Misplaced Pages

Mike Batt

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
#535464

67-643: Michael Philip Batt (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 . As a solo artist, his notable contributions in the UK include creating pop act The Wombles , writing hits including "Bright Eyes” and introducing Katie Melua to the music scene. He has conducted many orchestras , including

134-639: A mainstream / classic rock music format in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, 37 regional stations broadcasting a modern adult contemporary / adult hits format and 5 digital radio stations. The network dates back to the launch of Triple M Sydney in 1980. On 15 December 2016, the network was amalgamated with the LocalWorks network of regional radio stations. The first Triple M station was Triple M Sydney , which commenced broadcasting to Sydney on 2 August 1980. Triple M Sydney and then-rival 2Day FM were

201-543: A Wombling Merry Christmas". In 1997, the year of The Queen and Prince Philip's Golden Wedding Anniversary, he was commissioned by the military to compose a piece, "Royal Gold", for the massed bands of the Coldstream, Welsh, Irish and Grenadier Guards, together with 100 pipers. The piece was performed in the presence of The Queen and Prince Philip at the Royal Tournament in that year. Batt simultaneously dedicated

268-643: A guest appearance from Eric Clapton . He arranged and conducted a series of concerts of Hawkwind songs featuring the band and orchestra in October and November 2018. In September 2018, the GUILD classical label released a recording of 'Holst: The Planets Suite for Large Orchestra' played by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Batt. The release coincided with the centenary of the composition's first performance. In July 2019, Batt

335-717: A half years, travelling via France, the West Indies, South America, Central America, Mexico, Los Angeles, Hawaii and Fiji. In 1981, on the Los Angeles-Sydney leg of the sea voyage, he was commissioned to write a piece for the 50th anniversary of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation which became the musical fantasy production Zero Zero . Batt designed, co-directed and starred in the studio-based production of "Zero Zero" shot at Gore Hill studios in Sydney and aired by Channel 4 TV in

402-423: A round, a Thursday night, two Friday nights, a Saturday and a Sunday, all Finals and all State of Origin matches. The commentary team includes the following: Andrew Johns , Peter Sterling , Dan Ginnane, Gorden Tallis , Ryan Girdler , Wendell Sailor , Mark Geyer , Emma Lawrence, Tony Squires , Paul Kent , Ben Dobbin , Brent Read and James Hooper. In 2009, Triple M broadcast twenty20 cricket live between

469-403: A small group of artists including Katie Melua , Carla Bruni , Marianne Faithfull , Caro Emerald , Gurrumul , and Sarah Blasko . From 2005, Dramatico became one of the top UK based indie labels . Batt discovered Katie Melua in 2002 while scouting for a new artist with whom to work. Melua's album Call Off The Search (containing six of Batt's songs including " The Closest Thing to Crazy ")

536-480: A ten-year contract during which she had recorded six albums for Dramatico. Since 2014, Batt has guided his Dramatico organization towards a more theatrical/TV/film direction, albeit concentrating on projects which have his music at their core. He has served on the boards of many industry organizations including The Performing Right Society, the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) and

603-567: A theme song that was an extended reworking of the Mike Batt track "Introduction (The Journey of a Fool)", from his 1979 album Tarot Suite. In 1988, Melbourne radio station EON FM (3EON), 92.3 was taken over by Triple M and changed its callsign to Triple M and moved to 105.1 MHz in November 1988. EON FM was Australia's first commercial FM radio station, commencing broadcasting on 11 July 1980. Brisbane radio station Triple M Brisbane

670-908: Is the British recorded music industry's trade association . It runs the BRIT Awards ; is home to the Mercury Prize ; co-owns the Official Charts Company with the Entertainment Retailers Association; and awards UK music sales through the BRIT Certified Awards. Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies, including ( Sony Music UK , Universal Music UK , Warner Music UK ), and over 500 independent record labels and small to medium-sized music businesses. The BPI council

737-630: Is the management and policy forum of the BPI. It is chaired by the Chair of BPI, and includes the Chief Executive, Chief Operating Officer (COO), General Counsel, Chief Strategy Officer and 12 representatives from the recorded music sector: six from major labels – two each from the three "major" companies – and six from the independent sector, who are selected by voting of all BPI independent label members. BPI has represented

