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Superwombling
''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). The various musical styles of the songs include rock, pop, blues, reggae, barbershop harmony and James Bond themes. "The Myths and Legends of King Merton Womble and His Journey to the Centre of the Earth" is a parody of two contemporary concept albums – ''The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table'' and ''Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' – both by Rick Wakeman. Despite having several successful singles, the album did not chart but did eventually go Gold. Track listing All songs written by Mike Batt Michael Philip Batt, LVO (born 6 February 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Wombles (band)
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 (and possibly the tidiest) act... are natives of Wimbledon Common, London". In 2011, the band played at The Glastonbury Festival. History Filmfair acquired the television rights to ''The Wombles'' and commissioned Batt to write the theme song. He waived the flat fee for writing a single song and instead secured the rights to write songs under the name 'The Wombles'. The band released several albums and singles. All four studio albums went gold, and four of the singles reached the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart. The Wombles we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Batt
Michael Philip Batt, LVO (born 6 February 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director and conductor. He was formerly the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry. Having achieved substantial international success as a solo artist, he is particularly known in the UK for creating The Wombles pop act, writing many hits including the chart-topping " Bright Eyes", and discovering Katie Melua. He has also conducted many of the world's great orchestras, including the London Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony and Stuttgart Philharmonic in both classical and pop recordings and performances. Early life and career Michael Philip Batt was born on 6 February 1949, in Southampton, England. He attended Peter Symonds School, Winchester. His blog refers to his role as cadet Company Sergeant Major at the school. Batt began his career in pop music at the age of eighteen when he answered an advertisement plac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keep On Wombling
''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). This was a departure from the first two albums, being a partial concept album with the first side (subtitled "Orinoco's Dream") following singer Orinoco Womble through a series of dreams. The styles included pop, rock and classical (''Hall Of The Mountain Womble'' is an arrangement of ''In the Hall of the Mountain King'' by Edvard Grieg). The album spent six weeks in the UK album charts, peaking at number 17. Track listing All songs written by Mike Batt, unless otherwise noted. Side One ORINOCO'S DREAM (''Fantasies of a sleeping Womble'') # Womble Of The Universe (''In which Orinoco dreams he is an ASTRONAUT'') - 3:41 # The Orinoco Kid (''In which Orinoco dreams he is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbershop Quartet
A barbershop quartet is a group of four singers who sing music in the barbershop style, characterized by four-part harmony without instrumental accompaniment, or a cappella. The four voices are: the lead, the vocal part which typically carries the melody; a bass, the part which provides the bass line to the melody; a tenor, the part which harmonizes above the lead; and a baritone, the part that frequently completes the chord. The baritone normally sings just below the lead singer, sometimes just above as the harmony requires. Barbershop music is typified by close harmony— the upper three voices generally remain within one octave of each other. While the traditional barbershop quartet included only male singers, contemporary quartets can include any gender combination. All-female barbershop quartets were often called beauty shop quartets, a term that has fallen out of favor. The voice parts for women's and mixed barbershop groups use the same names as those for male groups si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Wombles Albums
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archaic pron ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gold Record
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal in a pure form. Chemically, gold is a transition metal and a group 11 element. It is one of the least reactive chemical elements and is solid under standard conditions. Gold often occurs in free elemental ( native state), as nuggets or grains, in rocks, veins, and alluvial deposits. It occurs in a solid solution series with the native element silver (as electrum), naturally alloyed with other metals like copper and palladium, and mineral inclusions such as within pyrite. Less commonly, it occurs in minerals as gold compounds, often with tellurium (gold tellurides). Gold is resistant to most acids, though it does dissolve in aqua regia (a mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid), forming a soluble tetrachloroaurate anion. Gold is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rick Wakeman
Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s. Born and raised in West London, Wakeman intended to be a concert pianist but quit his studies at the Royal College of Music in 1969 to become a full-time session musician. His early sessions included playing on "Space Oddity", among others, for David Bowie, and songs by Junior's Eyes, T. Rex, Elton John, and Cat Stevens. Wakeman became a member of The Strawbs in 1970 before joining Yes a year later, playing on some of their most successful albums across two stints until 1980. Wakeman began his solo career in 1973; his highest-selling solo albums are his first three, '' The Six Wives of Henry VIII'' (1973), ''Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' (1974), and ''The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table'' (1975), all concept alb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Journey To The Centre Of The Earth (album)
''Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' is the second album by English keyboardist Rick Wakeman, released on 3 May 1974 by A&M Records. It is a live recording of the second of his two concerts at the Royal Festival Hall on 18 January 1974, the premiere of his 40-minute orchestral rock piece based on Jules Verne's 1864 science fiction novel of the same name. It tells the story of Professor Lidinbrook, his nephew Axel, and their guide Hans, who follow a passage to the Earth's centre originally discovered by Arne Saknussemm, an Icelandic alchemist. Wakeman performs with the London Symphony Orchestra, the English Chamber Choir, and a group of hand-picked musicians for his rock band, which later became the English Rock Ensemble. Actor David Hemmings narrates the story. ''Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' was overall well received by music critics. It reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart, and peaked at No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' 200 in the United States. It was certified gold b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table
''The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table'' is a studio album by English keyboardist Rick Wakeman, released on 27 March 1975 by A&M Records. It is a concept album based on the stories and people of the King Arthur legend. Wakeman started to write the music in 1974 while recovering from a heart attack and recorded it with his five-piece band the English Rock Ensemble, the New World Orchestra, and the English Chamber Choir. ''King Arthur'' received positive reviews, though some labelled it a symbol of progressive rock excess. It reached No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 21 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. It was certified gold in the US, Brazil, Japan, and Australia. The album was promoted with a world tour in 1975 that included three shows at Wembley Arena performed as an ice show, the last time it was performed in its entirety until 2016. The album was reissued in 2015 with a Quadrophonic mix, and re-recorded in 2016 with additional parts previously ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Concept Album
A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Sometimes the term is applied to albums considered to be of "uniform excellence" rather than an LP with an explicit musical or lyrical motif. There is no consensus among music critics as to the specific criteria for what a "concept album" is. The format originates with folk singer Woody Guthrie's ''Dust Bowl Ballads'' (1940) and was subsequently popularized by traditional pop/jazz singer Frank Sinatra's 1940s–50s string of albums, although the term is more often associated with rock music. In the 1960s several well-regarded concept albums were released by various rock bands, which eventually led to the invention of progressive rock and rock opera. Since then, many concept albums have been released across numerous musical genres. Definiti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have written authorised Bond novels or novelisations: Kingsley Amis, Christopher Wood, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks, Jeffery Deaver, William Boyd, and Anthony Horowitz. The latest novel is ''With a Mind to Kill'' by Anthony Horowitz, published in May 2022. Additionally Charlie Higson wrote a series on a young James Bond, and Kate Westbrook wrote three novels based on the diaries of a recurring series character, Moneypenny. The character—also known by the code number 007 (pronounced "double-oh-seven")—has also been adapted for television, radio, comic strip, video games and film. The films are one of the longest continually running film series and have grossed over US$7.04 billion in total at the box office ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eddie Mordue
Edwin "Eddie" Mordue (5 January 1928 – 26 January 2011) was a British jazz saxophonist whose career spanned 70 years. Born in South Shields in January 1928, Edwin Mordue moved to London in 1941 aged 13 and toured with 'Archie's Juvenile Band'. During the Second World War, he played tenor saxophone with the Eric Winstone Band where he met singer Julie Dawn, whom he married after the war. The couple went on to record and perform with Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly and Sammy Davis, Jr. Eddie joined the Jack Nathan Band in 1951, a regular at the London Palladium and the emerging West End jazz scene, then worked as a freelance, loaning his sound to the benefit of Nat King Cole and Billie Holiday's last concert. Many recordings followed in the 1960s including tracks with Dusty Springfield, Alexis Korner and Shirley Bassey. Eddie remarried in 1967, his wife, Gudrun, bore him three sons. During the 1970s, Mordue played on a number of television shows including ''Top of the Pops'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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