VBirds: Perfect (lost Cartoon Network UK interstitial series of British virtual girl group; 2003)
The cover of their only hit single
Status: Lost
The Vbirds was a British virtual/cartoon band created and released in 2002. They were created by a team of designers, producers, and musicians including UB40 drummer, James Brown that was led by Richard Kilgarriff, the General Manager of Cartoon Network UK. Its story revolved around the characters being exiled from their home (Planet V) by its ruler King He: Lin for refusing to participate in their dance farms. They were thus shrunk down into a dance machine and sent to Earth so humans could play them as long as they wanted.
In terms of coverage, the band only ever released one single: "Virtuality", that reached No. 21 in the UK charts in early 2003 and came with an animated music video. There was also a cartoon made that was split up into five parts and aired in the commercial breaks in 2002, serving as the pilot to the story of the VBirds. And in 2003, a series known as VBirds: Perfect aired that according to IMDB was "This music and dance related show, separate from the main VBirds show and also lasting only one season on Cartoon Network UK, gave the viewers the opportunity to perform dance routines with the on-screen characters." It's unknown if this was another interstitial airing like the original or if it was aired like a proper TV series, though IMDB lists it as a mini-series. Eye-witness accounts cite it as looking like a Dance Dance Revolution clone (as is the idea present throughout the series) and/or indeed, a dance show. And in addition, this article made in 2002 before the original cartoon aired cites potential future series as including karaoke and interactive TV elements that would be announced in the coming year. In terms of production credits, according to IMDB's perhaps questionable listings, its sole directing credit was Dave King while its writing and producing credits include but are not limited to Richard Kilgarriff, Sophie Okonedo is listed as (presumably) returning to the role of Bling and its production company and distributor was Cartoon Network. Richard Kilgarriff confirmed both the existence of the show and that he produced it on Twitter.
The pilot was allegedly going to be picked up for a series, but that never happened and VBirds become inactive from 2004 onward. As for the brand's content, the original cartoon was released slightly cut on certain VHS tapes of The Powerpuff Girls Movie and the music video was available on the "Virtuality" CD, but in terms of VBirds: Perfect, not a single trace of it can be found online anywhere.