Biography

Concertina and guitar player, vocalist, and storyteller Sandra Kerr is best known for her appearances on Bagpuss, the popular 13-episode animated children's show that first appeared on British television in 1974. As the ragdoll Madeleine Remnant, Kerr told stories and sang witty songs accompanied by Gabriel, a banjo-playing toad. The show, which continues to be rerun by the BBC, made her a national star. Kerr started out as a member of the Critics Group, with whom she recorded four albums in the '60s. While with the group, she met John Faulkner; they recorded an LP together, Sandra and John, in 1969 before collaborating on the Bagpuss soundtrack. Kerr has continued to perform traditional English and self-penned folk songs. Her first solo release, Supermum, came out in 1983, followed four years later by We Were There, recorded with members of the Oysterband. In 1996, she collaborated with her daughter, Nancy, who plays violin, viola, cello, guitar, and mandolin, on an album, Neat and Complete; they worked together again on 1999's Scalene. In between, in 1998, the soundtrack from Bagpuss, featuring Kerr's songs, was finally released. A solo record, Yellow, Red and Gold, appeared in 2000, and a disc of folk songs about animals for children, Hi Said the Elephant, in 2009. In 2018, Kerr came back into the public consciousness when the Bagpuss soundtrack was reissued amidst a wave of pop culture nostalgia. ~ Craig Harris & John D. Buchanan, Rovi