ZingZillas
Encyclopedia
ZingZillas is a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 programme aimed at young children, broadcast on the BBC pre-school channel CBeebies
CBeebies
CBeebies is the brand used by the BBC for programming aimed at children 6 years and under. It is used as a themed strand in the UK on terrestrial television, as a separate free-to-air domestic British channel and used for international varients supported by advertising, subscription or both...

.

Overview

ZingZillas is a music show aimed at the under sixes.

It is set on a monkey-shaped tropical island where everyone joins in to create music magic. They use musical influences from all over the globe from rock to soul, jazz to samba, big band to orchestra.

A yellow submarine is sometimes seen in the sea near the island. One episode contains what appears to be a view from the submarine through its periscope
Periscope
A periscope is an instrument for observation from a concealed position. In its simplest form it consists of a tube with mirrors at each end set parallel to each other at a 45-degree angle....

. In a recently-started 5-minute version called Zingzillas Zingbop, the submarine goes very near the viewpoint, showing children inside the submarine through its porthole
Porthole
A porthole is a generally circular, window used on the hull of ships to admit light and air. Porthole is actually an abbreviated term for "port hole window"...

s; those children later take part in the programme's singing and dancing session, as if (in the world of the story) the submarine is the usual transport for guests to and from the island.

The main characters are primates: Zak, Tang, Panzee and the youngest, Drum. They are mentored by music guru DJ Loose and they create their unique ZingZilla sound just in time for their daily performance which is called 'The Big Zing'. A coconut clock counts down the time to the Big Zing and breaks each programme into four parts.

In every episode they are visited by a different musical guest. The ZingZillas always discover their musical guests in a 'glade' in the jungle and they take inspiration from these guests, incorporating them and their sounds into The Big Zing.

Original music for the series has been composed by Banks & Wag
Banks & Wag
Banks & Wag are award-winning composers based in London.Chris Banks and Wag Marshall-Page studied Commercial Music together at the University of Westminster . After graduation, Chris studied Composition For Sceen at the Royal College of Music , continuing to perform with Wag as members of indie...

.

On Monday 30th August 2010, "Do You Didgeridoo?" was released on an EP, alongside the "ZingZillas Theme Tune" and "Bhangra Beat", reaching #1 in the iTunes Childrens' Chart.

On Monday 4th October 2010, "ZingZillas: The Album" was released on CD and as a digital download, reaching #1 in the iTunes Childrens' Chart on the first day. The recording features guest tracks by musical luminaries who have appeared on the show including cellist Julian Lloyd Webber
Julian Lloyd Webber
Julian Lloyd Webber is a British solo cellist who has been described as the "doyen of British cellists".-Early life:Julian Lloyd Webber is the second son of the composer William Lloyd Webber and his wife Jean Johnstone . He is the younger brother of the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber...

 flautist James Galway
James Galway
- External links : IMGArtists.com 15 September 2008. AllAboutJazz.com 5 August 2008.*...

 and jazz vocalist Cleo Laine
Cleo Laine
Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth, DBE is a jazz singer and an actress, noted for her scat singing and vocal range...

.

On 28th February 2011 Cbeebies began broadcasting a 20 part series of 5 minute spinoff programmes entitled "Zingzillas Zingbop" which is hosted by DJ Loose, where a small group of children (known as Zingboppers) go to Zingzilla Island and are taught to dance to a Zingzillas song. The Zingboppers then participate in the final Zingbop. Every Zingbop performed is of course "the best Zingbop ever".

ZingZillas

Each ZingZilla has his/her own personality:
  • Panzee is feminine and loves dressing up. She is sensitive, fun and always ready to try something new. She is a Chimpanzee
    Chimpanzee
    Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...

    , played by Victoria Bovingdon, Sarah-Jane Honeywell
    Sarah-Jane Honeywell
    Sarah-Jane Honeywell is an English television presenter, actress, dancer, acrobat/aerialist best known for her work on the CBeebies television channel....

     and voice by Penni Tovey
  • Tang thinks creatively and is never afraid of asking for help when he doesn't know the answer. He is an Orangutan
    Orangutan
    Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping...

