The Closest Thing to Crazy

Is a book about songwriter/producer Mike Batt worth writing? More importantly, is it worth reading?

The answer to that probably lies in how much you know about Batt. Executive summary, he is best known for:

• creating the music (and just the music) for The Wombles;
• his work with violiniist Vanessa-Mae
• and later discovering, writing for and managing Katie Melua.

Of course there is far more to his story.

If you know anything about “The Hunting of the Snark”, “The Phantom of the Opera”, his Royal commands, an album with Hawkwind, his songs with Cliff Richard, then it’s a safe bet you’ll get something from it.

If not, you’ll get an insider’s view of how the music biz and West End works. You’ll also get an idea of how one person deals with wild swings in his career and fortune that are positively scary at times.

But “the Closest Thing to Crazy” has one feature that is essential to every good (auto)biography, SOMETHING HAPPENS ON EVERY PAGE.

The machinations of Batt and the promo teams, radio programmers, managers and label execs are endlessly fascinating, although not always amusing. The spillovers (otherwise known as consequences) into his private life are recounted in painful details.

The once-mighty music business

But the book has another and I think important role: it details the way the once-mighty music business used to work before it became a cottage industry. The scale of the projects that Batt could put together is impressive. Multi-album deals were signed in parallel with stage and TV shows.  Massive houses and yachts were acquired and (sadly) lost. Tons and tons of records were sold, driving huge revenue, notably healthy mechanical rights that just no longer exist at that level.

None of this is by accident. Batt’s relentless promotion and willingness to spend massive amounts on TV advertising is a lesson for anyone that considers themselves to be good at promotion or management. He’s also willing to put in the hours to perfect his various crafts.

Throw in lots of juicy anecdotes and yes, “The Closest Thing to Crazy” is worth reading.

(Michael Leahy. Photo (c) Dramatico)