SECTION 10

#1732782486536

804-735: Is the recognised charitable arm of the BPI. It was conceived in 1989 by BPI and a collection of music industry individuals. The BRIT Trust is the only music charity actively supporting all types of music education. Proceeds from the BRIT Awards and The Music Industry Trusts Award (MITS) go to the BRIT Trust, which has donated almost £30m to charitable causes nationwide since its foundation. As of 2024, beneficiaries include The BRIT School , Nordoff and Robbins, East London Arts and Music , Music Support, and Key 4 Life . Opened in September 1991,

871-568: The 2013 Birthday Honours for services to the Royal Household. In August 2014, Batt was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue . In 2018, he produced and arranged Hawkwind 's album The Road to Utopia , consisting primarily of new versions of their 1970s songs with

938-710: The Australian Cricket Team , South African Cricket Team and the New Zealand Cricket Team . Commentators included Damien Fleming , Stuart MacGill , Greg Blewett , and Brendan Julian . In December 2016, Triple M became the first FM radio station to broadcast test cricket. Commentators included James Brayshaw , Kerry O'Keeffe , Michael Slater , Brett Lee , Brad Haddin , Merv Hughes , Darren Berry , H.G Nelson , Jules Schiller , Lawrence Mooney , Gus Worland , Neroli Meadows, Isa Guha , Mick Molloy and Mark Howard . In May 2018, it

1005-772: The BRIT School is a joint venture between The BRIT Trust and the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). Based at Selhurst in Croydon, the comprehensive school describes itself as the leading performing and creative arts school in the UK and is completely free to attend. It teaches over 1,400 students each year aged from 14 to 19 years in music, dance, drama, musical theatre, production, media and art and design. Students are from diverse backgrounds and are not required to stick to their own discipline; dancers learn songwriting, pianists can learn photography. In August 2023,

1072-475: The Classic BRIT Awards . The organising company, BRIT Awards Limited, is a fully owned subsidiary of the BPI. Proceeds from both shows go to the BRIT Trust, the charitable arm of the BPI that has distributed almost £30m to charitable causes nationwide since its foundation in 1989. In September 2013, the BPI presented the first ever BRITs Icon Award to Elton John . The BPI also endorsed the launch of

1139-764: The LiSNTR internet radio platform. Southern Cross Austereo also owns Mix 106.3 Canberra along with the Australian Radio Network , and is part of the Triple M network, although it is operated primarily by ARN as part of its KIIS Network . In September 2002, Triple M and Frontier Touring held four rock concerts in Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney as part of the touring M-One festival, which featured Goo Goo Dolls , Nickelback , Garbage , Lifehouse , Default, Midnight Oil and Antiskeptic . In 2004,

1206-535: The London Symphony , Royal Philharmonic , London Philharmonic , Sydney Symphony and Stuttgart Philharmonic in both classical and pop recordings and performances. 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

1273-564: The Mercury Prize for the Album of the Year in 1992, and since 2016 has organised the Prize. The recorded music industry's Certified Awards programme, which attributes Platinum, Gold and Silver status to singles, albums and music videos (Platinum and Gold only) based on their sales performance (see BRIT Certified Awards ), has been administered by the BPI since its inception in 1973. The BRIT Trust

1340-476: The Triple J Hottest 100 countdown, despite the Triple J Hottest 100 only including songs from the preceding 12 months. Triple M Melbourne first broadcast Australian Football League games in 1997 after securing broadcasting rights. In 1999 Triple M expanded its coverage to Triple M Adelaide followed by Triple M Sydney and Triple M Brisbane in 2005 and Triple M Perth in 2021 with regional stations around

1407-584: The BPI which search for members' repertoire across more than 400 known infringing sites and generate URLs which are sent to Google as a DMCA Notice for removal within hours of receipt. Additionally, personnel are also seconded to the City of London Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit to support anti- "piracy" operations. Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo . The network consists of 45 radio stations with flagship stations broadcasting

SECTION 20

#1732782486536

1474-723: The Bellman played by Keith Michell. On a second visit that year, he took the opportunity to mount a more ambitious version of the fully expanded show score at the State Theatre, Sydney. Having tried out the show in Australia Batt moved towards securing funding and a theatre to mount the show in London's West End, and subsequently did so at the Prince Edward Theatre , opening on 24 October 1991. The production

1541-615: The British Phonographic Industry (BPI), being Deputy Chairman of the BPI from 2007 until November 2015. He has been a member of the Society of Distinguished Songwriters (SODS) since 1976. His awards include five Ivor Novello Awards issued by The British Academy Of Songwriters, Composers And Authors, according to their records. Batt was appointed Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO) in