    , played by Jeremiah Krage
  • Zak has a positive attitude. He is serious, confident and likes taking risks. He is a Gorilla
    Gorilla
    Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...

     and has purple fur.
  • Drum is very young at heart. She loves exploring sounds and enjoys making rhythms and noise. She is very sensitive to the mood of music. She resembles a Golden Lion Tamarin
    Golden Lion Tamarin
    The golden lion tamarin also known as the golden marmoset, is a small New World monkey of the family Callitrichidae...

     and her voice is by Penni Tovey

Other characters

  • Todd is the ‘father figure’. Helpful, inventive, accident-prone and loveable. He is a Mandrill
    Mandrill
    The mandrill is a primate of the Old World monkey family, closely related to the baboons and even more closely to the drill. Both the mandrill and the drill were once classified as baboons in genus Papio, but recent research has determined they should be separated into their own genus, Mandrillus...

    .
  • Auntie Dot is a relation of Todd's and whose voice is by Penni Tovey
  • DJ Loose Is the island's DJ. He shows the ZingZillas music made by real people in the glade. He is a sloth. It has been said that he bears a strong resemblance to the late BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel
    John Peel
    John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...

    , but there is no evidence that any resemblance is intentional. It has been reported that many viewers believe he has an uncanny resemblance to Brendan Gleeson
    Brendan Gleeson
    Brendan Gleeson is an Irish actor. His best-known films include Braveheart, Gangs of New York, In Bruges, 28 Days Later, the Harry Potter films, The Guard and the role of Michael Collins in The Treaty...

    .
  • The Beach Byrds are tropical birds who work in the coconut hut and say everything tunefully. Their name may be a reference to the Beach Boys and/or The Byrds
    The Byrds
    The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...

    .
  • The Moaning stones. The middle two are called Granite and Gravel (though four are always visible, those on the far left and far right are permanently inactive). They are like the Moai
    Moai
    Moai , or mo‘ai, are monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Chilean Polynesian island of Easter Island between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on stone platforms called ahu around the...

     heads on Easter Island
    Easter Island
    Easter Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people...

    . Their name may be a reference to The Rolling Stones
    The Rolling Stones
    The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...

    . Near the end of each episode, all four jet about leaving smoky jet trails and settle back in their places.

Episodes

Series 1:
  1. Digeridoo Hullaballoo (with didgeridoo
    Didgeridoo
    The didgeridoo is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia around 1,500 years ago and still in widespread usage today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe"...

     player Dhinawan) - Big Zing: "Do You Didgeridoo?"*
  2. Tang's Happy Day (with vibraphone
    Vibraphone
    The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....

     player Jim Hart) - Big Zing: "Happy Day"
  3. Rock Guitar (with The BMQ: Daniel P Carter
    Daniel P Carter
    Daniel P. Carter is a British musician and radio DJ. He is currently the singer and guitarist for hardcore punk band Hexes, bassist for A, and guitarist for alternative rock group Bloodhound Gang...

    , Nick Tsang, Kat Bax and Robin Guy) - Big Zing: "Rocking In A Rock Band"
  4. Auntie Dot’s Dash (with bagpiper Martin McKay) - Big Zing: "Welcome To The Island"
  5. ScatZilla! (with scat
    Scat singing
    In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. Scat singing gives singers the ability to sing improvised melodies and rhythms, to create the equivalent of an instrumental solo using their voice.- Structure and syllable choice...

     singer Dame Cleo Laine
    Cleo Laine
    Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth, DBE is a jazz singer and an actress, noted for her scat singing and vocal range...

     & John Dankworth
    John Dankworth
    Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE , known in his early career as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist and clarinetist...

    ) - Big Zing: "Let's Hear You Scat"
  6. Operatic Todd (with opera
    Opera
    Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

     singer Sarah Connolly
    Sarah Connolly
    Sarah Patricia Connolly CBE is an English mezzo-soprano.Sarah Connolly was educated at Queen Margaret's School, York and then studied piano and singing at the Royal College of Music, of which she is now a Fellow...

