Welcome to your 2011 Holiday-week BROW!

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 1965 message, so this year, I move one year ahead to the 1966 message, simply titled “Pantomime: Everywhere It’s Christmas.” It was recorded on November 25, 1966, at Dick James Music, only one day after recording take one of John Lennon’s newest composition, “Strawberry Fields Forever.”

Of course a newsletter was issued with the flexi-disc. It was written by fan club secretary Freda Kelly and signed by Freda, with a second signature for Anne Collingham. Anne Collingham was actually a fictitious entity made up by Beatles public relations man Tony Barrow, to serve as the head of the northern and southern U.K. branches of the fan club.

Instead of a typical script-driven Christmas greeting, as had been done on the previous three Christmas messages, The Beatles came up with a pantomime idea and acted out different humorous skits in a wide array of voices. There are also two songs: “Everywhere It’s Christmas” (the title theme) and “Please Don’t Bring your Banjo Back.” A reprise of “Everywhere It’s Christmas” is presented at the end of the record, which immediately follows a short statement from Beatles assistant Mal Evans.

If you want to follow along while it plays, here is a track listing for the record (although the flexi-disc has no banding between each track):

Song: Everywhere It’s Christmas
Orowayna (Corsican Choir and Small Choir)
A Rare Cheese (Two Elderly Scotsmen)
The Feast
The Loyal Toast
Podgy The Bear and Jasper
Felpin Mansions: Part One (Count Balder and Butler)
Felpin Mansions: Part Two: (The Count and the Pianist)
Song: Please Don’t Bring Your Banjo Back
Mal: Everywhere It’s Christmas
Reprise: Everywhere It’s Christmas

The Beatles Fourth Christmas Record, issued Dec. 16, 1966

It’s been an absolute blast bringing you the BROWs, VOWs, interviews and the newest addition to the site – Collector’s Corners – along with all the other extras this year. I thank each and every one of you for being a part of my web site home for these tributary posts about the world’s best band. Fab holiday wishes go out to you all from me to you.

Yours truly,
Happy Nat

And I still say, Beatles music makes great gifts over the holidays. Here are some Amazon links to read more on, or purchase, some music related to this post, for your favorite Beatlemaniac: The Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

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Welcome to your Christmas-week BROW!

The Beatles Third Christmas Record, issued Dec. 17, 1965

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 1964 message and so this year I shall post the 1965 message, simply titled The Beatles Third Christmas Record. It was recorded on October 19, 1965, which was the day after an involved recording session for John’s In My Life and George’s If I Needed Someone for their Rubber Soul album.

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

THE BEATLES THIRD CHRISTMAS RECORD was made immediately after The Beatles finished work on their latest album “Rubber Soul”. To complete those fourteen LP tracks John, Paul, George and Ringo spent a series of whole days and whole nights in the recording studio with George Martin. Never before have they given such concentrated and extended attention to the production of an album. The Beatles have always been perfectionists but on this occasion they spent a great deal of time creating an unusually wide range of different instrumental sounds. They set out to make “Rubber Soul” the most varied LP programme of their career and they succeeded in achieving this aim.
A special fan club record from John, Paul, George and Ringo for Christmas has become a tradition. At the same time the project remains unique in that The Beatles are the only group to make an annual gift of this kind to their truest fans. THE BEATLES THIRD CHRISTMAS RECORD cannot be bought in the shops. Copies are not available at any price to people who do not belong to The Official Beatles Fan Club Of Great Britain. That’s what makes the entire venture so intriguing. Just about everything else the four boys do – whether it is a concert tour, a recording session or a television show – becomes (more or less) public property. But these Christmas records remain personal and exclusive – collectors’ gems whose value to Beatle People will increase with each year that passes.
Incidentally, I wonder how many members recognise the setting of the picture to be seen on the front of this sleeve. It was in Granada’s Manchester television studios when the boys made their spectacular “The Music Of Lennon And McCartney”. A few seconds after the photograph was taken, The Beatles launched into the energetic performance of “Day Tripper” which closes the first part of the programme. On behalf of the boys, fan club secretary Anne Collingham writes umpteen ‘Thank You’ letters during the course of the year. I think it’s time someone said ‘Thank You’ to Anne and her hardworking staff of girls at Monmouth Street. There’s never a quiet moment at the club headquarters but Anne’s busy band love what they’re doing and even when things get particularly hectic you’ll always find them helpful if you drop in or telephone the office.

TONY BARROW

It’s been fun bringing you the BROWs, VOWs, Interviews and other extras this year and I thank you all for being a part of my web site home for these tributary posts. I also have a few new ideas for the web site to spring on everyone in 2011 that I think you will like, so I hope you stick with me. Fab holiday wishes go out to you all from me to you.