1608-475: The Coloured Coat 's second album, Western Flier . Also in 1969, Batt released as producer/artist a Liberty single, his cover version of The Beatles ' " Your Mother Should Know ". In the early 1970s, having spent £11,000 recording half of a heavy rock orchestral album that was never released and which nearly bankrupted him, Batt was asked by the producers of a new children's television programme to write

1675-663: The Department for Education approved BPI’s plan to open a new specialist creative school in Bradford, West Yorkshire, inspired by the successful model of the BRIT School in Croydon. The BPI administers the BRIT Certified Platinum, Gold and Silver awards scheme for music releases in the United Kingdom. The level of the award varies depending on the format of the release (albums, singles or music videos) and

1742-618: The European hit songs "Railway Hotel", "Lady of the Dawn" and " Ride to Agadir ". He worked on these recordings with such fellow artists as Colin Blunstone and Roger Chapman as singers on Tarot Suite . A version of "Introduction (The Journey of a Fool)" from Tarot Suite was used as the theme for the Sydney radio station Triple M , from its first broadcast in 1980 until the 1990s. Over the course of May 2010, this theme tune, still based on

1809-762: The Footy’s on the Radio ’ the radio stations theme song and is often heard throughout the broadcast before and after ad breaks in games. In October 2006, the National Rugby League announced that beginning in 2007, Triple M Sydney would be the exclusive commercial broadcaster of Monday Night Rugby league matches. The coverage began on 19 March with the Round 1 match between the Sydney Roosters and South Sydney Rabbitohs . Currently, Triple M broadcast 5 games

1876-525: The UK albums chart. In 2011, his record label, Dramatico, released the album "Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor" by Caro Emerald, reaching more than 400,000 UK sales and paving the way for the release of "The Shocking Miss Emerald" by the same artist in 2013. This album went to number one in the UK album charts. Melua departed the Batt (Dramatico) management stable and record label in January 2014 after

1943-882: The UK in the week of the Channel's broadcast launch in 1982. The album, featuring Batt with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, was released on Epic as a Mike Batt solo album. Batt's character "Number 17" falls in love and is sent to an emotional decontamination centre called "Zero Zero". The single, "Love Makes You Crazy", was released by Sony on Epic Records. Returning to the UK in 1983, Batt wrote, produced and arranged three more Top Ten hits, " Please Don't Fall in Love " (for Cliff Richard ), " A Winter's Tale " (for David Essex , with lyrics co-written by Tim Rice ) and " I Feel Like Buddy Holly " (for Alvin Stardust ). In

2010-538: The UK, The Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and hitting top five chart positions in eight other countries. At this point, Melua had become the biggest female UK album artist in the world for that year according to official British Phonographic Industry sales figures. In 2008, Batt performed and released A Songwriter's Tale , a compilation album of his hits, newly recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Henry Spinetti , Ray Cooper , Chris Spedding , Mitch Dalton and Tim Harries . The album reached position 24 in

2077-588: The age of eighteen when he answered an advertisement placed by Ray Williams in the New Musical Express on behalf of Liberty Records . Batt initially signed as a songwriter and artist to Liberty, but became head of A&R for the label only months later, at the age of nineteen. He signed and produced Tony (TS) McPhee's The Groundhogs and produced their first album, Scratching the Surface . He produced, co-wrote and played piano on Hapshash and

Mike Batt - Misplaced Pages Continue

2144-637: The album Philharmania with the Royal Philharmonic and guest singers included Joey Tempest , Roger Daltrey , Marc Almond , Bonnie Tyler , Status Quo , Huey Lewis , Kim Wilde , Justin Hayward and others. Later the same year, Batt relaunched The Wombles pop group, with two hits, "Remember You’re A Womble" and "The Wombling Song". In 2000, he collaborated with Roy Wood for a single which combined new versions of previous Christmas hits by Wizzard and The Wombles, released as "I Wish It Could Be

2211-504: The call sign 1ROQ and changed to 1MMM when becoming part of Triple M. New Zealand no longer uses radio station call signs. This station later reverted to 89FM in 1988 and eventually closed down in 1994. While many of the comedy and talk programs are networked, large sections of music programming originate from the local market of each Triple M. On Friday 17 November 2006, Triple M (including Mix 94.5 in Perth) referred to itself as U2FM for

