Wombles off to Glastonbury (to perform, not clear up)

Published on Friday 22 April 2011 17:43

UNDERGROUND, overground, wombling free - the nation's favourite eco-warriors are back, and heading to Glastonbury.

The Wombles are aiming to recycle their careers as they perform together for the first time in years at the world-famous festival.

Great Uncle Bulgaria and the gang, who had hits in the 1970s, are reforming to play the Avalon Stage at Glastonbury on 26 June.

All four of their gold-disc albums, plus the soundtrack to the 1977 film Wombling Free, are to be released ahead of their performance.

The five-piece group had a string of top ten singles, including Remember You're A Womble, before they finally split in 1976.

Created by Elisabeth Beresford in 1968, the creatures originally featured in a series of children's novels before being adapted as a TV programme.

The popular series, featuring overweight shirker Orinoco and handyman Tobermory, consisted of five-minute stop-motion episodes produced by FilmFair for the BBC.

Voiced by the actor Bernard Cribbins, the first shows aired in 1973. There were eventually 60 episodes in all.

The musical Wombles were the idea of composer Mike Batt, who wrote the series theme tune.

In 1977, the live-action movie appeared, starring David Tomlinson and Bonnie Langford.

Headline acts due to play the Glastonbury Festival this year include Coldplay and Morrissey.