'Fabulously readable' STEPHEN FRY 'Brilliantly told, the fascinating life of one of Britain's greatest songwriters' MATT LUCAS 'A brilliant, funny, emotional book' DAVID QUANTICK Described variously as a 'polymath', a 'renaissance man' and 'one of the most colourful characters in the music business', Mike Batt has led an extraordinarily vibrant and challenging life that has been full of both glorious victories and bitter failures. For better or for worse, he is a man who has always lived life on his own terms. Idiosyncratic but mainstream, complicated but compassionate, steadfastly maverick in spirit but avowedly commercial in outlook. He is a man of great contradictions, but even greater talent. After starting out in the music business as a teenager, Batt shot to fame in the early 1970s for his part in the creation of the Wombles pop group. But this success proved to be just the beginning as he then went on to work with various artists as a songwriter, composer and producer, including Art Garfunkel, George Harrison, Cliff Richard, Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Katie Melua. Featuring cameos from some of the biggest stars in the business from Paul McCartney to Prince, The Closest Thing to Crazy takes us not only on the rocky (and classical) journey of Mike Batt's life but also on a tour around the inside of his mind.

Cassandra. Contentedly married to Dan. They rub along together in that sort of comfortable middle-years manner. Everything is pretty much 'normal', uneventful, dull even. Then Ellie arrives in the village. Ellie is writing a novel and, with her self-professed expertise in uncovering other people's secrets, she always likes to place herself in the centre of the plot. Cassandra thinks she might be a little too much in the centre when she discovers that Ellie is writing about her, Dan and their daughter Laura and it seems that Ellie wants Cassandra to know.

From Eva Cassidy's version of Field's Of Gold to Trouble by Coldplay, this chord songbook contains some of your favourite songs from some of the greatest artists, past and present! Forty hits from the biggest acoustic stars, arranged for guitar with full lyrics and chords. List of songs: • Alcoholic [Starsailor] • Cannonball [Rice, Damien] • Everybody's Talkin' [Nilsson] • Fell In Love With A Boy [Stone, Joss] • Fields Of Gold [Cassidy, Eva] • Get Some Sleep [Bic Runga] • Grace [Buckley, Jeff] • Here's Where The Story Begins [Sundays, The] • Jesus To A Child [Michael, George] • Kiss Me [Sixpence None The Richer] • Mad World [Andrews, Michael] [Jules, Gary] • Mandolin Wind [Stewart, Rod] • Missing [Everything But The Girl] • Mr Tambourine Man [Byrds, The] • Painkiller [Turin Brakes] • Pass It On [Coral, The] • She Belongs To Me [Dylan, Bob] • Silent Sigh [Badly Drawn Boy] • Sitting Down Here [Marlin, Lene] • Sleeping Satellite [Archer, Tasmin] • Songbird [Oasis] • Street Spirit (Fade Out) [Radiohead] • Sunrise [Jones, Norah] • Suzanne [Cohen, Leonard] • Thank You [Dido] • The Closest Thing To Crazy [Melua, Katie] • The Man With The Child In His Eyes [Bush, Kate] • The Sound Of Silence [Simon And Garfunkel] • Things Behind The Sun [Drake, Nick] • Torn [Imbruglia, Natalie] • Trouble [Coldplay] • Wild Wood [Weller, Paul] • Wild World [Stevens, Cat] • Woodstock [Matthews Southern Comfort] • Working Class Hero [Lennon, John] • Yesterday [Beatles, The] • Your Love Gets Sweeter [Quaye, Finley] • Your Smiling Face [Taylor, James]

A pocket-sized collection of classic hits presented in chord songbook format with Guitar boxes and complete lyrics.

The Cowboy and the City Girl Sophie London hates Texas. The longhorns freak her out and the wide-open spaces are more unnerving than a Chicago alleyway at night. But Sophie wouldn't miss her cousin's wedding for the world-even if it means returning to Maverick Junction . . . and to the dangerously irresistible Ty Rawlins. A single father of rambunctious triplet boys, Ty knows trouble when he sees it-and Sophie's got it written all over her. Yet he's never been able to stop thinking about her, even after their one brief meeting. Maybe fate is giving him a second chance. But if Ty wants Sophie to swap her stilettos for cowgirl boots, they'll each have to face the past-together.

If music be the food of love… The Big Acoustic Guitar Chord Songbook: Love Songs provides an intimate and romantic selection of over 100 songs from the masters. Each sultry piece is arranged in the original keys, complete with full lyrics, guitar chord boxes and a playing guide. The setlist includes : - Absolute Beginners [David Bowie] - All I Want Is You [U2] - And I Love Her [The Beatles] - Angels [Robbie Williams] - A Case Of You [Joni Mitchell] - (Everything I Do) I Do It For You [Bryan Adams] - God Only Knows [The Beach Boys] - Hello [Lionel Richie] - I’m A Believer [The Monkees] - I Miss You Now [Stereophonics] - Jealous Guy [Roxy Music] - The Lady In Red [Chris de Burgh] - Love Is All Around [Wet Wet Wet] - Lovin’ You [Minnie Ripperton] - Moon River [Danny Williams] - Nothing Compares 2 U [Sinead O’Connor] - Shape Of My Heart [Sting] - Somewhere Only We Know [Keane] - Take My Breath Away [Berlin] - Try A Little Tenderness [Otis Redding] - Woman [John Lennon] - You Make Loving Fun [Fleetwood Mac] And many more!

Songbird is the hit compilation of great female voices. This matching songbook presents all the songs from this album, arranged with Guitar chord boxes and full lyrics from original recordings. Whether you’re a performer or just looking to quickly bolster your repertoire with these great female-led songs, this is the perfect songbook for you. Songlist: - (Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night [Shawn Colvin] - (There Is) No Greater Love [Amy Winehouse] - 4th Of July [Aimee Mann] - A Place Called Home [Kim Richey] - Angel [Sarah McLachlan] - Angel Rays [Sissel] - At Seventeen [Jodie Brooke Wilson] - Be Still My Heart [Silje Nergaard] - Beguiling Eyes [Gwyneth Herbert] - Bend [Shelby Lynne] - Chuck E's In Love [Rickie Lee Jones] - Come Away With Me [Melissa Elliotte] - Don't Bring Me Down Sia] - Eternity [Lizz Wright] - Evangeline [Liz Fraser] - How Do I Live [Leann Rimes] - I Try [Macy Gray] - If I Fall [Alice Martineau] - Love And Affection [Joan Armatrading] - Luka [Suzanne Vega] - My Songbird [Lenou] - Narrow Daylight [Diana Krall] - Night Ride Home [Joni Mitchell] - Now We Are Free [Lisa Gerrard] - Once In A Very Blue Moon [Nanci Griffith] - Prayer [Karen Matheson] - Pretty Good Year [Tori Amos] - San Andreas Fault [Natalie Merchant] - Songbird [Eva Cassidy] - The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan [Marianne Faithful] - The Closest Thing To Crazy [Katie Melua] - The Edge Of The Moon [Roisin O'Reilly] - The First Cut Is The Deepest [Sheryl Crow] - The First Time Ever I Saw You Face [Alison Moyet] - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down [Joan Baez] - This Shirt [Mary Chapin Carpenter] - Tomorrow Morning [Gretchen Peters] - Walk On By [Gabrielle] - Who Painted The Moon Black? [Hayley Westenra] - Wonder Child [Mary Black]