Bagpuss rag doll called Madeleine. The wooden woodpecker bookend became the drily academic Professor Yaffle (based on the philosopher Bertrand Russell, whom Postgate had once met), while the mice carved on the side of the "mouse organ" (a small mechanical pipe organ that played rolls of music) woke up and scurried around, singing in high-pitched voices. Sandra Kerr and John Faulkner provided the voices of Madeleine and Gabriel respectively, and put together and performed all the folk songs. All the other voices (including the narrator and one out-of-tune mouse) were provided by Postgate, who also wrote the stories. The toys discussed
A Tribe Called Quest and the Gold-certified album "Amplified", released in 1999. The album was produced by Q-Tip and Jay Dee (as The Ummah), and DJ Scratch. After "Amplified", Q-Tip changed directions and recorded 2002's "Kamaal the Abstract", an album which saw him in the role of singer and bandleader. Unlike his work with A Tribe Called Quest, or his own solo work, "Kamaal" was constructed around live music, and "abstract" song concepts, all orchestrated by Q-Tip himself. Arista Records refused to release the album, fearing it would be unmarketable coming from a rapper, resulting in Q-Tip leaving the label. Undeterred, he recorded 2005's