Rainbow
Up above the streets and houses,
Rainbow climbing high
Everyone can see it smiling,
Over the sky . . .
Paint the whole world with a Rainbow.
David Cook and then Geoffrey Hayes (ex Z-Cars) hosted a
group of strange puppets; Bungle (a bear originally played by John
Leeson who also provided the voice for K-9 in Doctor Who),
George (a Hippo) and Zippy (an oval headed and wide eyed puppet
with a zip for a mouth). They had songs, stories and animated bits
with Curly and Straight.
They were accompanied by a bunch of hippies singing the theme
song - Rod Burton, Jane Tucker (a blonde haired psychopath) and
Freddy Marks (with the amazing "living eyebrows").
Original regulars before Zippy and George were Moony (a sad
looking purple puppet) and Sunshine (a lively yellow one). Notable
animated series' appearing on Rainbow included; Sally
and Jake, Grandma Bricks of Swallow Street and Cockleshell
Bay.
The show later returned minus Geoffrey and with a new female
puppet called Cleo (a blue dog ) in an afternoon slot. The story
centred on Zippy, George and Bungle's attempts to run a toy store
for Mr Top (who owned the shop).
A subsequent revival in 1996/7 saw the program retitled Rainbow
Days and a new presenter, Dale Superville. A comic published
every four weeks by Marvel Comics, also entitled Rainbow Days,
ran for a handful of issues in early 1997.
Paint the whole world with a rainbow indeed . . .
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