Do, do, do the funky gibbon all over again

The Goodies' comedy classic The Funky Gibbon is to be relaunched to raise cash to help protect the primate.

Comedians Bill Oddie, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden scored a top ten hit with the novelty song in 1975.

Now 25 years on, the track has been given a revamp and will by re-released to boost the coffers of the International Primate Protection League's (IPPL) Save the Gibbon campaign.

Gibbons rank among the most endangered primates in the world. Since the 1950s, numbers of the Hainan gibbon have plummeted from more than 2,000 to fewer than 25. All 16 species of gibbon are threatened with extinction.

But the IPPL hopes that with the help of The Goodies, the profile of the forgotten ape will receive a boost. The Funky Gibbon will be available for download from tomorrow at www.savethegibbon.org.

Helen Thirlway, director of IPPL, said: "Gibbons are often overlooked because, due to their small size, they are classified as lesser, not great apes. They don't receive the same funding and protection but are equally at risk from poaching, illegal trafficking and habitat destruction."