[Swprograms] BBC to air Beatles Christmas Radio Special

[John Norfolk <janorfolk@xxxxxxxxx>]

From: "beatlemania.ca" <beatlemania... @ gmail.com>
Newsgroups: rec.music.beatles
Subject: DEC 27th BBC TO AIR BEATLES CHRISTMAS RADIO SPECIAL
Date: 22 Dec 2004 13:18:36 -0800
Organization: http://groups.google.com

BBC TO AIR BEATLES CHRISTMAS RADIO SPECIAL
DECEMBER 27th SHOW FEATURES LEGENDARY FAN CLUB DISCS
PROGRAM WILL AIR ON BBC RADIO & INTERNET

On Monday December 27, Britain's BBC Radio 2 network will broadcast a
two-hour radio special centered on the seven Beatles Christmas
records
produced exclusively for their fan club members between 1963-1969.
The
program is structured as a documentary about the legendary
recordings.

The show airs in the UK 5pm-7pm GMT on BBC's Radio 2 network. It
should also be possible to hear the show over the internet on BBC's
website. Air time in the US: Eastern time: 12 noon - 2pm EST, Pacific
time: 9am - 11am PST.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/r2music/documentaries/beatles/

The original recordings were distributed to British Beatles fan club
members by mail on flimsy plastic 7" 45-rpm "flexi-discs" in
distinctive paper covers. The discs naturally had a very low audio
fidelity. American Beatles fan club members (who of course were a
year
behind the Brits) missed out on the 1963 Christmas recording and
received annual recordings from 1964-1969. For the first few years
they
were pressed onto plastic-coated postcards - which was the standard
US format for novelty-style recordings. For the last couple of years
they were distributed on the UK-style "flexi-disc."

Given that none of the Beatles' Christmas material (save the song
"Christmas Time Is Here Again" from the 1967 fan club disc) has ever
been commercially released - and the fact that the material will be
aired on the very copyright-conscious BBC - it is virtually certain
that special permission has been obtained from Apple to allow the
broadcast of extracts from the flexi-discs.

(Though US Beatles radio shows bend the rules and frequently play
clips
from these discs during the holiday season - to be strictly accurate
-
they are NOT legally available for broadcast. The government-licensed
BBC would not risk copyright claims from Apple by playing
unsanctioned
material.)

The radio special brings up the issue of whether the Christmas
recordings might ever be released commercially in the future. There
was
actually once a legally-issued, limited-edition private release album
that presented all seven recordings. It was created by the Official
Beatles Fan Club (for whom all the original recordings were made.) It
pressed up a 12" vinyl album called "The Beatles Christmas Album" in
1970 - which was made available to existing (and new) fan club
members in the UK and USA that Christmas. The price was nominal - but
the purchase had to be in conjunction with payment of the fan club
subscription for the upcoming year.

Bear in mind that the Beatles had very publicly split up in the April
of that year - so there was certainly not going to be any new Beatles
Christmas recording for fan club members that December! Nor one might
imagine - was there a strong motive for the UK and US fan clubs to be
renewing memberships - let alone recruiting new members. Fan clubs in
those days were about active artists - not disbanded groups.

In any event - that 1970 release while technically legal - was
certainly not a full commercial release in retail outlets.

The only official release to date of any material from the original
seven recordings is a full-length version of the song "Christmas Time
Is Here Again" - heard several times in truncated form on the 1967
fan
club record - which was included as track 4 of the "Free As A Bird"
CD single released in November 1995.

There has been speculation before from fans about a commercial CD
release of all the recordings - but there has never been official
word about plans to release the material.

There are currently many audio and video projects that would seem to
be of greater priority - not least the re-mastering of the entire
official Beatles audio catalogue on CD. Plus the possible first CD
release of the album "Live At The Hollywood Bowl." And DVD projects
ranging from "Help!" "Magical Mystery Tour," "Let It Be," and
"Shea Stadium" to a collation of all the TV promotional films.

On the other hand - as one very respected senior Beatles insider has
privately told his friends - the recent, very controversial release
of
the "Capitol Albums" box-set of the 1964 Americanized, duophonic,
artificially echo-enhanced recordings (which has caused great dismay
among Beatles purists) indicates that the motivation for releasing
Beatles product is now primarily driven by the profit motive rather
than by choices that honor the Beatles' artistic heritage.

However - if an album is ever released of these seven Christmas fan
club recordings - at least there will be no controversy about which
versions to release. Unlike the Capitol versions of the Beatles
British
catalogue - which were sonically altered, sliced and diced by
corporate
"suits" in America to accommodate what they presumed were American
tastes - the US fan club never presumed to tamper with the Beatles'
artistic choices. So the only versions that exist to be released are
the original British recordings as approved by the Beatles. And for
that true Beatles fans can be grateful.

The radio show has been produced by "Ten Alps" - an independent
TV/radio production company recently set-up by Band-Aid/Live-Aid
creator Sir Bob Geldof. The show description from the production
company's website reads:

A Beatles Christmas - BBC Radio 2

A Beatles Christmas highlights a fascinating slice of the Beatles
legacy and features rare material, focussing on the traditional
Christmas records which were sent out exclusively to Beatles fan club
members from 1963-1969. These recordings not only featured Christmas
songs by the Beatles, but also include entertaining ad-libs and
pantomime banter between all 4 Beatles, which provide a fascinating
insight into how their lives changed dramatically between '63 & '69.
Kenny Everett produced and featured in the Beatles Christmas records
in
1968 & 1969. Zak - Ringo's son, designed the cover of the 1969
record.
The 1966 record, with a cover designed by Julian Lennon, was called
Pantomime and featured a toast to the Queen. These records were a
Christmas tradition for thousands of Beatles fans around the world.
--------------------------
http://www.beatlemania.ca
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