Welcome to your Christmas-week BROW!

The Beatles Christmas Message Flexi-Disc issued on Dec. 18, 1964

As most fans are aware, each year from 1963 through 1969, The Beatles recorded a special Christmas greeting for their fans. The Official Beatles Fan Club in England sent flexi-discs containing the Christmas messages to its members each holiday season. Last year, I featured the 1963 message and so this year I shall post the 1964 message, simply titled Another Beatles Christmas Record. It was recorded on October 26, 1964, which was the same day they recorded What You’re Doing and Honey Don’t for their Beatles For Sale album. It was also the only flexi to play at 45rpm insead of 33 1/3 (for those of you who remember turntable settings).

Of course a newsletter was issued with the flexi-disc. It was written by The Beatles press officer Tony Barrow (who’s idea it was, by the way, to do the Christmas recordings each year, in the first place). Here is what it read:

Just a year ago The Beatles made their first Christmas record for exclusive distribution to fan club members. Now at the end of another splendid period of world-wide pop supremacy our fabulous foursome have made a second equally precious recording as a Christmas gift to the club’s 65,000 Beatle People. This disc will not be in the hit parade. Additional copies will never be pressed. The contents of this sleeve will make each fan club member the envy of numerous friends. Money can’t buy ANOTHER BEATLES CHRISTMAS RECORD – but with membership of the most with it fan club in Britain, the disc comes through your letter-box free of charge in time for yuletide parties and holiday record sessions. This is the uniquely pleasant way in which John, Paul, George and Ringo choose to say Thank You to thousands of their loyal fans throughout the nation. The Official Beatles Fan Club of Great Britain operates from special offices in Central London. National Secretaries Anne Collingham and Bettina Rose have a hard-working staff of full-time assistants to help run the club affairs. And in every country throughout the British Isles there is a local Area Secretary to look after members’ queries on a voluntary basis. Overseas you’ll find a branch of the club in more than a score of countries scattered around the globe. Each branch is run quite independently but with the authorisation and supervision of Anne and Bettina in London.

The four boys find time to pop into the club headquarters despite their hectic schedule of tours, television appearances, recording sessions, film work and broadcasts. The girls in the office still retain vivid memories of the morning Paul dropped in for a chat, joined in with the gang to stamp up a batch of membership cards and then treated the entire staff to an excellent lunch in a nearby steakhouse!

TONY BARROW

It’s been fun bringing you the BROW this year and I thank you all for being a part of my new web site home for these tributary posts. Fab holiday wishes go out to you all from me to you.

Want to make a suggestion for a future Beatles Rarity of the Week? Then let me hear from you. Read about more Beatles rarities and suggest one for me to post. You can begin by searching for different versions of specific tracks right here.

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