There were only 13 original episodes and the animation was rudimentary but for Mark Fellowes, Mr Benn has been his guiding light.
The 55-year-old DJ and drummer grew up in Loch Awe, in remote Argyll, and since 2010 has looked after Mr Benn’s Twitter account with his posts being seen by 3.5million people a month.
Mark admitted: “I grew up watching Mr Benn and he taught me I could be anything I wanted to be.”
The cartoon created by David McKee began as children’s books, starting with Mr Benn Red Knight in 1967 before appearing on the BBC in 1971 and 1972.
The 13 episodes were then repeated twice a year for 21 years, giving the show a cult following across a number of generations.
Mr Benn, who wore a black suit and bowler hat, would leave his house at 52 Festive Road to visit a fancy-dress shop owned by a fez-wearing shopkeeper.
“As If By Magic” the shopkeeper would appear, and help Mr Benn choose a costume. He’d put it on, and leave through a magic door at the back of the changing room to enter a world based on his costume.
His adventure would have a moral and he would sort out other people’s problems.
Now, for the first time, all the music used in the original Mr Benn series and the 2005 reboot Gladiator is going to be released for Record Store Day on April 22.
Composed by Greenock-born Duncan Lamont, it will be the first time all the Mr Benn music has ever been released and it comes in an eye-catching sleeve while the vinyl is a picture disc with the famous wheel of costumes that marked the start of every episode.
There is also a fabulous insert with games to play – matching Mr Benn with his outfits, and the souvenirs of his many adventures. Mark said: “As Mr Benn is all about the small shopkeeper, I wanted to do something that would help independent record shops.”
It’s an almost 50-year labour of love for Mark.
He said: “Growing up in Argyll, Mr Benn was always my favourite cartoon character. I grew up in the middle of nowhere and wished I could open the door like he did and have an adventure.
“It fired my imagination. I loved music from a very young age, but we didn’t get decent radio reception till my dad climbed on the roof and put an aerial up. I could then listen to the charts, and then I’d go and buy singles at Douglas’s record shop in Oban.
“The guy that ran the shop – Robin Douglas –inspired me to become a DJ, so at age 12 I got some decks and began playing at parties around the area.”
After school Mark, by then also a drummer who’d started a school band, moved to London to continue as a DJ and also find a band to play drums.
He said: “My life is a bit like a Mr Benn adventure. I have been lucky enough to play at lots of parties and events including DJing at the Monaco Grand Prix for a decade and at hundreds of wonderful venues all over the UK and Europe.
“One of my favourites was the Connect Festival when it was at Inveraray Castle, which is 10 miles from where I grew up.
“It was so nice for my dad to see what I did after all the noise I put him and my mum through as a youngster.”
One of Mark’s bands, Those Disposable Things, found interest from The Shamen, who even paid for a video for one of their singles.
Mark also played drums in a band called Baby June, who had one week at Number 75 in the Top 75.
He said: “There is a special section for that in The Guinness Book of Hit Singles.”
Pete Cunnah from D:Ream was in that band and later used one of their songs, Shoot Me With Your Love for D:Ream, which reached No7 in 1995.
As a fan of Mr Benn, Mark had always wanted to do something with the music. Factory Create, now in charge of Mr Benn after McKee’s death last year, have licensed the Mr Benn music for the Record Store Day special.
As a Scot, Mark is also happy Lamont’s music will be put in one place for the first time.
He said: “Duncan was from Greenock and very proud of his Scottish roots.
“He met David as their children went to the same school in Putney. David told him about this character Mr Benn he had, and Duncan told him he had just the piece of music for him. I’ve always loved Mr Benn, and in the early 90s I got to meet David McKee, and the original producer Clive Juster, and we started discussing some ideas about how to bring Mr Benn up to date, and find a way of interacting with Mr Benn’s huge audience”.
In 2010, as social media platform Twitter got bigger, he called David and Clive and asked if he could put Mr Benn on there.
David, who also created King Rollo and Elmer the Patchwork Elephant, didn’t even have a computer and had no idea about the internet, but was fascinated when Mark showed him how Twitter worked.
Mark said: “I started in 2010 on Twitter and now have over 57,000 followers and my tweets are seen by 3.5million people a month.
“I am extremely grateful to everyone that follows my Twitter account. I get lots of lovely messages saying I’m kind and helpful and I think that’s because of Mr Benn, so I hope I’m doing him justice.
“David died in April 2022 but he knew about the plans to release the music and was pleased when I explained what Record Store Day was about.”
Mark is still as ambitious as ever. He is still in a band, DJing and producing events and running a music school in Oxfordshire.
He said: “It is so much fun seeing young people progress their musical journeys. Playing music and learning an instrument are so good for your mental health, and I think it’s only in the last few years we’ve seen that connection.
“I am trying to encourage people to write songs, and express themselves. You never know where that can end, which brings us back to Mr Benn.
“I am working on a new business which connects dressing up and performing. It’s called Kostume Karaoke. There is a performer in all of us. All it needs is encouragement.”
Mark, a father of twins he’s raising on Mr Benn, said: “He has such an effect on my life. There is a moral to every adventure which was extremely clever writing. The highest praise I ever had was from David, who said I knew more about Mr Benn than he did, and he created the character. That makes me more grateful.”
● Get Mr Benn – The Music on Record Store Day, April 22.
Follow @thebowlerhatman on Twitter or go to fellowesproductions.com
