Take Batt And Party

It was in The Algarve in 1990 when I met Mike Batt. We exchanged smiles in a little beach pub while the barman gave me a potted history of songwriter's career. Chiefly his time as the musical imprimatur for The Wombles, and 'Bright Eyes', as I recall. Mike winked and the barman poured him another.

I should have been rather excited, as my first record deck had come accessorised by 'Wombling Merry Christmas'. I can still remember the B-side, 'Madame Cholet' (which rhymed with 'Cafe Au Lait'). But something about my meeting didn't quite fit. Mike Batt, as I remembered, was a small man, slightly podgy, with a bubble perm. This guy was tall, slim and had a side parting.

When I got home after the holiday, I went to the photo files at work and checked him out. Sure enough, I had been talking to a Mike Batt impersonator, and a very poor one at that. I wonder how long he carried off the pretence for. History will note that the real composer then hooked up with Katie Melua for a rather prosperous spell, and as a result, we all know the bicycle population of Beijing. Thanks for that, Mike.