Non Stop Wombling Womble Mania?

Oh boy... I am still so very much fond of the Wombles, Mike Batt's spin off novelty/bubblegum music project for the British children's TV show the Wombles.. I listen to the Wombles every day.. Seriously, every day! And what a perfect timing it is: the Wombles albums have just been released on CD for the first time.

I ordered all of them and hope to get them when I get back from Norway (yeah, that's where I've been for the past two weeks...). It seems that my favorites (Wellington Goes to Waterloo, Womble of the Universe, Down at the Barber Shop (Singing in Harmony), To Wimbledon with Love etc.) will probably get company pretty soon.

A big wombling thank you, Mike Batt!

Have a Wombling Merry Christmas

Happy holidays, everybody!

The Genius of Mike Batt

Recently, I have been drawn to the Wombles – again! As I already wrote about a couple of years ago in this blog, The Wombles originally appeared in a series of children's novels by Elisabeth Beresford. These imaginary creatures were also made into a popular TV show in the 70s.

Mike Batt wrote the theme song for the Wombles TV show. After that, Batt made four full albums of Wombles music which became very succesfull. Mike Batt (under the title ”the Wombles”) even ended up spending more weeks on British charts than any other artist in 1974. The attention was well-deserved. Batt's songwriting was very good and his range of musical styles varied from Mozart to surf pop. There were live concerts, performed by professional session musicians wearing Womble costumes. Batt also starred at the concerts playing the role of one of the Womble characters.

Mike Batt doesn't seem to be too enhusiastic about his Wombles music anymore. I read that this is why the gold-selling Wombles albums haven't been re-released on CD. Therefore they will probably not be released anytime soon... Such great bubblegum music would definitely cheer anyone up and be of great value in nostalgic sense... Not to mention how much people of younger generations (such as myself) would enjoy it! Great music for both children and adults... What else do you need?

Update (12/05/10): I'm so happy! They ARE going to be released after all!

Before the Wombles albums come out I'll get myself some of Mike Batt's later solo material... I looked at Batt's musical life story and it was really amazing. He has been all around the world, worked with symphony orchestras and million-selling artists – written some of their million-selling hits, of course... People seem to think Batt is a very underappreciated songwriter. I wonder if many people in general even have heard about him, considering how much he has achieved. One thing is for sure: writing four albums and eight hit singles for the Wombles doesn't look all that huge anymore when you think about all of the things Batt has done during his life.

But I still love those awesome Wombles tracks. Listen to some!

Womble Of The Universe
Nonstop Wombling Summer Party
The Wombling Song
Remember You're a Womble
Dreaming in the Sun
Banana Rock (Check out that accent...)
Minuetto Allegretto
Wombling Merry Christmas (Awesome Christmas song!)

Womblin'

Oh my.. This stuff is brilliant! While doing my usual bubblegum pop research, I came across a thing called The Wombles some time ago. These creatures do look a bit questionable to me now, as I never saw them when I was a kid.

The Wombles originally appeared as teddybear-like characters in children’s novels by Elisabeth Beresford, and in the early 70s they were made into a stop motion TV show – for children, of course. In the show these creatures were presented in a different form, with pointy noses. Music producer Mike Batt created a theme song for The Wombles TV show and then went on to write more music in Wombles theme, resulting in four full-length albums and chart success. A live act called The Wombles also played concerts, and the Womble characters always wore proper suits on stage.

The music of the Wombles is strongly associated with bubblegum pop, as well as novelty songs. I’m not really that familiar with the term novelty song, but it appears to have a lot to do with being funny and humorous. However, it’s not the same thing as humor music – on the other hand a humorous song isn’t automatically a novelty song. I don’t really know much about novelty songs but I guess I’ll learn as I do some more research..

Well, at least The Wombles’ music is definitely not all about sexual innuendoes, like 60s bubblegum pop sometimes/often is.. The Wombles’ 70s bubblegum music (as well as the TV show) contained a message about taking care of the environment – surely an important message for future adults! The music is catchy, rich soundwise, and like the most original bubblegum music, clearly influenced by nursery rhymes. Mike Batt, who was a clever producer, also added influences from many other cool genres: country, surf rock, calypso, and classical music among other things. The baroque-style string arrangements on several Wombles songs are really memorable – check out Remember You’re a Womble! What also needs to be said is that Wombles songs contain excellent vocals and harmonies.

Go ahead and listen to a couple of soundbites if you already haven’t! You won’t be disappointed. This stuff is easy-going sunny pop suitable for everyone – no matter if you’re a child or adult.

The Wombles at YouTube