    , David Milner Pearce (uncredited) and the BBC Concert Orchestra
    BBC Concert Orchestra
    The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five which is not a full-scale symphony orchestra....

     conducted by Ben Foster
    Ben Foster (orchestrator)
    Ben Foster is a British composer, orchestrator and conductor who is best known for his work as an orchestrator on the BBC series Doctor Who.- Career :...

    ) - Big Zing: "The Big Zing Opera"
  7. Sticker Trouble (with cellist Julian Lloyd Webber
    Julian Lloyd Webber
    Julian Lloyd Webber is a British solo cellist who has been described as the "doyen of British cellists".-Early life:Julian Lloyd Webber is the second son of the composer William Lloyd Webber and his wife Jean Johnstone . He is the younger brother of the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber...

    ) - Big Zing: "Playing Together Makes It Twice As Fun"
  8. Bhangra Beats (with Jugnu bhangra music and dance group) - Big Zing: "Bhangra Beat"*
  9. Squeaky Boots (with bluegrass
    Bluegrass music
    Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...

     group Kickin' Alice and a troop of Appalachian cloggers) - Big Zing: "Bluegrass, Bluegrass"
  10. Sweet Dreams (with harpist Catrin Finch
    Catrin Finch
    Catrin Anna Finch is a Welsh harpist born in Llanon, Ceredigion, Wales. She was the Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales from 2000 to 2004 and is Visiting Professor at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and the Royal Academy of Music...

    ) - Big Zing: "Drift Away"
  11. A Great Place to Live (with saxophonist James Knight) - Big Zing: "Moving House"
  12. Bubble Trouble (with boogie woogie piano player Elio Pace) - Big Zing: "Boogie Woogie Bubbly Time" (aka "Bubbly Pop")
  13. Tang's Clubhouse (with BBC Concert Orchestra
    BBC Concert Orchestra
    The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five which is not a full-scale symphony orchestra....

     playing Danse Macabre, and violin solo, conducted by Ben Foster
    Ben Foster (orchestrator)
    Ben Foster is a British composer, orchestrator and conductor who is best known for his work as an orchestrator on the BBC series Doctor Who.- Career :...

    ) - Big Zing: "Playing A Solo"
  14. Welcome Beach Byrds (with gamelan
    Gamelan
    A gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included....

     players, Lila Cita, and dancer Cecily Fay) - Big Zing: "Our Island Home"
  15. Zak’s Rubbish Day (with clarinetist Julian Bliss
    Julian Bliss
    Julian Bliss is a British clarinetist and clarinet designer. He has performed both as a soloist and as a chamber musician, notably with his teacher Sabine Meyer...

    ) - Big Zing: "Litter, Litter, Litter"
  16. Disappearing Drum (with Japanese Taiko
    Taiko
    means "drum" in Japanese . Outside Japan, the word is often used to refer to any of the various Japanese drums and to the relatively recent art-form of ensemble taiko drumming...

     drummers Joji Hirota and Hiten Ryu Daiko) - Big Zing: "Making A Big Noise" (aka "Beating On The Drum")
  17. Keep Your Castanets (Flamenco performance with Spanish guitarist Angus Cruickshank and Flamenco dancer Veronica Menichelli) - Big Zing: "Feel The Rhythm Of Flamenco"
  18. The Fan Letter (with trumpeter Jay Phelps) - Big Zing: "The Great ZingZilla Band"
  19. Hide and Seek (with percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie
    Evelyn Glennie
    Dame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie, DBE is a Scottish virtuoso percussionist. She was the first full-time solo percussionist in 20th-century western society.-Early life:Glennie was born and raised in Aberdeenshire...

     on tubular bell
    Tubular bell
    Tubular bells are musical instruments in the percussion family. Each bell is a metal tube, 30–38 mm in diameter, tuned by altering its length. Its standard range is from C4-F5, though many professional instruments reach G5 . Tubular bells are often replaced by studio chimes, which are a smaller...

