Before we dive into this, do not see this post as an open invitation to start submitting your Christmas singles…it’s far too early and I’m not a fan…so bah-humbug. But as it’s Shirley…
Taken from her latest album ‘Hearts Ease’, which we reviewed here, Shirley Collins is releasing “The Christmas Song” on a special signed, flexi-disc Christmas card release on November 13th. Hold on, hold on, rewind…
Yes…a flexi-disc. For those too young to recall the delight of getting a free flexi-disc with your favourite music magazine (almost another thing of the past), they are, according to Wikipedia, ‘a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral stylus groove’. In truth, they are a floppy piece of plastic that sound as great as they look on your turntable.
That said, they were popular in their day and have seen something of a comeback in limited releases – and this is a collectors-piece surely (don’t call me Shirley).
They were popular in the Soviet Union – or rather the Soviet government mass-produced them, like they did most other things including some great cameras of which I have a few… I digress. National Geographic also made use of them, sharing ornithological sonic wonders, hump-back whales mating and narration of the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill…Even Computer Magazines found a way of using then by providing software in audio form “Vinyl Data” on flexi discs from June 1979 until 1986. Imagine rushing home loading up your ROM and waiting 20 minutes for it to load before it crashes and you had to restart again…those were the days.
Christmas flex-discs are nothing new… for those who loved the fab-four, between 1963 and 1969, The Beatles made a special Christmas recording which was made into a flexi disc and sent to members of their fan club.
This isn’t Domino Records’ first foray into the world of the flexi-disc, most notably they released a zine exclusively for Record Store Day in 2012 that included five individual, multi-colored flexi-discs, each containing a song by Dirty Projectors, Real Estate, Cass McCombs, John Maus, and Villagers.
So, with that brief cultural side-track over, back to Shirley…
As I said, the track is taken from her latest album ‘Hearts Ease’ which according to the Official Folk Charts (did you hear?) is #8 in the biggest folk albums of 2020 so far…she would, of course, be a lot higher up if they removed all the non-folk-related albums, but hey ho, such is the commercial world of music… to note: it will look nothing like our end of year list.
And…
Bringing some much-needed cheer, “The Christmas Song” is a song from the renowned Copper Family of Rottingdean in East Sussex. They lived and worked the land around there for over four centuries – the earliest Copper entry in the Parish Register of Rottingdean church is dated 1593. Collins adds: “It’s one of my favourite of the Copper Family songs.”
And, there’s an accompanying visualiser with snow and all…
Additionally, Shirley Collins will be performing on BBC Two’s Later… with Jools Holland tomorrow evening 9 October), Collins will be joined by Ian Kearey, so tune in from 10pm.
You can pre-order: https://www.dominomusic.com/releases/shirley-collins/the-christmas-song/flexidisc-christmas-card
Upcoming Live Shirley Collins Dates
31st July 2021 – Charleston Trust, East Sussex Tickets
1st August 2021 – Charleston Trust, East Sussex Tickets