And has also conducted every single one of the world's major orchestras at one time or another- also no mean feat. For me he'd rank among the top ten living Britons.
Thank you for drawing my attention to the ambiguity. Mike Batt wrote it for the Hollies and they were the first to record it. It must have irked him immensely to listen to what he subsequently delivered so much better.
Incredible... For 20 years, I hunted high & low for this song. Have it on a Compact-Cassette from the early 80´s... And it seems to be impossible to find it on the Internet. Big tnx to DramaticoMusic. Is any1 aware of the original version from the early 80´s?
@mcnitrox i think he also wrote the wombles songs, railway hotel and bright eyes which was used as the theme song to watership down and performed by art garfunkle
Yeah I have it also hear it rhe first time from cassette!The title was Songs between Love and War!Fantastic!But I also love bright eyes and The hunting of the snark;Cheers from Germany!
Ich wüste nicht,das dieser wunderbarer Song ein Cover Ist!Werde mir das Original anhören! And for those of my english friends,i never know,That this fantastic Song is A Cover! I will as soon a possible hear the original! But the lyrics,fit fantastic in our Time!Thank you from Germany!
Wonder if anyone has his version of 'Closest Thing To Crazy' that was done a few years ago by Katie Melua? It would be interesting to hear his original song.
Naja, das ist schwer zu sagen. Ich glaube kaum, dass Mike Batt den Song geschrieben hat, ohne es selbst zu spielen und zu singen. Mit Sicherheit hat er seine Version sogar aufgenommen. Offiziell veröffentlicht wurde es womöglich zuerst von den Hollies. Aber so genau kann man das auch nicht wissen. Mir gefällt jedenfalls die Verion der Hollies viel mehr, da ist viel mehr Ausdruck drin.
I know this very talented man wrote this song for the Hollies.............and their version of is incomparable..........but then what would you expect with Allan Clarke on vocals.
hab ihn gerade in hamburg im planetarium - voice in the dark - gesehen,fantastisch, vor allen dingen wenn man zu den "smokers" gehört *gg*. ich kann es nur jedem empfehlen, seht es euch an. am anfang etwas gewöhnungsbedürftig, zieht es einen doch schnell in den bann. wenn einen dann die musik zur lasershow regelrecht erschlägt, kann man beruhigt die nacht durchmachen...:) ich finde die gesungenen lieder besser als die instrumentalen,aber auf jeden fall für mich - note 1.
He was in Combat on the other side of the village he got back as soon aß he could. He wanted to rescue her. Why don't you listen to the whole song and shut your cakehole.
THE british classic composer next to Elton John ( but to a lesser degree ). Unfortunately he was a hundred years late for this kind of music. Nevertheless i admire the musical genius !
A great Mike Batt song he wrote for the Hollies in 1981 - the best take comes from THE HOLLIES. Much better than this one. The Hollies did it live in concert with much more guitarres fantastic.
This song does not in anyway celebrate the soldiers raping a woman. Listen to the lyrics. A young soldier about to go to war has relationships with a woman. After the battle his comrades go and rape and pillage. When he realizes that they will get to her also, he goes as fast as he can to stop them, but is too late. Certainly not a celebration of rape.
Clearly a matter of taste, but I think the Hollies version is much better - mainly due to Allan Clarke's vocals. Great song though, Batt has always been a great writer
von wegen Original von Hollies, Text & Music ist von Mike Batt !! Die pazifistische Hymne „Soldiers Song schrieb er 1980 für die britische Rockband „The Hollies. mir gefällt die Hollies Version überhaupt nicht.
Ich höre diesen wunderbaren Song in der Dauerscheife!Wer zum Teufel ist Justin Bieber? And for my english speaking friends,this Song is in my Rotation, and who to Fuck is Justin Bieber!
Mike Batt is an excellent song writer (I love Bright Eyes for instance) and an excellent talent scout (Katie Melua is the best example, for both talents actually as he also wrote some incredibly nice songs for her). However his voice and this performance fail to impress me. Sounds good at times but it also sounds too often out of tune.
Also die Komposition ist schon ganz schön, aber was ist an ihm genial? Außerdem sollte er sich vllt einen Sänger holen , damit er nicht selber singen muss , dass ist doch peinlich für einen Profi...
