MadMup.com

I suspected Beatles Week might run on past Christmas this year and I wondered what I might do when it did. Luckily, The Beatles themselves solved my problem for me.

On December 4, 1995, the group released “Free As a Bird,” their first new single in 25 years (source), using a tape John Lennon had recorded in 1977 and building around that with harmonies and more music by the remaining band members. The song was released on a mini-CD with three other studio recordings, one of which was “Christmas Time (Is Here Again).” I’ll let the album notes describe it from here:

From 1963 to 1969 the Beatles gave members of their official fan club a special gift at Christmas: a record unavailable elsewhere. The 1967 disc was titled “Christmas Time (Is Here Again)” and extracts from a song of that name were scattered among the sketches. Issued here for the first time is an uninterrupted recording of the number. Superimposed near the end are some spoken-word seasonal greetings, taped in 1966, followed by a John Lennon.

So this year for Christmas, I would like to wish you and yours a very merry Christmas and would also like to let The Beatles do the same from 1967. Click the following link to stream the song or right-click and save it before listening (it’s a little over 4 Mb):