    ) - Big Zing: "The Ringing Of A Bell"
  20. Birthday Todd (with traditional jazz
    Jazz
    Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

     band The Silk Street Hot 7) - Big Zing: "It's Your Birthday"
  21. Gravel and Granite's Quiet Night In (Compilation episode) - Big Zing: Various
  22. The Z Factor (with harmonica player Phillip Achille) - Big Zing: "Do A, Do A, Do A Duet"
  23. Panzee's Photograph (with Dr. Lonnie Smith
    Lonnie Smith (jazz musician)
    Dr. Lonnie Smith is a jazz Hammond B3 organist and pianist.-Biography:He was born in Lackawanna, New York, into a family with a vocal group and radio program. Smith says that his mother was a major influence on him musically, as she introduced him to gospel, classical, and jazz music...

     on Hammond organ) - Big Zing: "Friendship Never Ends" (aka "Best Friends")
  24. Tang's Hooter (with flautist James Galway
    James Galway
    - External links : IMGArtists.com 15 September 2008. AllAboutJazz.com 5 August 2008.*...

    ) - Big Zing: "Do You Want To Have Fun?"
  25. Where's Yapple (with the BBC Concert Orchestra
    BBC Concert Orchestra
    The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five which is not a full-scale symphony orchestra....

     conducted by Ben Foster
    Ben Foster (orchestrator)
    Ben Foster is a British composer, orchestrator and conductor who is best known for his work as an orchestrator on the BBC series Doctor Who.- Career :...

    ) - Big Zing: "Have You Ever Lost?"
  26. Tuba Swaps (with the Bavarian Stompers) - Big Zing: "I've Never Heard A Sound As Absurd" (aka "Oom-Pah-Pah")


Series two has been broadcasting on CBeebies since 18th October 2010.

Series 2:
  1. Super Zak (with theremin
    Theremin
    The theremin , originally known as the aetherphone/etherophone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without discernible physical contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Léon Theremin, who patented the device...

    -player Lydia Kavina
    Lydia Kavina
    Lydia Kavina is a Russian theremin player, and is currently the leading performing musician on the instrument.The grandniece of Léon Theremin, Kavina was born in Moscow and began studying the instrument under the direction of Theremin when she was nine years old...

    ) - Big Zing: "Super Heroes Doing Super Things"
  2. Panzee Gets The Giggles (with The Swingle Singers) - Big Zing: "Look At My Lips"
  3. Bam-Boo! (with Andean pipers Kausary) - Big Zing: "It's Just A Noise"
  4. Try a Triangle (with Cajun
    Cajun
    Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...

     band Petit Et La Gros) - Big Zing: "Try A Triangle"
  5. Auntie Dot's Special Show (Compilation episode) - Big Zing: "Bluegrass, Bluegrass"
  6. Aloha Flower (with Beats of Polynesia) - Big Zing: "Hula All The Day"
  7. The Golden Coconut (with the BBC Concert Orchestra
    BBC Concert Orchestra
    The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five which is not a full-scale symphony orchestra....

    ) - Big Zing: "Can You Guess?"
  8. Banana Blues (with Stuart Zender
    Stuart Zender
    Stuart Patrick Jude Zender is an English bassist, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for being the original bass player for Jamiroquai.-Early life:...

     on slap bass guitar) - Big Zing: "Dreaming About Bananas"
  9. Tang's Photo Album (Compilation episode) - Big Zing: "ZingZillas Theme"
  10. Music Box (with celeste player Roderick Elms) - Big Zing: "Your Dreams Can Come True"
  11. Panzee's Poorly Knee (with pedal steel guitar player BJ Cole) - Big Zing: "It's Not Bad To Be Sad"
  12. The Red Button (with keyboard
    Keyboard instrument
    A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

     player Matt Gooderson) - Big Zing: "Todd's Technology"
  13. Trombone Trouble (with trombonist Chris Lowe) - Big Zing: "Play The Trombone"
  14. Panzee's Wish Stall (with Yangqin player Jinyan Zhou) - Big Zing: "Wishing"
  15. Cinema Day (Compilation episode) - Big Zing: "Can You Guess?"
  16. Salsa Dip (with La Cuba Ritmo) - Big Zing: "Practising Makes Perfect"
  17. Making A Choice (with sitar
    Sitar
    The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...