And I still say, Beatles music makes great Christmas gifts…..

Want to make a suggestion for a future Beatles Rarity of the Week? If so, I will do my best to deliver, so let me hear from you. To browse for ideas, check out this search-able listing of thousands of Beatle-related recordings to choose from. Then let me hear from you here.

Amazon links for more of your favorite Beatles-related music: The Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

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To help you ring out the old, ring in the new and keep things festive this New Year’s season, I have dusted off a demo version of this holiday classic by your friend and mine: George Harrison. Anticipating an end-of-year release for his Dark Horse album in 1974, George included his simplistic and newly-penned Ding Dong Ding Dong and also released it on a single 2 days before Christmas of that year. It actually sounds best after a few drinks when you are feeling chipper enough to sing along with a group of another 15 people or so. This demo version was actually recorded a couple months earlier in September or October and the Happy Christmas/New Year message heard at the intro is tagged on from a recorded message from 1987 (no that’s not cheating, just being creative!). Also there is a video around, that you may find on YouTube or circulating the web somewhere, that features George ringing out the old by appearing in a gray collarless suit and playing his 12-string Rickenbacker as he did in the Beatle-days.

I want to say a big thank you to everyone reading for being a part of my series this year and especially those mog-friends who saw fit to follow the BROW here from mog.com.

Happy New Year!

George Harrison, circa 1974

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.

Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

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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.

Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

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Merry Christmas and welcome to BROW. As the 1970′s ended, so did Paul McCartney & Wings. This week’s BROW recounts a farewell performance of one of the most successful acts of that decade. This last hoorah by Wings was recorded on December 29th, 1979 at a series of benefit concerts for the people of Kampuchea. The event took place at the Hammersmith Odeon in London and was organized by Paul and Kurt Waldheim to raise money for the victims of war-torn Cambodia. The line-up of Wings at the time was Paul & Linda along with Denny Laine (bass, guitars, piano), Laurence Juber (guitar, vocals) and Steve Holly (drums). This particular performance also includes a phenomenal amount of other English rock musicians on it such as Kenney Jones, Dave Edmunds, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, John Bonham, Gary Brooker, Pete Townshend and more. The combination of all of these musicians came to be known as the Rockestra Line-up and this rocking instrumental was their theme. Also present for the concerts were Queen, The Clash, The Who, Ian Drury & The Blockheads, The Pretenders, The Specials and more. The double album release covering the performances at the shows was not released to vinyl until March of 1981 and has never been released to CD. I have no idea why not, but since it hasn’t it is now a rare recording that has been out of print for many years. The way Paul yells “Happy New Year” at the conclusion made me feel that it was an appropriate time to feature this on the BROW. Enjoy, thanks for reading and Happy New Year to you all.

Cover for the 1981 double vinyl LP Concerts For The People of Kampuchea (never released to CD)

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.
Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

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Welcome to this year’s Christmas BROW. Most Beatles fans realize that 1963 was a big year for the Fab Four. They had already accomplished a string of #1 singles as well as a number one album early in the year and another one out by late November that also topped the charts in many European countries. The Beatles Fan Club was also in full swing in the UK. On December 6, 1963, British members of the fan club were sent a one sided flexi-disk with The Beatles wishing their fans a Merry Christmas, singing Christmas songs and thanking them for their support. The response was so good that the Christmas records became a tradition and a new one was recorded and sent to fan club members every year The Beatles were together (i.e. through 1969) and then in 1970 an album was created that recapped all of the previous Christmas records on one disk. Since they were only released to fan club members officially, they became quite rare after The Beatles separated. Here for your review is the first one The Beatles released in 1963. It was recorded on October 7th in Abbey Road studios for you historians. Merry Christmas everyone.

Picture sleeve for 1963 Beatles Christmas Record issued exclusively to fan club members.

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.
Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

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Well, this would be the week to come up with something not only rare but “Christmasy” for the BROW. So, considering this, I dug into the vault and found what I hope will be a treat for Beatle-people everywhere.

This nearly 15 minute recording was made on December 17, 1963 for the BBC program Saturday Club and features The Beatles in their very own brand of Christmas spirit. It aired 4 days later. None of these recordings appeared on the Live At The BBC disk set or any other official Beatles release. Between the chat with Brian Matthew the band performs “All I Want For Christmas”, “This Boy”, “I Want To Hold Your Hand”, “Till There Was You”, “Roll Over Beethoven”, “She Loves You” and they finish off with their very own “Chrimble Medley”. Happy Holidays to all and I hope you don’t mind that I have removed the commercials.

The Beatles

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.
Visit www.thebeatlesrarity.com for a new Beatles rarity each week, plus lots more!

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