Mike Batt
The Closest Thing to Crazy
In conversation with Stewart Collins
Date: Wednesday 4 November
Venue: St Mary’s Church
Time: 5.00pm
Ticket: TBC - Price band B
You wouldn’t necessarily expect the lead figure in the 1970’s pop band The Wombles to be widely regarded as a true polymath and one of the most creative and unusual minds in the modern-day music business, but he is, and Mike Batt is that man. Mike has come all the way from pop-chart success to conducting some of the greatest orchestras in the world, to working with the likes of Art Garfunkel, George Harrison and Andrew Lloyd Webber, this year having seen the first performance of his Symphony No 1 – ‘Ukraine’ – ‘a marvellous testament to what a self-taught composer of formidable instinct can achieve.’
Featuring cameos from some of the biggest stars in the business from Paul McCartney to Prince, The Closest Thing to Crazy takes us not only on the rocky (and classical) journey of Mike Batt’s life but also on a tour around a fascinating mind.
‘Fabulously readable’ Stephen Fry