2278-593: The country also having coverage. The 2024 coverage includes the following broadcasters: Commentators Experts Boundary Journalists Triple M is the only commercial FM broadcasters of the AFL in Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane and Sydney (although only the local teams - the Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast Suns in Brisbane and Sydney Swans and GWS Giants in Sydney respectively - are covered in

2345-411: The day, as part of a promotion relating to the band U2 and their 2006 Australian Tour and CD release. Triple M launched High Voltage Radio , a "pop up" digital radio station that exclusively played AC/DC for the duration of the band's 2010 tour of Australia. On 16 August 2013, Triple M Perth was launched on digital radio, returning the station to Perth. Branded as Perth's Real Music Alternative ,

2412-613: The end of the summer, he entered the UK Singles Chart with the only hit under his name (credited "Mike Batt with the New Edition") with "Summertime City" – used as the theme music to Seaside Special , the BBC Television series recorded in various UK seaside resorts – which reached number 4. Batt produced Elkie Brooks ' version of " Lilac Wine " in 1978. The song was a hit in the UK and across Europe. He wrote

2479-493: The first commercial FM radio stations in Sydney. Throughout the 1980s, Triple M was one of the highest-rating radio stations in Sydney, spearheaded by its morning show presented by Doug Mulray and featuring the writing of and occasional appearances by Andrew Denton . For all of this period and into the 1990s, Triple M's promotional campaign featured the character "Dr Dan", a guitar -playing satyr with wings, inspired by artwork by legendary Australian cartoonist Peter Ledger, and

2546-494: The first time. Streaming's contributions to chart-eligible sales totals for singles and albums are calculated using the methodology employed by the Official Charts Company for consumption at title level. In April 2018, a new Breakthrough certification was introduced, pertaining to an artist's first album to reach 30,000 sales. Additionally, the programme was re-branded as BRIT Certified, with public promotion of

2613-651: The inauguration of the Channel Tunnel by the Queen , entitled "When Flags Fly Together". This was performed for the Queen and President Mitterrand , along with many senior politicians, by The Band of the Royal Engineers, and sung by Robert Meadmore. Batt composed and produced the four million-selling album The Violin Player , which launched classical violinist Vanessa-Mae (EMI Classics, 1995) from which

2680-444: The interests of British record companies since being formally incorporated in 1973, when the principal aim was to promote British music and fight copyright infringement . In 2007, the association's legal name was changed from "British Phonographic Industry Limited (The)" to "BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited". In September 2008, the BPI became one of the founding members of UK Music , an umbrella organisation representing

2747-400: The interests of all parts of the industry. In July 2022, YolanDa Brown was appointed chair of BPI, replacing Ged Doherty , who had served in that role the previous seven years. In July 2023, Jo Twist was appointed chief executive of BPI, replacing Geoff Taylor, who had served in the role since 2007. BPI founded the annual BRIT Awards for the British music industry in 1977, and, later,

Mike Batt - Misplaced Pages Continue

2814-548: The landmark of one billion career UK streams – as calculated by the Official Charts Company. Recipients to date include RAYE , Billie Eilish , Queen , The Rolling Stones , Olivia Rodrigo , Katy Perry , Whitney Houston , Mariah Carey , Wizkid and Coldplay . In Autumn 2023, Ed Sheeran was presented with a special edition Gold BRIT Billion Award, celebrating his achievement as the first British artist to surpass ten billion career UK streams. The BPI have developed bespoke software and automated crawling tools created in-house by

2881-593: The late 1980s, Batt also produced, arranged and conducted Justin Hayward 's album with the London Philharmonic Orchestra entitled Classic Blue and the music for The Dreamstone . A number of stars performed for the Dreamstone soundtrack; notably Billy Connolly , Ozzy Osbourne , former British heavyweight boxing champion Frank Bruno , and Bonnie Tyler . Batt performed the programme's theme song, Better Than A Dream . The first series

2948-479: The latter two cities with the local teams in Adelaide and Perth coverage in the two cities along with neutral games.) Triple M is best known for offering a less formal coverage than AM radio, providing listeners with a sense of comedy to the call while still calling the action. The station is the only radio station that provide listeners with the umpires microphones often heard on TV coverage. The TISM song ‘ Shut Up

3015-522: The level of sales achieved. Although the awards programme was for many years based on the level of shipments by record labels to retailers, since July 2013 certifications have been automatically allocated by the BPI upon the relevant sales thresholds being achieved in accordance with Official Charts Company data. Since July 2014, streaming media has been included for singles and from June 2015 audio streams were added to album certifications. In July 2018 video streams were included in singles certifications for

