Cartoons (band)

Cartoons, also known as Cartoons DK, are a Eurodance band from Denmark, best known for their song "DooDah!" and their cover of the 1958 novelty song "Witch Doctor", both hits released in 1998.

The group wears outlandish plastic costumes and wigs in live performances as caricatures of 1950s American rock and roll stars.

History
Cartoons started out as the Scooters in the late 1980s, playing rockabilly music from the 50s and 60s. In 1994, the Scooters released the album Live at Woodstock, and in 1997, they changed their name to Cartoons. Their musical style switched from rockabilly to "technobilly", their own expression of rock and roll mixed with Eurodance; many of their songs are remakes of old rockabilly hits that they covered as the Scooters.

They were first signed to FLEX Records, moving later to EMI Denmark.

Their most notable single to date is "Witch Doctor", which reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart. It features a combination of the original's "oo-ee-oo-aah-aah" chorus (albeit lacking the record's double-speed playback of the chorus), driving dance beat and occasional guitar breaks.

They had further success in the UK with the Top 10 hit "DooDah!" (a cover version of the American folk song "Camptown Races", albeit with completely different lyrics), the Top 20 hit "Aisy Waisy", which was performed on Jim Davidson's Generation Game, and a Top 20 debut album, Toonage (later rereleased with additional songs as More Toonage).

Their second album, Toontastic, did not match the success of its predecessor, but several notable hits were released from it, including "Diddley-Dee", "Little Red Ridinghood", "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep", "Big Coconuts" and a reworked cover of Les Humphries Singers' "Mama Loo".

In 2001, the group disbanded for unknown reasons. In 2017, it was revealed by Toonie and Sponge on a Danish TV interview that they were to tour in the US, but their plans were cancelled at the advent of the September 11th attacks, and they felt like they could not have fun with their project anymore; as such, it was dropped.

In 2005, they made a brief comeback to promote their Greatest Toons release. It includes a new single, "Day Oh", both released by CMC Entertainment. The group has performed a number of shows throughout Europe since then, including at Bonbonland and the Jelling Musikfestival. They disbanded again in 2006.

In July 2016, Karina Jensen died of cancer, after having a double mastectomy in 2012. She was survived by her husband and two children. In April 2019, Erling Jensen died of lymphoma; he was 50 years old.

In 2018, they returned once again to perform at the "We Love the 90s" festival in Aalborg, Denmark. In 2020, they returned to the studio with original producer Kenneth Bager to record a new single. The group now features brand new members, with Jesper Dukholt being the sole original member.

A new single, "Shots", was released in February 2023.

Members
True to their name, the personnel of Cartoons has cartoon-inspired nicknames. The original line-up was:


 * Toonie – lead vocals and backing vocals
 * Sponge – saxophone, keyboards and bass vocals
 * Shooter – lead guitar and backing vocals
 * Buzz – double bass
 * Puddy – backing vocals
 * Boop – backing vocals