Following yesterday's journey from MovieLand to TVLand in order to investigate the lost children's TV show Oliver in the Overworld (click here to read my Shuker in MovieLand blog article on this subject), today I am remaining in TVLand in order to reminisce about another children's TV show, one that isn't lost (it can be bought in its entirety as a DVD box set), but which changed my entire life. Let me explain.
Much as I loved horses, as an 11-year-old boy watching the first series of a then brand-new children's TV show here in Britain and swiftly realising that its equine stars were being totally overshadowed by what in my view seemed a singularly drippy and clearly doomed romance, between a young woman named Dora Maddocks (Gillian Blake) given to weeping oceans of tears and a young man named Steve Ross (Steve Hodson, replacing Robin Stewart, who'd played this role in the unaired pilot episode) who stared devotedly at her with big spaniel eyes despite being routinely spurned, I saw little reason in continuing to watch it. But then along came the show's rebel character, Ron Stryker (Christian Rodska), riding the motorbike of my dreams, and a dramatic, unforgettable theme song began playing that still haunts me to this day. Nothing more needed to be said – I was instantly, inescapably hooked! But first, some background details regarding Follyfoot the TV show.
Produced jointly by Yorkshire TV in the UK (for screening by ITV) and by TV München in the then West Germany (for screening by ZDF), Follyfoot was a children's show inspired by Cobbler's Dream, a children's novel written by Monica Dickens (who subsequently penned others inspired in turn by the TV show) and first published in 1963 (but in which the farm was not actually named, Follyfoot being thought up specifically for the TV show). Follyfoot ran for three series from 1971 to 1973, with each series containing 13 30-minute episodes. It centres upon Follyfoot Farm, a sanctuary for retired and mistreated horses, which is initially run by a somewhat eccentric but kind, elderly man named Colonel Geoffrey Maddocks (Desmond Llewellyn, also famous for playing Q in the James Bond movie franchise) but known to everyone in the area simply as the Colonel. When his niece Dora arrives and he sees how devoted she is to looking after the horses, however, the Colonel eventually makes over the farm to her.
Coming to live with the Colonel after her disinterested parents move to South America, Dora soon settles very happily into her new home with the horses, the Colonel, and his two farm helpers – retired boxer Slugger (Arthur English) and his second-in-command, the young, rebellious, but deep-down good-natured biker Ron Stryker (the afore-mentioned and above-depicted Christian Rodska). And then into their lives comes Steve Hodson, a young man hired by the Colonel after he had been unfairly dismissed from his previous job looking after the local Squire's horses at another farm, and what must surely have been one of the most diffident and dawdling romances ever seen on the small screen duly begins between him and Dora, spanning the entire 39 episodes in a saga of soulful soul-searching but little else.
During the show's three series, the mercurial Dora releases Niagara-proportioned torrents of tears at the slightest provocation, leading poor Steve such a merry dance of frustration at only ever being thought of by her as a friend, nothing more, that in the very last episode of the final series he departs Follyfoot Farm for pastures new, in every sense, leaving Dora behind to stare mistily into the distance, tear ducts filling yet again, ready to gush forth at any moment, no doubt. But enough about rural Romeo and Juliet, what about Ron's motorbike?
I can still readily recall, 50 years later, the first time that I saw it. I was watching Follyfoot through somewhat bored eyes if truth be told, when suddenly a veritable vision rode into view – causing me to snap out of my desultory daydreaming. There was Ron, wearing his usual scruffy jeans but not his usual matching denim jacket. Instead, he was wearing an awesome black leather biker jacket that was quite simply the coolest item of clothing I'd ever seen, and was riding an even more awesome red and gold motorbike. Something stirred deep within me that I now realize was my hitherto-sleeping inner biker, suddenly awake and unleashed!
As far back as I can remember, animals had always been my greatest passion and still are today, but, prior to watching Follyfoot, as far as vehicles were concerned I'd always been drawn to the four-wheeled variety, and like many other boys back then I was the proud owner of a decent collection of Corgi, Dinky, and Matchbox toy cars (seeing the phenomenal prices that they sell for nowadays, I wish that I still were!). Motorbikes had seemingly never even registered on my consciousness, or so I thought – until my reaction to Ron's mean machine readily demonstrated otherwise!
From the first moment that I saw it, my interest in cars vanished into thin air and was instantly replaced by what became an unwavering, enduring love for motorbikes and biking. Moreover, the fact that Ron's motorbike, a Triumph Tiger Cub, had been extensively customized increased its attraction for me even further.