3082-592: The main central riff from "Introduction (The Journey of a Fool)" was re-recorded by Slash , former Guns N' Roses guitarist, as a new theme to mark the 30th anniversary of Triple M in Sydney. This was released to air at the end of June 2010. In 1980, he released his next solo album, entitled Waves , recorded at Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum , Netherlands. In the same year, he went off with his family aboard his boat, Braemar , ending up in Australia after two and

3149-479: The national network counted down the Triple M Essential 2005 Songs from Boxing Day to Australia Day . The number one song was Violent Femmes ' " Blister in the Sun ". Triple M have held an Essential Countdown based on listener votes since 2006, beginning in October of each year, counting the same number of songs as the year (e.g., 2006 songs in 2006). The countdown has received some criticism for being overly similar to

3216-549: The piece to his own parents, whose Golden Wedding Anniversary happened to be in the same year. Later, he would compose, arrange and conduct the music for the 1999 TV series Watership Down with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. An ambitious soundtrack album starring Stephen Gately from Boyzone , Paul Carrack from Mike and the Mechanics , Cerys Matthews from Catatonia and the RPO was recorded but, owing to disagreements with

3283-538: The programme being assumed by the BRIT Awards' social media outlets and digital properties. Former Chief Executive Geoff Taylor justified the change by stating that it was part of an effort to cross-promote the certifications with "the UK's biggest platform for artistic achievement". In May 2023, BPI launched an expansion of the BRIT Certified Awards Scheme with BRIT Billion, which celebrates outstanding achievement in recorded music by surpassing

3350-424: The record label, was never meaningfully released and subsequently acquired by Batt for his Dramatico label some years later. His orchestral suite "Watership Down" was created and recorded by the RPO at this time and was released on Dramatico, which was released in a 2 CD set with the soundtrack to Caravans . Also, for the 1999 release of XTC 's album Apple Venus Volume 1 , he wrote the orchestral arrangements for

3417-538: The same year, he helped write lyrics for Abbacadabra . In 1983, he wrote and produced " Ballerina (Prima Donna) ", which, recorded by Steve Harley , peaked at no. 51 in the UK. With Richard Stilgoe , Batt co-wrote the lyrics to the title song of Andrew Lloyd Webber 's " Phantom of the Opera ", producing and arranging the single by Steve Harley and Sarah Brightman . Batt's and Stilgoe's lyrics were later partially replaced by those of Charles Hart . Batt's arrangement of

SECTION 50

#1732782486536

3484-400: The score was unimpressive. The show survived only seven weeks at the Prince Edward. There has been much argument about the merits of the piece since it closed. A theatre studies student, Andrew Loretto, even wrote his PhD thesis on the subject "The Snark and the Critics". In 1995, he made a solo album for Sony Germany , Arabesque . Batt was then commissioned to write the official anthem for

3551-425: The song " Bright Eyes " for the animated film version of Watership Down . Recorded by Art Garfunkel , it reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart and was number one in six countries. Batt also wrote the score for the film Caravans , released in 1978. As a singer, Batt's solo albums included Schizophonia and Tarot Suite (1979, Epic Records ) (both with the London Symphony Orchestra ). From these albums came

3618-407: The song is still used in the stage version. The album The Hunting of the Snark , based on Lewis Carroll 's poem, was recorded in 1984. However, the album was withheld from sale after a dispute with Sony Music, to whom Batt had leased the self-financed masters. Batt went ahead with a promotional concert at the Royal Albert Hall in 1987, which he filmed at his own expense and was shown on BBC2. In

3685-403: The station also carried Triple M AFL coverage. On 27 September 2014, the station was replaced by Triple M Modern Rock Digital. Featuring only new rock music, the station also expanded to Adelaide. On 25 November 2013, Triple M Classic Rock Digital radio station was launched. The station format is exclusively classic rock , with no announcer talkback. On 1 December 2020, the Triple M brand

3752-487: The theme music. Instead of taking his £200 fee, Batt asked for the character rights for musical production. The choice produced his first hits as a singer-songwriter/producer by The Wombles in 1974. The collaboration produced eight hit singles and four gold albums. No longer financially unstable, Batt moved on to work with various artists as a songwriter/producer, most successfully with Steeleye Span and their single and album All Around My Hat in 1975. Also in 1975, at

