Marginally doubtful, in that I haven't pinned it down to a year as yet. Local radio station 202 BBC Radio Merseyside was responsible for at least one record, a single featuring 'Santa's Little Helpers' by Bob Pryde on the 'A' side and 'There'll Never Be Anyone Else' by Billy Butler with the BBC Sympathy Orchestra on the 'B'. There's no date on it, but a version of 'Santa' was released in 1978 on State Records (q.v.); this version is shorter and is also mono - as indeed in the Billy Butler track. I would guess that this version was the earlier of the two, and that it got picked up by State and re-recorded. If that is the case, this single may well be from 1977 or 1976; an EP of songs by Bob Pryde and Mike Cordella on the 'Bob' label (q.v.) has a similar instrumentation and the same 'home recorded' sound, and is from 1977. The catalogue / matrix 'number' was RM according to the label, but the run-off has it as RM-1. The song itself is actually rather catchy, in a novelty sort of way, with speeded-up voices singing the chorus.
Copyright 2014 Robert Lyons.