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The Wombles are fictional pointy-nosed, furry creatures created by Elisabeth Beresford and originally appearing in a series of children's novels from 1968. They live in burrows, where they aim to help the environment by collecting and recycling rubbish in creative ways. Although Wombles supposedly live in every country in the world, Beresford's stories are primarily concerned with the lives of the inhabitants of the burrow on Wimbledon Common in London, England.
Christopher John Spedding is an English guitarist and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his studio session work. By the early 1970s, he had become one of the most sought-after session guitarists in England. Spedding has played on and produced many albums and singles. He has also been a member of eleven rock bands: the Battered Ornaments, Frank Ricotti Quartet, King Mob, Mike Batt and Friends, Necessaries, Nucleus, Ricky Norton, Sharks, Trigger, and the Wombles. In May 1976, Spedding also produced the very first Sex Pistols recordings.
Roy Wood is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of The Move, Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard.
The Hollies are an English rock and pop band formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the band as a Merseybeat-type group in Manchester, although some of the band members came from towns further north, in east Lancashire. Nash left the group in 1968 to form Crosby, Stills & Nash, though he has reunited with the Hollies on occasion.
Michael Philip Batt, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director and conductor. He was formerly the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry.
"Bright Eyes" is a song written by British songwriter Mike Batt and performed by Art Garfunkel. It was written for the soundtrack of the 1978 British animated adventure drama film Watership Down. Rearranged as a pop song from its original form in the film, the track appears on British and European versions of Garfunkel's 1979 Fate for Breakfast and on the US versions of his 1981 album Scissors Cut. "Bright Eyes" topped the UK Singles Chart for six weeks and became Britain's biggest-selling single of 1979, selling over a million copies. Richard Adams, author of the original novel, is reported to have hated the song. A cover of the song was later used explicitly in the Watership Down television series as its theme song.
Johnny Kidd & the Pirates were an English rock band led by singer/songwriter Johnny Kidd. Their musical journey spanned from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s, during which they achieved considerable success with hit songs like "Shakin' All Over" and "Please Don't Touch".
Clemente Anselmo Agustino Cattini is an English rock and roll drummer of the late 1950s and 60s, who was a member of The Tornados before becoming well known for his work as a session musician. He is one of the most prolific drummers in UK recording history, appearing on hundreds of recordings by artists as diverse as Cliff Richard and Lou Reed, and has featured on 42 UK number one singles.
"Spider's Web" is the sixth single from Georgian-born singer Katie Melua's second studio album, Piece by Piece (2005). The title song was written during the lead up to the Iraq War and is said to be about finding the difference between right and wrong. The single was a bigger success in continental Europe than in Britain, where it reached number 52 on the UK Singles Chart. In the video for this single, there is a visual reference to Schindler's List.
"I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day" is a Christmas song recorded by British glam rock band Wizzard. It was first released in December 1973 and, as with most Wizzard songs, was written and produced by the band's frontman Roy Wood—formerly of The Move and a founding member of Electric Light Orchestra. Despite the song's strong, long-lasting popularity, it has reached no higher than number four on the UK Singles Chart, a position it occupied for four consecutive weeks from December 1973 to January 1974. The song was beaten to the 1973 Christmas Number 1 spot by Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody", which remained at the top of the charts for five weeks, from December 1973 to January 1974.
"Hometown Unicorn" is the debut single by Super Furry Animals, released on Alan McGee's Creation Records label on 26 February 1996. It reached #47 in the UK Singles Chart and was voted as "Single of the Week" in NME.
Wombling Free is a 1977 British film adaptation of the children's television series The Wombles. Directed by Lionel Jeffries, it stars The Wombles, David Tomlinson, Frances de la Tour, and Bonnie Langford.
Wombling Songs is the first album released by the Wombles. "The Wombling Song" was released as a single. The album was written, arranged and performed by Mike Batt, with vocals credited to "the younger Wombles, assisted by Mike Batt".
Remember You're a Womble was the second album released by The Wombles. The songs were recorded by Mike Batt (vocals/keyboards) with session musicians Chris Spedding (guitars), Les Hurdle (bass), Clem Cattini (drums), Ray Cooper (percussion), Rex Morris (saxophone), Eddie Mordue (saxophone) and Jack Rothstein (violin).
Keep On Wombling is the third album released by the Wombles. The songs were written and performed by Mike Batt (vocals/keyboards) with session musicians Chris Spedding (guitars), Les Hurdle (bass), Clem Cattini (drums), Ray Cooper (percussion), Rex Morris (sax), Eddie Mordue (sax) and Jack Rothstein (violin).
Superwombling was the fourth and final studio album released by the Wombles. The songs were recorded by Mike Batt (vocals/keyboards) with session musicians Chris Spedding (guitars), Les Hurdle (bass), Clem Cattini (drums), Ray Cooper (percussion), Rex Morris (sax), Eddie Mordue (sax) and Jack Rothstein (violin).
"Wombling Merry Christmas" is a Christmas song written by Mike Batt, and recorded by British band the Wombles. Released in November 1974, the song rose to a peak of No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart in December that year, spending 8 weeks in the chart. The song was also released in West Germany, but failed to chart.
References
- 1 2 McCormick, Neil (10 April 2008). "Mike Batt: he can't forget he's a Womble". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 April 2008.
- ↑ Neil Warwick; Jon Kutner; Tony Brown (2004). The Complete Book Of The British Charts: Singles and Albums. Omnibus Press. pp. 1203–1204. ISBN 1-84449-058-0.
- 1 2 3 4 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 608. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ↑ Phil Hardy & Dave Laing (1988). Encyclopedia of Rock . Schirmer Books. pp. 38. ISBN 0029195624.
- ↑ Stanley, Bob (27 February 2004). "Bob Stanley on the man inside the Womble suit". The Times . London. p. 13.
- ↑ Perry, Andrew (15 June 2011). "The Wombles at Glastonbury 2011: interview" . The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 22 October 2022.
- ↑ "#EurovisionAgain - Eurovision Song Contest 1974 - Full Show". YouTube.com. 17 May 2020. Archived from the original on 19 May 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
- ↑ "Underground, overground … Mike Batt: "fun is often uncool"". YouTube. Word In Your Ear. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
- ↑ Shutler, Ali (10 October 2022). "Wombles songwriter destroys master tapes to avoid The Beatles-style remasters". NME . London. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ↑ Leonie Cooper (26 June 2011). "The Wombles joined by Sex Pistols collaborator for Glastonbury show". NME .
- ↑ "Glastonbury boss Michael Eavis regrets Wombles booking". BBC News. 8 June 2011.
- ↑ "Wombles re-form to play Glastonbury". BBC News. 22 June 2011.
