The Beatles 1968 Christmas Record

Track list

Side 1

1. The Beatles 1968 Christmas Record

   Written by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, George Harrison

   4:10 • Studio version • A1

   Performed by : Paul McCartney • Ringo Starr • John Lennon • George Harrison Kenny Everett : Producer

   Recording : November - December 1968 • Studio : Various locations

Side 2

1. The Beatles 1968 Christmas Record

   Written by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, George Harrison

   3:38 • Studio version • A2

   Performed by : Paul McCartney • Ringo Starr • John Lennon • George Harrison Kenny Everett : Producer

   Recording : November - December 1968 • Studio : Various locations

From Wikipedia:

The first Beatles Christmas fan-club disc to be recorded separately, the 1968 offering is a collage of odd noises, musical snippets and individual messages. McCartney’s song “Happy Christmas, Happy New Year” is featured, along with Lennon’s poems “Jock and Yono” and “Once Upon a Pool Table”. Also notable is a rendition of “Nowhere Man” by the ukulele-playing Tiny Tim, which Harrison recorded in New York. Also included is a sped-up snippet of the Beatles’ own “Helter Skelter” and a brief snippet of Perrey & Kingsley’s “Baroque Hoedown”, which was used three years later in Disneyland’s Main Street Electrical Parade. “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”, “Yer Blues” and “Birthday” are also heard in the background for part of the message. The dialogue and songs for the flexi-disc were organised and edited together by DJ and friend of the Beatles, Kenny Everett.

Finally, the US fans got a flexi-disc for Christmas in 1968, but it came in a modified version of the 1967 UK sleeve.

From Rolling Stone, December 13, 2020:

[…] Much like the White Album, released several weeks earlier on November 22nd, the Beatles’ 1968 Christmas record represents the efforts of four independent artists working under a shared banner. Each Beatle recorded their part largely on their own, often at home, and handed the tapes to their friend, BBC Radio 1 DJ Kenny Everett. Though it’s tempting to cite this separation as evidence of their impending implosion the following year, a more likely scenario is that they were simply too busy. Harrison was in the midst of a six-week trip to the United States, falling in with Bob Dylan and the Band. McCartney was also back and forth between New York City and his farm in Scotland as his relationship with Linda Eastman became increasingly more serious. Lennon had to contend with a recent marijuana bust, and the Starr family was in the midst of moving homes.

Growing pains aside, Lennon’s input hints that all was not well within their ranks. His poem “Jock and Yono” is a thinly disguised Carrollian allegory describing the trials and tribulations of his burgeoning relationship with Yoko Ono, which had already endured a miscarriage and the aforementioned marijuana bust – to say nothing of a hostile London press. “They battled on against overwhelming oddities,” he recites over Ono’s delicate piano, “including some of their beast friends.” The malapropism was not lost on Harrison, who was reportedly quite offended by the line. An additional poem, “Once Upon a Pool Table,” was equally surreal though less biographical, telling the tale of “a short-haired Butcher’s boy by the way of Ostergrad.”

McCartney delivered the most tuneful contribution, offering a sweet acoustic ditty in the vein of his recent White Album tracks like “I Will” and “Mother Nature’s Son.” Lacking a title, he wishes fans “Happy New Year, happy Christmas, happy Easter, happy autumn happy Michelmas, ev’rybody,” under a chord change that seems to predict “I’ve Got a Feeling,” which he would bring to the Get Back sessions the following January.

Starr performs an ingenious one-man comedy skit, portraying both himself and an unhinged middle-aged harpy shrieking down the telephone line. The pitch gets even shriller when Harrison introduces Tiny Tim, the idiosyncratic American artist who earned fame performing pop hits from the 1920s with a ukulele, ghostly white pancake makeup, and a strangulated high-pithed yodel. Much as Harrison’s collaboration with Eric Clapton injected a dose of excitement into sessions for the White Album, Tiny Tim’s quivering version of “Nowhere Man” is a surreal highlight of the 1968 Christmas record – one that must be heard to be believed. “Thank you and God bless you, Tiny,” Harrison says with an appropriately Dickensian twist.

The band handed off their tapes to Everett, who used his manic brilliance to blend them all together with snatches of White Album cuts (including “Helter Skelter,” “”Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” “Yer Blues,” and “Birthday”) as well as an early piece of electronica, “Baroque Hoedown” by Perrey & Kingsley. Each Beatle’s contributions spoke to their personality: McCartney’s gift for melody, Lennon’s brilliance for self-expression, and Starr’s humor and charisma. Harrison, however, sounds particularly put out as he greets fans. “Well, here we are again, another fab Christmas,” he says with barely contained sarcasm. “Christmas time is here again. Ain’t been around since … last year!” Despite the callback to the previous year’s record, that sense of band unity had all but evaporated as 1968 drew to a close.