Ron had clearly wanted to make it look as much like a rebel riding machine as his meager wages could afford. So in addition to adding a tall metal triangular back-rest that straight away gave it a very chopper-like appearance, he had also fitted its mirrors to incredibly tall vertical stems that once again imitated the ape-hanger handlebars of bona fide chops, and the horn was a klaxon horn that looked somewhat incongruously like an old-fashioned ear-trumpet. Nevertheless, the overall effect was irresistibly exciting to my youthful eyes, as was its loud, deep-throated roar!
Interestingly, Ron's motorbike was actually one that in reality had been abandoned in a barn but was rebuilt and repainted by Christian Rodska, adding all of its eyecatching extras too, including the klaxon horn, which Christian had found in a junk shop. Moreover, according to a recent book on Follyfoot, Christian still owns Ron's bike today, although it's been in bits in boxes for some time now after he sent some parts away to be chromed but never received them back, thereby hampering his plans to rebuild it.
As for adopting Ron's biker attire: like most of my mates, scruffy levis were standard gear for me once I became a teenager, but it took several years of arm-twisting before my mother would consent to my stepping out in a black leather biker jacket in order to complete my rebel biker streed cred.
Once I'd done so, however, the inevitable motorbike purchase soon followed – in my case it was a blue Honda CG125, the first of many motorbikes that I've gone on to own and ride down through the decades, sources of immense pleasure and relaxation. And all of this – a major, defining turning point in my life, in fact – was due entirely to Ron Stryker and his truly terrific Triumph Tiger! Thanks Ron!
Now for The Lightning Tree. This was the title of the uniquely memorable, and mesmerizing, theme song that played over the opening and closing credits of every Follyfoot episode (click here to listen to it on YouTube, accompanied by photos of the cast and scenes from Follyfoot). Its lyrics told the thrilling tale of a tree that had defiantly survived being struck by lightning, in spite of its trunk and branches being burnt and bent "where the lightning went", and urged the listeners to "never give in too easily".
Its direct relevance to Follyfoot Farm was never overly clear to me, unless its message was referring to the horses there having defied their previous ill-treatment elsewhere under other ownership, living on to enjoy their greatly-deserved retirement at Follyfoot and their kind care received there. Nevertheless, it is an iconic, intrinsic part of the show – so much so that even today, half a century later, 'The Lightning Tree' is still very much remembered and associated with Follyfoot.
So popular did the song become, moreover, performed by an English folk-music group named The Settlers (sometimes confused with their comparable Australian contemporaries The Seekers, but hailing from my own West Midlands stamping ground), that when released as a single in 1971 it reached #36 in the UK singles charts. This was the highest-placed chart entry for The Settlers, who can be viewed here singing it on a TV show (possibly Morecambe and Wise?) from that same time period.
So now you know what ignited my passion
for motorbikes (not to mention my subsequent habitual attire of black leather
jacket and levis!), and spurred me on to becoming a biker. And just to prove
this, here I am in 2011, my teenage years and my humble little Honda CG125 long
gone but my favoured gear still evident, together with my latest motorbike
incarnation, a Harley-Davidson Heritage Soft-Tail Classic 1500 cc. Some things
never change!
Last but definitely not least, click here to watch an awesome collection of the best motorbike-themed clips from Follyfoot (including what for me was the above-described life-changing one!), and suitably featuring that classic mid-1970s song Motorbikin', by the incredible Chris Spedding, one of my early rock heroes. [UPDATE: sadly, this collection of clips is no longer present on YouTube.]
Speaking of whom: click here to watch Chris performing Motorbikin' (his biggest UK chart hit) on Top of the Pops in 1975.
UPDATE, 17 July 2024: Today I was very sad to learn that less than four months ago, on 21 March 2024, Christian Rodska had died, aged 78, after succumbing to cancer. Another of my childhood heroes gone, but never forgotten. RIP Christian, and thank you for inspiring me via your iconic screen character Ron and his awesome customised Triumph Tiger Cub to become a biker myself and enter into the exciting motorbike world that has afforded me so much pleasure down through the decades ever since.
To view a complete chronological listing of all of my Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film/TV reviews and articles (each one instantly accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE, and please click HERE to view a complete fully-clickable alphabetical listing of them.
A terrific tv show which l must have watched when l was 4 or 5. I cought up with repeats decades later and eventually downloaded all 3 series. I have the theme tune on my player and no doubt l'll be spoofing the show in my regular 'Insanity' strip in Infinity Magazine.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it, and The Lightning Tree is one of the all-time classic TV show theme songs - once heard, never forgotten, a totally haunting, beautiful song.
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