The Banana Splits are back !!

The Banana Splits are coming back... and vamped

Everyone knows that The Banana Splits were the most psychedelic thing to hit a kid-retina. Fleegle, Drooper, Bingo and Snorky looked like they'd just dropped out of an acid casualties mind and rampaged around their really weird pad to tell rubbish jokes and play some great tunes (like the fuzz bass 'I'm Gonna Find A Cave' which has been a staple in my DJ sets for years now). Well, the gang are back... and they've been... duh-d'duuuuh- updated.

This new show is gon' return on the Cartoon Network and Boomerang channels, starting Tuesday, September 2... and they'll be on TV, releasing albums and, get this, giggin'.

"Everything that made The Banana Splits hugely popular in the '60s is back, including the group's terrific humour and hit music," said Jordan Sollitto, Executive Vice President of New Business Initiatives and International Licensing, Warner Bros. Consumer Products. (What a dumb title that is) "We take great pride in having carefully updated the look and feel of the original show for today's kids while retaining all of the elements that made the original Banana Splits such a hit."

The producers are making as many as 130 shows which, from what we can gather, will be like the original format of shows that run in at a couple of hours, spliced up with various cartoon shows and sketches.

New Music from The Banana Splits will be available from Ver Splitz, with 13 new pop'n'rock tracks. "The songs made famous by the original Banana Splits hold a special place in music history and were ahead of their time for young audiences," said Doug Morris, Chairman and CEO, Universal Music Group. "Universal is excited to debut the new Banana Splits kids' album and help introduce them to a whole new generation of music fans."

Thing is... I've just been to the new website (which you can do by clicking here) and the first thing you hear is the updated 'Tra La La Song', which ain't so hot... and Snork'... man, Snork's tassles have gone, replaced by something... fuzzy. You can only assume that this is for ease of reproduction in the merch' stakes. Either way, I ain't gettin' to worked up about it... if they're making it as weird as the original, then a bit of oddballery in kids' heads is a good thing in my book. Now here's a coupla killers from the Banana Split back cat!

[Electric Roulette]