The Tiger Club

The Era Before Rory (Pre-1988)

• Traditional Entertainment: Evening entertainment relied more on classic British holiday camp variety shows, bingo, cabaret acts, visiting comedians, and social dancing rather than character-led stage productions.

• Basic Kids' Activities: Children's engagement was typically handled by local camp redcoats or activity leaders organizing low-tech games, sports days, and arts and crafts without a branded "Tiger Club" or signature theme songs.

• Simpler Camp Life: Parks focused heavily on traditional caravan and chalet stays, community halls, swimming pools, and outdoor coastal fun rather than heavily merchandised mascot-driven entertainment

The Launch Date & Location

• The Launch Date: Rory officially bounded onto the scene in 1988.

• The Location: He was rolled out across Haven's core fleet of traditional holiday parks. Flagship "All Action" camps like Caister-on-Sea in Norfolk—Haven't's very first and oldest park—spearheaded the brand-new era of entertainment.

What It Was Like: The Tiger Club Phenomenon

The late 1980s introduction of Rory brought an explosion of high-energy, jungle-themed branding that children had never experienced at a caravan park before.

• The Birth of the Tiger Club: Haven launched the iconic Tiger Club, a dedicated daytime and evening kids' club where Rory was the undisputed leader. Children were given Tiger Club badges, membership cards, and merchandise.

• The Rory Roadshow: The absolute highlight of the week was the live stage show. Full-costumed versions of Rory and his original pals—like Anxious the Elephant and Greedy the Gorilla—would take to the stage under neon lights.

• Unforgettable Anthems: The shows were defined by incredibly catchy, original camp songs. Tracks like the Tiger Club song and the theme to Tiger TV had hundreds of kids doing synchronized dances while parents watched from the cabaret tables.

• A Shift in Energy: For the first time, daytime entertainment wasn't just about sports or sandcastle competitions run by the "Havenmates". It was a full-blown theatrical experience centered around a friendly, larger-than-life character.

Anxious,Greedy,sylvester and Manic

The introduction of Sylvester and Greedy is immortalised in the original audio recording of the iconic Tiger Club Song. The track didn't just play; it explicitly introduced the new gang through a chaotic roll-call that children would scream back at the stage:

• “I’m Anxious the Elephant!”

• “I’m Greedy the Gorilla!”

• “I’m Sylvester the Snake!”

• “...And I’m Lik the Parrot!” (who was later renamed Manic)

Hearing those voices drop on the cassette tape for the first time meant the show was officially starting.

Tiger Tales

If you stepped into a Haven caravan in the 1990s, one of the first things you would find waiting in your check-in welcome pack was Tiger Tales, a thin, 8-page, glossy mini-comic book. 

Tiger Tales expanded the universe of the Tiger Club beyond the evening show, turning the stage mascots into comic book heroes.

• The Plots: The stories were beautifully simple 90s capers. Rory the Tiger acted as the brave, explorer protagonist who would lead the gang on adventures through the jungle or around the holiday parks.

• The Comedy: Greedy the Gorilla provided the comic relief—usually getting into trouble by eating too many bananas or causing chaos during a camping trip.

• The Canon: The comic was essential because it introduced characters you didn't always see live on stage, building out an entire jungle ecosystem. This included characters like Prudence the Giraffe (famous for her pink pyjamas), Bellamy the Lion, and Speedy the Tortoise.

• The Back Page: It always featured a black-and-white coloring page, a spot-the-difference puzzle, or a maze that kids would furiously scribble on with crayons while their parents unpacked the car.

The 90's

As the decade moved forward, Haven entertainment grew from its low-tech 1980s roots into a massive, highly polished, and commercialised machine. Here is what it felt like to live through the golden era of 90s Haven up until 1999:

The Cassette Tape Phenomenon

In the early-to-mid 90s, the greatest souvenir you could take home was the official Tiger Club Cassette Tape, purchased directly from the park's gift shop. In 1993, Haven famously upgraded the tapes with punchier "Digital Remixes". For millions of British families, the drive home from Devon Cliffs, Kiln Park, or Hafan y Môr was soundtracked by tracks like: 

• "Jungalympics": A high-energy sports anthem that mirrored the daytime sports days.

• "Prudence's Pink Pyjamas": A synth-heavy track dedicated to the comic's giraffe.

• "Gizzabanana": Greedy the Gorilla’s heavy dance-pop anthem.

The Rory Awards & Star Trophies

The daytime Tiger Club became highly structured. Children weren't just left to color; they competed in tournaments and talent shows. This all built up to the late-afternoon or early-evening Rory Awards. Standing on the big stage to collect a printed cardboard certificate or a tiny plastic "Tiger Club Star" trophy from Rory himself was the absolute peak of a 90s childhood holiday.

The Changing Lineup: Manic the Parrot

By the mid-1990s, the park character lineups began to shift. While Sylvester the Snake started appearing less due to the physical difficulties of operating a legless costume, Manic the Parrot (originally introduced as "Lik") took center stage. Manic brought a hyperactive, mischievous energy to the nightly Rory Roadshow that perfectly matched the chaotic energy of the late 90s.

The Grand Finale of the 90s (1999)

By 1999, Haven entertainment was at its absolute peak of late-90s Euro-pop energy. The standard party dances evolved to include massive charting hits like The Cartoons' "Witch Doctor" and Steps' "5, 6, 7, 8". The "Havenmates" wore bright, matching waistcoats, the main showrooms featured massive neon signs, and the Tiger Club was gearing up for its biggest transition of all—the year 2000 buy-out by Bourne Leisure, which would eventually merge the gang with British Holidays and change the park landscape forever.