The Steeple Times asks thrice Ivor Novello Award winning songwriter Bill Martin: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?
Sir Winston Churchill and all he stood for and to win an Oscar for the best “song” as a songwriter.
“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?
Immediately forget timewasters.
Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2013?
Benefit scroungers, wherever they are from.
Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?
Certainly not Tony Blair! I miss my mother who died 10 years ago aged 99.
What might you swap all your wealth for?
A month’s holiday with my mother and father who are no longer with us.
Donald Trump was once a case of: “If you owe the bank a thousand, they close you down; but if you owe the bank a billion, you own the bank”. What’s your view on the banking crisis?
I would like to owe the bank a billion.
What phrase or word do you most loathe?
“Have a nice day!”
In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home”. What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?
It does but I support Macmillan Cancer Care as it is sure as heaven and hell that I will require them one day.
The judge in Law Abiding Citizen states: “I can pretty much do whatever I want” before being blown up whilst answering her mobile phone. What’s your view on the appropriate use of such devices?
They are great on a golf course if you have a heart attack.
If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?
Sir Winston Churchill, Harold Macmillan, Robert De Niro, Irving Berlin, Lionel Bart, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sir Alex Ferguson, Ian Fleming, Cameron McIntosh, Naomi Campbell, Robbie Williams, Frank Sinatra, Rory McIlroy, Billy Connolly, Helen Mirren and Sophia Loren.
If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?
Haggis and neaps in Skibo Castle in Scotland.
What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?
1pm.
A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?
A martini.
Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?
The next one.
Who is the most positive person you know?
Myself.
What’s your most guilty pleasure?
Good red wine.
If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?
I can’t stand tattoos.
If you were a car, what marque would you be?
An Aston Martin.
Cilla Black presented Surprise, Surprise. Tell us the most surprising thing about you.
I wrote a top five hit for Cilla in 1969 called Surround Yourself with Sorrow. Cilla loves it as her beloved husband Bobby died and she thinks of him when she plays it or hears it on the radio. There are many more surprises that I shall reserve for Desert Island Discs.
What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?
A bronze owl that was a present from me to my wife for the first year of our 41 year marriage, a carriage clock, a solid silver statue of Sir Winston Churchill, my latest award from Nordoff Robbins music charity in Scotland: “The Living Legend Award” for services to music and about 12 invitations to various drinks, lunches and parties.
Bill Martin is one of the UK’s most acclaimed songwriters. He has been presented with three Ivor Novello Awards and is known for number one hits including Puppet on a String, Congratulations, Back Home and Forever and Ever.
View Bill Martin’s official website at: http://www.billmartinsongwriter.com