| Wombling Songs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 1973 | |||
| Recorded | 1973 | |||
| Studio | CBS Studios, Wessex Studios | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 35:29 | |||
| Label | CBS | |||
| Producer | Mike Batt | |||
| The Wombles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Wombling Songs | ||||
| ||||
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".
According to Batt, the album is a simple compilation of character songs and background music for the television series. [2] It has garnered a small cult following in the 21st century, with music journalist Bob Stanley calling it "something of a kid-rock masterpiece, a pre-teen Odessey and Oracle , chock-full of woodwinds, harpsichords, and minor-key McCartney-esque melodies". [3] Staff writers of The Scotsman noted the album's "glimpses of pop sophistication – the clarinet figure in the theme tune, the wistful pop of Orinoco's song "Dreaming In The Sun"...". [1]
In 2022, Batt revealed he destroyed the master tapes of Wombling Songs and the three subsequent Wombles albums, so "people can't fuck with them after I'm gone...if I wanted to go back and change it I would. They aren’t perfection but they are a faithful representation of what I offered to the world in 1974 and 1975." [4]
The album spent 17 weeks in the UK album charts, peaking at number 19 on 2 March 1974. [5]
All tracks are written by Mike Batt.
Bubblegum is rock and pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a more specific rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States in the late 1960s, that evolved from garage rock, novelty songs, and the Brill Building sound, and which was also defined by its target demographic of preteens and young teenagers. The Archies' 1969 hit "Sugar, Sugar" was a representative example that led to cartoon rock, a short-lived trend of Saturday-morning cartoon series that heavily featured pop rock songs in the bubblegum vein.
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.
"Seasons in the Sun" is an English-language adaptation of the 1961 Belgian song "Le Moribond" by singer-songwriter Jacques Brel with lyrics rewritten in 1963 by American singer-poet Rod McKuen, portraying a dying man's farewell to his loved ones. It became a worldwide hit in 1974 for Canadian singer Terry Jacks and became a Christmas number one in the UK in 1999 for Westlife.
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. As a songwriter, he contributed a number of hits to the repertoire of these bands. Altogether he had more than 20 singles in the UK Singles Chart under various guises, including three UK No. 1 hits.
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.
"Make Your Own Kind of Music" is a song by American singer Mama Cass Elliot from her second studio album Make Your Own Kind of Music/It’s Getting Better (1969). It was released as the third and final single from the album in September 1969, by Dunhill Records. The song was written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, while production was helmed by Steve Barri. In the United States, "Make Your Own Kind of Music" was a Top 40, in which it peaked at number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Devoted to You" is a song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant.
"Sometimes When I'm Dreaming" is a song written by Mike Batt, the writer of songs for The Wombles. It was originally recorded by Art Garfunkel for his album The Art Garfunkel Album.
Elisabeth Beresford, MBE, also known as Liza Beresford, was an English author of children's books, best known for creating The Wombles. Born into a literary family, she took work as a journalist, but struggled for success until she created the Wombles in the late 1960s. Their recycling theme was noted especially and the Wombles became popular with children across the world. While Beresford wrote many other works, the Wombles remained her best-known.
"I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" 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.
The Wombles were a British novelty pop group, featuring musicians dressed as the characters from the children's TV show The Wombles, which in turn was based on the children's book series by Elisabeth Beresford. Songwriter and record producer Mike Batt wrote and also performed many commercially successful singles and albums as 'The Wombles', including the TV series' theme tune. British Hit Singles & Albums jokingly referred to them as the "furriest act... are natives of Wimbledon Common, London". In 2011, the band played at The Glastonbury Festival.
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.
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).
Let's Love While We Can is the thirty-seventh studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams, released in the U.K. in 1980 by CBS Records. For this project Williams eschews covering well-known pop hits and standards and relies mostly on original or lesser-known country songs.
"Whatever You Believe" is a song by the British singer-songwriter Mike Batt, which was originally recorded and released as a collaboration charity single featuring Batt with Jon Anderson of Yes and Steve Harley of Cockney Rebel. Released in 1988, the single tied-in with that year's ITV Telethon. The song was written and produced by Batt.
"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.
