cat, Basil Bloodhound, Bertie Bonkers the baby elephant,
Conchita the Cow, Horace Hare and Vera Vixen. How many of those do you
remember?
The puppets also appeared on TV in the United
States on a number of episodes of The Ed Sullivan Show:
where they shared the bill with the Beatles and Morecambe and Wise.
The pigs featured in series, such as Pinky
and Perky's Pop Parade and Pinky and Perky's Island, for
11 years until 1968 on the BBC before transferring to ITV until 1971. There were no real people,
sketches or stories in the shows at all. Instead, the puppets would be seen
lip-synching and dancing to songs by the likes of Petula Clark.Each episode would end with the characters singing the Scaffold's hit "Thank U Very Much". At this point, there would be the
only piece of spoken dialogue, which went along these lines:
"Who's going to say it?"
"Oh, let me!"
"No! I want to!"
"Alright, then, let's do it together!
Ready—MUCH!"
The characters enjoyed a brief revival in the
1990s, on the short-lived children's series The Pig Attraction. A
children's annual was also produced in the '60s featuring their adventures.
The Pinky and Perky Show reappeared
in an all-new CGI-animated television series on CBBC, beginning in November 2008 on BBC
One. There are 52 episodes, each 13 minutes in length.
Some of the old characters remained in the show, such as Vera Vixen (who often
hatches schemes to try to get rid of the two pigs) and Morton Frog (who works
in the production control room, usually running the end titles at the end of an
episode. Alongside them, there were a host of new characters, such as K.T. the
studio manager cat, Wilberforce the tortoise security guard (who comes up with
impractical ideas for new acts or games for the show), and a pair of poodle receptionists called Tara and Tamara. There was
also a steady stream of special 'celebrity' guests, many of which spoof
better-known franchises, such as Doctor Who as "Dr. Roo".
It is amazing to record that this duo released 25
singles, 15 EP’s and 11 albums.
Keep
in touch
Peter
On
this day 22nd October 1960-1965
On 22/10/1960 the number one single was Tell Laura I Love Her - Ricky Valance and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was No
Hiding Place US places embargo on goods to Cuba
On 22/10/1961 the number one single was Walkin' Back to Happiness - Helen Shapiro and the number one album was The Shadows - Shadows. The top rated
TV show was Sunday Night at the London Ipswich Town
On 22/10/1962 the number one single was Telstar - The Tornadoes and the number one album was Best of Ball Barber & Bilk. The
top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A
pound of today's money was worth £12.89
and Everton were on the way to
becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.
On 22/10/1963 the number one single was Do You Love Me? - Brian Poole & the Tremoloes and the number
one album was Please Please Me - The
Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's
money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool
were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.
On 22/10/1964 the number one single was Oh Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A
pound of today's money was worth £12.24
and Manchester
On 22/10/1965 the number one single was Tears - Ken Dodd and
the number one album was The Sound of
Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's
money was worth £11.69 and Liverpool
were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.
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