Re: [Swprograms] BBC to air Beatles Christmas Radio Special

[atlsvo@xxxxxxxxx (maryanne kehoe)]

I would LOVE to see the BBC re-run the 1970s series "The Beatles Story"
that was hosted by Brian Matthew. It aired on World Service for 26 (?)
weeks and I dearly regret not ever taping it.

Anyone else remember it?



 
Discarded e-mail message   
 
Sender: swprograms-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx From:
janorfolk@xxxxxxxxx(John Norfolk) Date: Wed, Dec 22, 2004, 2:42pm
(EST-3) To: swprograms@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (swprograms) Subject:
[Swprograms] BBC to air Beatles Christmas Radio Special Reply to:
swprograms@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Shortwave programming discussion) 
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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