Ep. 453 - Mike Batt

My Time Capsule

Cast Off Productions

Comedy, Lee Mack, Interview, Comedy Interviews, Personal Journals, Society & Culture, Rob Brydon, Caroline Quentin, Mike Fenton Stevens, David Mitchell, Michael Fenton Stevens, Arabella Weir, Stephen Fry, Ross Noble

4.8 • 817 Ratings

🗓️ 16 December 2024

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Mike Batt is probably best known as the singer/songwriter/producer of The Wombles music, having written the theme tune plus eight hit singles and four gold albums. Mike moved on to work with various artists as a songwriter and producer, most successfully with Steeleye Span and their most successful single and album All Around My Hat in 1975. He wrote the song "Bright Eyes" for the film Watership Down, sung by Art Garfunkel, which reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart and five other countries. Mike wrote and produced three more UK Top Ten hits, "Please Don't Fall in Love" (for Cliff Richard), "A Winter's Tale" (for David Essex, with lyrics co-written by Tim Rice) and "I Feel Like Buddy Holly" (for Alvin Stardust). Mike composed and produced the four million-selling album, The Violin Player, which launched classical violinist Vanessa-Mae, and he discovered Katie Melua in 2002. Her album Call Off The Search (containing six of Mike’s songs including "The Closest Thing to Crazy") was released in November 2003. It spent six weeks at number one in the UK Albums Chart, sold over 1.8 million copies, in the UK and three million copies in total, making Melua the biggest selling UK female artist of 2004. Mike now has an autobiography called The Closest Thing to Crazy, My Life of Musical Adventures, available in all bookshops or from here! .

Mike Batt is our guest in episode 453 of My Time Capsule and chats to Michael Fenton Stevens about the five things he'd like to put in a time capsule; four he’d like to preserve and one he’d like to bury and never have to think about again .

Buy Mike Batt’s autobiography, The Closest Thing to Crazy is available here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Closest-Thing-Crazy-Musical-Adventures/dp/1785120840 .

For everything else Mike Batt, visit - https://www.mikebatt.com .

Follow Mike Batt on Twitter @Mike_Batt .

Follow My Time Capsule on Instagram: @mytimecapsulepodcast & Twitter & Facebook: @MyTCpod .

Follow Michael Fenton Stevens on Twitter: @fentonstevens & Instagram @mikefentonstevens .

Produced and edited by John Fenton-Stevens for Cast Off Productions .

Music by Pass The Peas Music .

Artwork by matthewboxall.com .

This podcast is proud to be associated with the charity Viva! Providing theatrical opportunities for hundreds of young people .

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode of My Time Capsule is brought to you by the Woodland Trust.
0:03.8	Merry Christmas, John.
0:04.8	A bit early, isn't it, Dad?
0:05.9	No, I've already got my gifts sorted thanks to the Woodland Trust.
0:09.0	Really? What did you get?
0:10.4	Well, I don't want to spoil the surprise.
0:12.2	Oh, okay, then.
0:12.9	But I will. I dedicated a tree in your name.
0:15.3	Wow.
0:15.6	In fact, a whole area of woodland for all the family. And we can visit whenever we like as the Woodland Trust Woods are open 365 days a year with no admission fee. That's good. The Woodland Trust is the
0:26.4	UK's largest woodland conservation charity. Yeah, I know. And by dedicating a tree or an area
0:31.6	of woodland, you directly support their work, protecting and planting trees and woods across the UK.
0:41.5	Plus, they send you a special dedication pack, which contains a personalised certificate,
0:44.8	an information leaflet, and a map of the wood where you've dedicated.
0:46.9	It's unbelievably generous of you, Dad.
0:48.3	Yeah, well, you know me.
0:50.3	Yes, that's why I find it unbelievable.
0:52.4	Yeah, well, to be honest, it's not that expensive.
1:11.5	They suggest a donation of just 20 pounds for a single tree, or you can make Christmas extra special, like I did, by dedicating a quarter of an Aiken Woodland Grove for a suggested donation of £250. Of course, you could pay more. Did you? No. There's also an option for wooden benches and marker posts as well. Each tree is dedicated just once,
1:15.8	so every dedication is unique. That's a great present, Dad. And of course, we won't have to get a Christmas tree this year. Why not? Well, we've already got a woodland.
1:19.3	Ha ha! Should have seen that coming. Couldn't see the tree for the woods.
1:23.5	Dedicate a tree or woodland for your loved ones this Christmas and give a gift that lasts and makes a difference.
	...

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