3819-450: The top twenty single of his arrangement of J.S. Bach 's "Toccata and Fugue" was taken. In 1997, Batt produced an album for the soprano Anna Maria Kaufmann, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra ; an original dramatic song cycle called Blame It on the Moon , from which his song, "Running with a Dream" was taken as the theme for Germany's national football team at the 1998 World Cup . Also in 1998, Batt produced, arranged and conducted

3886-468: The tracks "Green Man" and "I Can't Own Her". After conceiving and co-creating the all-girl string quartet Bond and producing their first single, he then created the eight piece classical crossover band, The Planets . Their album Classical Graffiti was released in February 2002. It went to number one in the UK classical music chart on the day of release and remained there for three months. He formed his own record label, Dramatico , in 2000, working with

3953-428: The years since the launch of his first solo album Schizophonia and had been used in his Zero Zero TV production of 1982. The show's revolutionary visual presentation (critic Sheridan Morley wrote in the International Herald Tribune that "the show's design will revolutionize theatre design for years to come") did not save it from a negative reaction by critics that suggested Batt's visuals were spectacular but that

4020-400: Was relaunched in Perth , replacing contemporary hit radio station Hit 92.9 after sister station Mix 94.5 switched affiliation to the Hit Network . As of 1 December 2020 , the Triple M network consists of 40 AM and FM radio stations. As of 20 July 2020 , the Triple M network broadcasts an additional six radio stations on DAB+ digital radio. Hard N Heavy was moved to

4087-472: Was completed and broadcast in 1990 and lasted for three more series, ending in 1995. In January 1990, Batt was appointed joint Musical Director of the Melbourne Summer Music festival, with the State Orchestra Of Victoria. Among the classical concerts and other programming he conducted, curated and performed on that visit to Australia, he programmed a debut costumed concert of a fuller length version of "The Hunting Of Snark", with narration by Michael Parkinson and

SECTION 60

#1732782486536

4154-475: Was designed and directed by Batt and starred Philip Quast as the Bellman, David McCallum as Lewis Carroll, and Kenny Everett as the Billiard Marker. There was a 50 piece live orchestra on stage, hidden variously by venetian blinds and gauzes upon which the scenery was projected entirely from more than 200 projectors and involved 12,000 hand-prepared still slides often moving in rapid succession to create animation. This visual technique had been developed by Batt over

4221-422: Was launched in 1980 and took on the FM104 identity soon after. It returned to the Triple M identity in early 1990. Its callsign has remained 4MMM since its 1980 launch. Triple M Brisbane started broadcasting on 104.1FM, then late in the 1980s changed to its present frequency of 104.5-FM. Adelaide radio station 5KA converted from 1197 kHz to 104.7 MHz on 1 January 1990 and was renamed KAFM (5KKA). The station

4288-690: Was made a Companion of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts by co-founder Paul McCartney. In 2022, Batt launched Croix-Noire, an art project with Jean-Charles Capelli , linking music, comics and video games. In 2019, his fantasy adventure novel The Chronicles Of Don't Be So Ridiculous Valley was published by London Street Books. The story is set in a fantasy world, and features slugs and fairies. Mike Batt published his autobiography, The Closest Thing to Crazy: My Life of Musical Adventures , in 2024. Biography quoted from various sources, mostly from Batt's official website British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry ( BPI )

4355-459: Was released on Dramatico in November 2003. After six weeks at number one in the UK Albums Chart , it sold six times platinum. Over 1.8 million copies were sold in the UK and three million copies worldwide, making Melua the biggest selling UK female artist of 2004. Her second album, Piece by Piece (including Batt's song " Nine Million Bicycles ") was released in September 2005, and sold 3.5 million copies in Europe, going to number one in

4422-400: Was taken over by Village Roadshow , who then owned Triple M, and they successfully negotiated the purchase of the 5MMM callsign from a community radio station in 1993. That station is now known as Three D Radio ( 5DDD ), and the 5MMM callsign is now used by Triple M Adelaide (104.7). Perth radio station 96FM ( 6NOW ) also carried the Triple M identity and 6MMM callsign in the early 1990s but

4489-506: Was then sold to Southern Cross Broadcasting who changed the station's identity back to its original name. Mix 94.5 until December 2020 was "considered" to be a part of the Triple M network in Perth utilising local programming (as opposed to airing networked Triple M programmes) and Mix 94.5 didn’t carry the Triple M brand, logo or call letters. In Auckland , New Zealand , a Triple M station existed between 1984 and 1988 when 89 Stereo FM became part of Triple M. The station previously used

#535464