If you’ve heard “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” only NINE-thousand times this month, consider yourself lucky. And if you’re looking for some other yuletide records by The Beatles, you may want to dig up their seven fan club messages.
In 50+ years, the band has released thousands of songs as a band and solo. But only a handful have any sort of holiday connection: John’s “Happy Xmas,” Paul’s “Wonderful Christmastime”/“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reggae” as well as his 2012 take on “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)” and Ringo’s “I Wanna Be Santa Claus” LP. George also put out “Ding Dong, Ding Dong” in 1974, which is more New Year’s than holiday themed; and I’m not going to count his songs that may have significance on Indian holidays.
The Beatles’ Christmas Carol begins in 1963. That January, their second single “Please Please Me,” became a huge British hit. Things snowballed from there, and by December, they were a showbiz juggernaut throughout Europe. On Christmas Day, the #1 record in England was “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” (The British consider it especially prestigious to have a Christmas #1 – a feat the Beatles would accomplish a record 4 times.)
On October 17, 1963 – following a session for “I Want to Hold Your Hand” – The Beatles recorded some ad-libbed versions of holiday tunes, and a few scripted lines from their PR man, Tony Barrow. The result was labeled “Sincere Good Wishes for Christmas and the New Year” and was sent out on a plastic flexi-disc to members of their fan club.
The Beatles’ first Christmas Record was sent to British fan club members in 1963.
Moving ahead to 1964 – the Beatles spent that year conquering America and much of the rest of the world. That fall, on October 26 – after the final session for their fourth LP, “Beatles for Sale” -- they recorded another Christmas record for their fans… and they titled it “Another Beatles Christmas Record.”
The 1964 Christmas message was sent out to their British fans in mid-December, just before notching another Christmas #1 in England with “I Feel Fine.”
In America, fans got an edited version of the 1963 Christmas message. That recording was also briefly available in 2010 as a downloadable prize in “The Beatles: Rock Band” video game.
But back to the ‘60s, 1965 another year of huge success for the Beatles. They had three #1 hits that year in England, the last of which was the Christmas #1 “Day Tripper.” In America, “Yesterday” was the last of five Number Ones. That tune figured heavily in the 1965 Christmas message, which was recorded on November 8, after a session for the George Harrison song “Think For Yourself.”
“The Beatles’ Third Christmas Record” was again sent to fans in Great Britain in mid-December, but not sent to American fans at all. Over here, we simply got a holiday postcard from the band. (In April, 1966, their fan club explained that the tape had arrived too late the previous winter to get the record out in time.) None of these records, by the way, was actually a “vinyl record.” Instead, they were what’s known as flexi-disks: thin plastic sheets onto which grooves were embossed and could be played back with decent-but-unspectacular fidelity. These were frequently used for promotional purposes and spoken word messages. (I remember seeing them on the back of cereal boxes when I was growing up.) In the Beatles’ case, they would often be attached with a perforation inside of a cardboard jacket or mailer; Norman Mailer.
Moving ahead to the fall of 1966, on the day after Thanksgiving, The Beatles headed to the offices of their music publisher, Dick James, to record their annual Christmas message. This was the first one to feature any of the Beatles playing an instrument – Paul on piano, in this case. It was also the first one not to be recorded at Abbey Road Studios for some reason. And, they changed up the formula a bit by creating a Pantomime-themed program of songs and sketches titled “Everywhere: It’s Christmas.”
Hopefully, British fans enjoyed “Pantomime: Everywhere It’s Christmas” in 1966, which came in a beautiful psychedelic sleeve (pictured above) designed by Paul McCartney. Once again, American fans got only a holiday postcard. And that would happen again in 1967, when The Beatles went all-out. On the day after releasing “Hello Goodbye” – their final Christmas #1 in England – the band recorded a catchy tune entitled “Christmastime Is Here Again,” and interwove it around the concept of a series of acts auditioning to be on the BBC.
The 1967 Beatles’ Christmas disc, “Christmastime Is Here Again,” was the last one the group would record together. By Christmas of 1968, the band had begun falling apart: the White Album sessions of that summer and fall had led to frayed tempers and even a temporary walk-out by Ringo. The Beatles also launched Apple Records and its associated companies, which quickly turned from a utopian artist colony to a money-sucking source of frustration.
Amidst all that division, each Beatle recorded a separate contribution for the Christmas record -- usually at home -- and then everything was edited together by DJ Kenny Everett, a friend of the Beatles. Clocking in at nearly 8 minutes, it’s the longest Beatles Christmas Record, and the first to feature guests: Yoko Ono and Tiny Tim.
“The Beatles’ 1968 Christmas Record” was released in England AND America in late December. In 1969, they would continue the practice of recording separate segments and having them edited together by Kenny Everett. The Beatles’ final Christmas record was sent out on December 19, 1969, in a sleeve designed by Ringo Starr and his son, Zak.
The 1969 record ends with Yoko interviewing John and The Beatles’ song “The End,” which marked “The End” of the 1960s, and of the Beatles’ Christmas Records. In 1970, the band would release their final album, “Let It Be,” followed 6 months later by “The Beatles Christmas ALBUM.”
That beautifully packaged LP collected all seven fan club Christmas messages – reportedly copied from pristine flexi-disks that had been saved by their fan club secretary. In the spring of 1971, the album was sent to fan club members in Great Britain, under the title “From Then To Us.”
Bootleg versions of those albums have been around for years, but the Christmas records have never gotten an official release – with one exception.
In 1995, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr reunited to record a backing track for an old John Lennon demo recording, called “Free As a Bird.” It would be the first new Beatles single in 25 years. And one of the bonus tracks on the CD single was a 3:03 version of the song “Christmastime Is Here Again” from 1967.
It’s a festive reminder of the seven flexi-disks that showcased The Beatles’ humor, blossoming personalities and increasing complexity as artists throughout the 1960s. While most of their Christmas recordings are sketches or acapella ad-libs, “Christmastime Is Here Again” is the only proper Christmas song by The Beatles.
UPDATE: Here's my review of the 2017 boxed set of Christmas records:
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