Live Review: Mike Batt, Bright Eyes and Beyond – 15th November 2022 – Bush Hall, London, UK
2 min read
Legendary singer-songwriter and producer, Mike Batt, took to the stage at Bush Hall, London for an evening of music, tales and nostalgia. With a career spanning over half a century, Mike is best known for writing songs including the smash hits Bright Eyes and Summertime City, creating everyone’s furry favourites The Wombles and discovering his protégé Katie Melua. Mike has even conducted some of the best orchestras including London Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonic and many more. So with that all under Mike’s belt, it was obvious he was going to have a few songs and stories from his golden days.
Opening the session with just himself and his grand piano, Mike burst into action with Railway Hotel, before being joined onstage by a string quintet from the Docklands Sinfonia. You could feel the nervous energy Mike was emitting about something going terribly wrong, after all the show had been postponed since May 2020 because of Covid. However, the rough and ready style of the show is what made the evening so enjoyable. A forgotten lyric here or mishap there, Mike jokingly took the mistakes in his stride and the crowd absolutely loved it.
Mike brought the nostalgia back with his inclusion of classic Womble songs, including The Wombling Song and Wombling Merry Christmas, which was thoroughly enjoyed by the crowd. Also joining Mike on stage was singer Paula Masterton, who used her incredible powerful vocals for Caravan Song, Guernica and I Feel Like Buddy Holly. And of course, Mike had to include a couple of Katie Melua classics such as The Closest Thing To Crazy and My Aphrodisiac Is You. Before finally ending the twenty-song strong performance on a high with the love song A Winter’s Tale, written by Mike for David Essex.
The long-awaited performance at the intimate 400 capacity venue was a refreshingly authentic evening packed full of Mike’s best songs from his career, providing the crowd with an evening of laughter, joy and a trip down memory lane.
Setlist:
Railway Hotel
My Aphrodisiac Is You
Soldier’s Song
Caravan Song
Better Than A Dream
Imagine Something Yesterday
Love Makes You Crazy
Please Don’t Fall In Love
Guernica
Summertime City
The Wombling Song
Minuetto Allgegretto
Wombling Merry Christmas
Sometimes When I’m Dreaming
Just Desserts
Round The Bend
Million Bikes
The Closest Thing To Crazy
I Feel Like Buddy Holly
A Winter’s Tale