     player Jonathan Mayer) - Big Zing: "What Will You Decide?"
  18. The Hairy Diggle (with violinist Nicola Benedetti
    Nicola Benedetti
    - Early life and the Yehudi Menuhin School :Benedetti was born in West Kilbride, North Ayrshire to an Italian father and a Scottish mother. She started to learn the violin at the age of four...

    ) - Big Zing: "Animals"
  19. The Singing Bowl (with percussionist Frank Perry) - Big Zing: "The High And Low Song" (aka "Singing Up When You Want It High")
  20. Todd's Little Helper (with bassoonist Karen Geoghegan) - Big Zing: "We're Going On A Hunt"
  21. Home (with Blues Guitarist Michael Messer) - Big Zing: "Home Is Where My Heart Is"
  22. Pirate Day (with The Hornpipers - Robert Harbron, Miranda Rutter and Laurel Swift) - Big Zing: "Pirates!"
  23. Pom Pom (with Ebony Steel Trust) - Big Zing: "My Special Friend"
  24. Where's the Bug? (with Dame Evelyn Glennie on Waterphone) - Big Zing: "Everywhere You Go"
  25. DJ Loose's Radio Show Host DJ Loose (compilation episode) Bhangra Beat Do You Didgeridoo The Great Zingzilla Band
  26. A Christmas Special Christmas Episode (with the ACM Gospel Choir
    ACM Gospel Choir
    The ACM Gospel Choir is a gospel choir made up of students of the Academy of Contemporary Music. The group first came to public attention in the summer of 2008 when they gained 4th place in BBC One's Saturday night show Last Choir Standing...

    ) - Big Zing: "ZingZilla Christmas"

  • Released as an EP 30/08/10


Series 3:

Series three starts broadcasting on CBeebies from the 21st November 2011.
  1. Thunder and Lightning (with Colin Currie
    Colin Currie
    -Early Years:Colin Currie began his musical studies at the age of 5, going on to study at the Junior Department of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama from 1990-1994. There he studied percussion with Pamella Dow and piano with Sheila Desson, both of whom had an enormous influence on him...

     on timpani
    Timpani
    Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...

    ) - Big Zing: "Thunder and Lightning"
  2. Disco Lights (with Manchester Disco Crew) - Big Zing: "Disco Lights"
  3. Panzee I'm Sorry (with Simon Mayor
    Simon Mayor
    Simon Mayor is a mandolinist and fiddle player, guitarist, and composer.- Works :With his solo debut The Mandolin Album in 1990 he embarked on a series of recordings to give the mandolin a uniquely British voice. The CD was made Recording of the Week on BBC Radio 2...

     on Mandolin
    Mandolin
    A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...

    ) - Big Zing: "Panzee I'm Sorry"
  4. Catch That Beat - Big Zing: "Streetdance"
  5. Giddyup and Go ([French Horn]) - Big Zing: "Unknown"
  6. On The Drums - Big Zing: "Unknown"

DVD releases

Release name UK release date Notes
Welcome to the Island Monday 4 Oct 2010 Despite being filmed in HD
no blu-ray release
World Music Tour Monday 15 Nov 2010 Despite being filmed in HD
no blu-ray release

Welcome to the Island

This DVD contains five episodes (note that it's not the first five of the series, although there's a lot of overlap):
  1. Didgeridoo Hullaballoo
  2. Rock Guitar
  3. Operatic Todd
  4. A Great Place to Live
  5. Auntie's Dot Dash


Extras: Musical instrument game and character profile.

World Music Tour

This DVD contains five episodes:
  1. Bhangra Beats
  2. Welcome Beach Byrds
  3. Keep your Castanets
  4. Disappearing Drum
  5. Bam-boo!


Extras: Interactive game

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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