THE PROG INTERVIEW MIKE BATT

Every month we get inside the mind of one of the biggest names in music. This issue it’s Mike Batt. Best known for writing the theme tune to the popular children’s TV show The Wombles, the British composer and arranger began his career gigging in seedy strip clubs but soon found himself teaming up with Family on their debut album. He’s since had a strong association with progressive music, working with everyone from Steeleye Span to Hawkwind, as well as working with contemporary pop acts including Katie Melua and Olly Murs. Last year, he released Songs From Croix-Noire, a prog concept album based on an ambitious multimedia project. Here he discusses his career so far and why it was finally time to dust off his eye-wateringly expensive, and previously unreleased 70s rock opera album.

Jo Kendall

There are polymaths, and there’s Mike Batt. He’s most widely known in the UK as the man behind the hit-laden music for children’s TV show The Wombles, but not long before that he was a young singer-songwriter musician with dreams of arranging and conducting orchestras. Southampton-born Batt found himself with a top job in A&R at Liberty Records in London in 1968 at age 19, and moved into arranging via Family’s debut album, Music In A Doll’s House. Batt also recorded albums of popular cover versions, created film scores, collaborated with Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd-Webber and wrote jingles for adverts. For all his commercial work, and massive success with songs such as the No.1 hit Bright Eyes from the film Watership Down, the discovery and management of best-selling jazz-pop…

You're reading a preview of

Prog (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 140

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.