BEATLES AND TINY TIM – IT’S TOO MUCH

PAUL McCARTNEY, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison have been messing about with tapes again, and in these last few weeks Kenny Everett has had himself a nice time whipping the bits and the pieces into an eight-minute long Christmas gift for 30,000 paid-up Beatles’ fans.

I have to own up and say that Tiny Tim’s contribution of “Nowhere Man” is the undoubted hit of the record, though Paul McCartney does an interesting little talking blues and John Lennon allows a morsel of bitterness to come through in a story about a couple called Jack and Yono who were “strictly in love and bound to happen in a million years.”

Ringo talks to himself!

There is also Ringo doing a cross-talk act with himself, a Keystone-Kops-speeded-up fast-as-this snatch of “Helter Skelter” from the double LP; snips and clips of sound meant to confound, and George Harrison with a loving message from America.

The Beatles’ Annual Christmas Record is an annual curiosity put together sometimes reluctantly, always dutifully, sometimes funny, always fascinating.

This is the sixth such record and in my own time-honoured NME tradition I hereby describe playing the host as he says “This is a big Hi and a sincere Merry Christmas from Yours Truly, Ringo.”

Best wishes from Paul

Then into Mr. Paul McCartney, pianist-talking blues exponent extraordinaire, singing-saying “Happy New Year Happy Christmas Happy Easter Happy Autumn Happy Michaelmas Happy Christmas Everybody To You,” which is a nice thought.

Then a line about “Happy New Year from here To There” … a piece of an overture … the Micky Mouse piece of “Helter Skelter” … and now Mr. John Lennon with a story.

“Once upon a time,” says John Lennon in Lancashire accent, “there w’ two balloons called Jack and Yono, they were strictly in love and bound to happen in a million years.

“They were together, man.

“Unfortunate timetable, they seemed to ’ave previous experience which kept callin’ em one way or another y’know how it is.

“They battled on against overwhelming, rising, including some of the beast friends, masons and double.

“But some of the poisonous monster outdated bus lorry hip throwers did stick slightly, and they occasionally had to resort to the dry cleaners.

“Luckily this did not kill them and they were not banned from the Olympic Games. They lived hopefully ever after … and who could blame them?” Yes.

Then into the rounder voice of George Harrison, whose words register upon the tape as if warmed by vapour rub and hot chestnuts, and his saying “Here we are again, another fab Christmas. Christmas time is Here Again ain’t bin round since last year. And we’d like to take this opportunity, all the way from America, to say Happy Christmas to you, our faithful, beloved fans all over the world, who have made our life worth living.

Through thick and thin

“And over here I have Mr. Malcolm Evans, who through thick and thin would truly like to say a word of greeting on this festive occasion.”

Big lush orchestra and applause, and then Our Beloved Mal is there, like a Father Christmas down Scotty Road: “Merry Christmas, children everywhere.”

SIDE TWO has Ringo in some indescribable of the most versatile performers in our career,” double act with himself before introducing “one who turns out to be P. McCartney again with a double tracked version of the song he did before.

Then John Lennon: “Once upon a pool table there lived a short haired butcher’s boy by the way of Ostergard it comes in scent and cesspool ourawick Airport.

John’s mod fairy tale

“‘Her father was in long story cut short in the middle of his life … We are indebted to the Colloquial Office for its immediate disposal of orowitz including I might add hot patella vertootem. On the other handbag, I mean to say, L’amore nous some toujoursalistic, free speaking, for this film is about an hourglass houseboat.

“‘The full meaning of Winchester Cathedral defies description — their loss was our Gainsborough Nil. The sound man servantile defetively lasting barred up a loft …”

He is, of course, right.

Next: Mr. Tiny Tim, and who else at Christmas, deeply overcome and thrilled to say Happy Christmas and Merry New Year and oh, here’s a song I did in 1966 in front of Miss Jill for the first time, and oh, at your Albert Hall

Into “Nowhere Man,” all shrill and very, very tiny, and then George says “Thank you and God Bless you, Tiny — God Bless You.”

Soft hymnal brass. The clunk of a boot. And it’s over.

From New Musical Express – December 28, 1968