'Mouth' Linden brings out the child in us all

Adults are probably the big buyers of an unlikely chart topper - a collection of children's stories told by a familiar and well-loved voice. IRENE CHAPPLE reports.

Once upon a time there was a man with a very, very big mouth.

His name was Don Linden and he loved entertaining children. His radio show for kids followed on from the success of the nationwide Sunday morning Junior Request programme, which captured the imaginations of baby boomers from the 1950s onward.

Snuggled in their beds, they listened intently to the likes of Maxi, the Taxi; Flick, the Fire Engine; Little Toot; and Sparky And The Talking Train.

Decades later, Linden has lassoed their nostalgia into a surprise commercial success, launching a music collection called Children's Favourites. The second of his CD collections is about to hit the music shop shelves.

Baby boomers remember Linden, known in entertainment circles as "The Mouth", but even more, they recall the songs and adventure stories that saturated the radiowaves and coloured their upbringing.

Those children, many now with children and even grandchildren, have tuned in again.

In a buying spree that has surprised even EMI marketing manager Dave Southgate, they first stormed the shops for Children's Favourites Volume 1; pushing it to platinum sales within two months of the launch and passing the 20,000 sales mark within six.

Compare that to Britney Spears: Her latest, self-titled album Britney was released a month earlier and has only just pipped Children's Favourites, with sales of around 25,000.

Radio man Barry Holland, Newstalk's sports director, newsreader and a long-time acquaintance of Linden, reckons the CD has cut across the demographics.

Holland bought a copy for his Australian-based brother and reckons, "he'll rattle off the words. It's a nostalgic thing".

EMI recognised the idea's potential when Linden approached them. Says Mr Southgate: "It played on our heartstrings, and we knew there was a great market there."

The first CD was priced at $14.95 and advertised to an adult radio audience. Children's Favourites Volume 2 is about to be released and there is a Christmas special lined up. Mr Southgate expects the series to continue for at least three volumes.

Linden's got a theory on all this. "I think it was something that was ready for its time. People were waiting for it. I was getting continual requests for songs, and you just couldn't get it.

"The stories that are on these two disks are delightful, there's nothing offensive in them, they're fun stories. There's no aggro, no shooting, no violence and it fires the imagination.

"My childhood would have been completely lacking if I hadn't had this wonderful world."

Linden, who has also worked in pantomime and comedy, is a survivor of the Auckland entertainment scene, but he still rues the termination of his radio shows in the late 90s.

He has arguably made his point with the popularity of Children's Favourites and says he hopes children, not just adults, will be swept up in volume two of his collection.

"Now, part of being a child and growing up is PlayStation and Rugrats, or whatever. A lot of that stuff is bad, because they expose children too early in life to some of the realities they will face later on. Later on there isn't time for Mary Had A Little Lamb and Three Billy Goats Gruff.

"I am trying to bring back the wonderful world of storytales."