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Published: Dec. 15, 2020, 7 a.m.

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Every holiday season from 1963-1969, members of the Official Beatles Fan Club would receive a special present from the Fab Four: a limited edition, fan-club-only flexidisc record, made just for them. What started out as a brilliant turn of PR, scripted to strengthen the appeal and bond between band and fan turned into an outlet for the boys to create whimsey and weirdness without consideration of commerciality. As they got turned on, so did the Christmas records. Bringing in elements of their beloved Goon Shows, pantomime and theatre, avant garde sound collages, the band turned in increasingly creative, then increasingly distant records every year, providing a fascinating glimpse into their trajectory throughout their career. 

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To discuss this curio in the catalog, we teamed up for this crossover episode with Christmas music fanatic, previous guest, and host of the 12 Songs of Christmas Podcast, Alex Rawls. For several years now, in addition to his regular music website, My Spilt Milk, he devotes the end of the year to discussing Christmas music old and new, it\'s place in the zeitgeist and the relationship we have it. It\'s a fantastic podcast we highly recommend subscribing to. 

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If you want to dive deeper into the Beatles Christmas discs, they\'re pretty easy to find on Youtube. They reissued them in a 7" boxset in 2017, which can still be purchased should you love them and decide to add them to your collection. 

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Also featured in this episode is The Breton Sound\'s cover of "Wonderful Christmastime," which you can stream on all streaming sites, or download on iTunes if you really want it, and The Fab Four\'s "Tomorrow Never Knows"-ish cover of "Jingle Bells," which is absolutely a blast. They have a Christmas album called HARK!, all holiday songs done in Beatles-style, and it\'s a hoot. Highly recommend. 

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Be sure to follow along, leave your comments, and join in on the discussion on the rankings at Facebook (facebook.com/rankingthebeatles) and on Instagram @rankingthebeatles. Enjoying the show and want to show your support? Check out https://anchor.fm/rankingthebeatles/support!

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