Mike Batt is criminally underrated. His musical output is tremendous, beautiful, and so huge in numbers. One of the best musicians of our times.
And has also conducted every single one of the world's major orchestras at one time or another- also no mean feat. For me he'd rank among the top ten living Britons.
Composer, lyricist, singer, conducting from the piano. What a legend.
Mike Batt has a wonderful voice and he is a great songwriter and arranger. This is another amazing song with an outstanding arrangement.
An absolute unforgettable classic. Mike is a genius.
I love Mike Batt - especially his 'Hunting of the Snark'
Absolutely! The man is an astoundingly versatile talent! His version of 'Bright Eyes' moves me every bit as much as Art's.
I have searching so Long for a CD! But now I have found a fantastic Double CD! With evrey thing I Love and so much more! Cheers from Germany!
This is the original song. How can it be more original than by the writer Itself? Wonderful Songwriter wonderful Singer.
Thank you for drawing my attention to the ambiguity. Mike Batt wrote it for the Hollies and they were the first to record it. It must have irked him immensely to listen to what he subsequently delivered so much better.
One of the best musical geniuses
The CD is called 'Songs of Love and War' and it's still available :-)
Thank you for posting this! I've been a fan of Mike from The Wombles days, and it's great to see him on stage.
Wonderful song, I love it.
Incredible...
For 20 years, I hunted high & low for this song. Have it on a Compact-Cassette from the early 80´s... And it seems to be impossible to find it on the Internet.
Big tnx to DramaticoMusic.
Is any1 aware of the original version from the early 80´s?
Happy 60th birthday, Mr. Mike Batt! :)
Wow, never heard this before, brilliant
what a great great singer/songwriter....
Magnificent! Musical masterpiece...
Super lied danke
mike is a very gifted man
1:10 Beautiful
A very talented songwriter
Amazingly talented!!
this is wonderful
WONDERFUL...great song..BIG LOVE XXX
GREAT MUSIC!!!
@mcnitrox i think he also wrote the wombles songs, railway hotel and bright eyes which was used as the theme song to watership down and performed by art garfunkle
The Man and his Magic
this song as brought tears to my eye,s
Sooooooooo good!!!
wonderful video!
brilliant well done mike j vincent edwards
Genius.
Wonderful.
mein Lieblingslied von Mike Batt......
@returnhangar Agreed...brilliant
Klasse leider erst heute gefunden. Alle Achtung . Super
Yeah I have it also hear it rhe first time from cassette!The title was Songs between Love and War!Fantastic!But I also love bright eyes and The hunting of the snark;Cheers from Germany!
Fã de carteirinha bela musica!!!!
🙌🎶Great Musician🎶🙌Music🎶🙌💫✌️🌟❤️
lovely
Just as good as the Hollies!
should be ... he wrote it !
he has an amazing voice love it
I hear this in August 2022. The song is still topical. Mankind will never be civilized ... unfortunately. 😢
This is a song of Betrayal !!!
No, it’s not! It’s a song of rape!!!!
Ich wüste nicht,das dieser wunderbarer Song ein Cover Ist!Werde mir das Original anhören! And for those of my english friends,i never know,That this fantastic Song is A Cover! I will as soon a possible hear the original! But the lyrics,fit fantastic in our Time!Thank you from Germany!
Batt wrote it, but only in later years started to actually record his own compositions.
ja kocham jego muzykę,jest cudowna
Well Done
grande cantante, in più scopritore di Katie Melua, x questo eterna gratitudine!!!
How can i get the original orchesral score for this song?
Yes, I absolutely did realize that. But it's a useful comment for those that didn't know, so thank you.
Whow
@D4NC1ND4V1D
Do you mean Florence Rawlings? She has her own videos on UA-cam.
Wonder if anyone has his version of 'Closest Thing To Crazy' that was done a few years ago by Katie Melua? It would be interesting to hear his original song.
It is on his A Songwriter`s Tale cd.
Naja, das ist schwer zu sagen. Ich glaube kaum, dass Mike Batt den Song geschrieben hat, ohne es selbst zu spielen und zu singen. Mit Sicherheit hat er seine Version sogar aufgenommen. Offiziell veröffentlicht wurde es womöglich zuerst von den Hollies. Aber so genau kann man das auch nicht wissen. Mir gefällt jedenfalls die Verion der Hollies viel mehr, da ist viel mehr Ausdruck drin.
Better arrangement than the Hollies’ version, but Allan Clarke’s voice is so superior
For me Clarke's finest performance was "Too young to be married"
Did you notice Florence Rawlings on the video?
A great singer at the very beginning of her career... :)
I know this very talented man wrote this song for the Hollies.............and their version of is incomparable..........but then what would you expect with Allan Clarke on vocals.
I've always thought that Mike Batt should reform Hapshash and the Coloured Coat,that band was his zenith.
Mike Batt is the Composer , but Carl Wayne performed it much better !
Pack your bags Mike, your singing is all over the place, makes my toe nails curl up!
I always have pitty with the deaf, but would you keep your unworthy comments to yourself please.
hab ihn gerade in hamburg im planetarium - voice in the dark - gesehen,fantastisch, vor allen dingen wenn man zu den "smokers" gehört *gg*. ich kann es nur jedem empfehlen, seht es euch an. am anfang etwas gewöhnungsbedürftig, zieht es einen doch schnell in den bann. wenn einen dann die musik zur lasershow regelrecht erschlägt, kann man beruhigt die nacht durchmachen...:) ich finde die gesungenen lieder besser als die instrumentalen,aber auf jeden fall für mich - note 1.
was ist an der Hollies Version Genial??
Wombleful 😎😎
Leider schon zehn Jahrte her
"In the hands of those brave friends of mine she suffered and she died" This is not a Soldier's Song, this is a Coward's Song !!!!
He was in Combat on the other side of the village he got back as soon aß he could. He wanted to rescue her. Why don't you listen to the whole song and shut your cakehole.
Back up vocals singer is hot !
I love the holliès singing this, more depth and emotion to it
All his songs are slightly similar but nice)
Großartiger Song - ob von den Hollies oder Mike gesungen, aber ohne das entsprechende Orchestra wäre das nichts...
THE british classic composer next to Elton John ( but to a lesser degree ). Unfortunately he was a hundred years late for this kind of music. Nevertheless i admire the musical genius !
A great Mike Batt song he wrote for the Hollies in 1981 - the best take comes from THE HOLLIES. Much better than this one. The Hollies did it live in concert with much more guitarres fantastic.
I don't like the word "underrated". But with Mike Batt it works
This song does not in anyway celebrate the soldiers raping a woman. Listen to the lyrics. A young soldier about to go to war has relationships with a woman. After the battle his comrades go and rape and pillage. When he realizes that they will get to her also, he goes as fast as he can to stop them, but is too late. Certainly not a celebration of rape.
Clearly a matter of taste, but I think the Hollies version is much better - mainly due to Allan Clarke's vocals.
Great song though, Batt has always been a great writer
Let me think of Chris De Burgh song : Just another poor boy
von wegen Original von Hollies,
Text & Music ist von Mike Batt !!
Die pazifistische Hymne „Soldiers Song schrieb er 1980 für die britische Rockband „The Hollies.
mir gefällt die Hollies Version überhaupt nicht.
Ich höre diesen wunderbaren Song in der Dauerscheife!Wer zum Teufel ist Justin Bieber? And for my english speaking friends,this Song is in my Rotation, and who to Fuck is Justin Bieber!
He's torn between conducting and playing the piano on this one.
Fantastic rendition. Better than the original.
He's either turning into a Womble or he's swallowed one....
nicht schlecht aber die Version von den Hollies bleibt unerreicht!!
Hollies soldier Song
Mike Batt is an excellent song writer (I love Bright Eyes for instance) and an excellent talent scout (Katie Melua is the best example, for both talents actually as he also wrote some incredibly nice songs for her). However his voice and this performance fail to impress me. Sounds good at times but it also sounds too often out of tune.
Also die Komposition ist schon ganz schön, aber was ist an ihm genial?
Außerdem sollte er sich vllt einen Sänger holen , damit er nicht selber singen muss , dass ist doch peinlich für einen Profi...
out of tune unfortunately
good writer awful singer:(