E042 | Record Rundown: All My Copies of “Step into Christmas” by Elton John

[@MonarchO]

Merry Christmas to you. Thanx for opening what I couldn't.

[@CollectingElton]

Thanks for watching!

[@BalderBorador]

The first time I heard the songs A&b side, what is on the Lady Samantha collection on 8-track tape! Your collection of amazes me! Merry Christmas to you Matt! Oh, and keep Monkeeing around! 😂

[@CollectingElton]

Merry Christmas to you too! Thanks for watching!

[@derekking9824]

Ho! Ho! Ho! ... great post Matt, really enjoyed it. 😀🤣😀Also, thank you for all of your terrific posts / videos this years they have all been incredibly informative and enjoyable. All the very best for the upcoming holiday season, hope you have a good one and stay safe.😃😃

[@CollectingElton]

Thank you Derek! Happy Holidays to you too!

[@Capt.Ego-78]

Nice seasonal video topic! Perfect vinyl information for the holidays. I love the Norwegian and German sleeves. Thanks for sharing! There was one earlier color vinyl variant released in the U.S. in 1992 by Polygram Special Markets on their Collectables “Back to Back Hit Series” (24 singles with back-to-back hits pressed on color vinyl; 12 were red and 12 were green). “Step Into…” was originally released on Green vinyl backed with “Ho, Ho, Ho” (COL 4923), it was later reissued on black vinyl. These are not too hard to find, but the entire set can get expensive. No picture sleeve. All were released in stock “Collectables” sleeves.

[@CollectingElton]

Thanks for letting me know about those. I never realized those were from the early '90s; for some reason, I'd always figured they were from the '80s. I always avoided them because they were not on a label I recognized.

[@douglasstruthers8307]

Yeah, "Step Into Christmas" has been a big chart success in the UK in recent years, this year included! I only have 2 copies: an original Canadian MCA (black rainbow) 45 rpm single and that recent 2022 10-inch red vinyl version with a total of 5 tracks. The song still sounds good, doesn't it? Cool 50th anniversary coloured vinyl! Thanks, as always, for sharing your collection! Have a wonderful Christmas!

[@CollectingElton]

I love that red vinyl 10". It sounds good and the gatefold is nice. I have a Monkees RSD release from about eight years ago that was a 10" done in candy apple red like that. They make a nice pair. And yes, you too have a wonderful Christmas!

[@douglasstruthers8307]

Universal UK has a December 27th (believe it nor not) release on white vinyl for "Step Into Christmas" and "Ho, Ho, Ho (Who'd Be A Turkey At Christmas)." That may be it or there may be bonus tracks. I assume it is a 12" album but am not certain. @@CollectingElton

[@Capt.Ego-78]

My guess is that this is a reissue of the 7” Green vinyl 2-song version, but now on white vinyl with the ‘white cover’ color scheme. They are showing different catalog numbers in the online images. Some match the previous White 12”, and some match the Green 7” version. My bet is that they were trying for a holiday $money grab$ by changing the color of the 7” single, but a backlog at Optimal pushed the pressing beyond the holiday season (The blue vinyl _Caribou_ double LP reissue was recently pushed back to a Jan 2025 release date).

[@CollectingElton]

@@douglasstruthers8307 Well, I saw something strange on Amazon Canada a couple weeks ago. They've listed what appears to be the white vinyl 12" as a new product now available for preorder with a release/shipping date of Dec 27th. The product photos are weird (they basically show the 7" version but with the colors changed) but the listing claims the record is a 12" single on white vinyl -- a "UK exclusive" available on import (list price is $47 Cdn... ouch!). I found that listing only because I went back to check what I'd paid for my 12" white vinyl single a few months ago, when I bought it on Amazon but via a third party (UK) seller. The product link in "My Orders" led directly to that preorder listing; and except for the new release date and preorder button, everything there is as it was when I bought the 12" in September and at the top of the page it now says "You last purchased this item on..." So, if this is the same item you found on Universal UK, I'm pretty sure it's just the 12" single again; and as far as Amazon Canada goes, I suppose they'll now sell copies themselves rather than through third parties. Still, that doesn't explain why Universal UK is listing it as a new product. Perhaps it's a reissue?

[@CollectingElton]

@@Capt.Ego-78 Money grab? Universal?? Nah!

[@MichaelEnglish-m2j]

I remember enjoying my copy (now yours) of Step Into Christmas in my youth, but as you mentioned, I'd never heard it on the radio either. I think I enjoyed the B side more, though, because it was a bit naughty. WILLIES! Also, I have enjoyed Elton's concert version of the Rudolph song ever since it first appeared on a bootleg of the Hammersmith concert. Wouldn't it be nice for the record company to offer an official release of the entire concert, rather than just that one track? We'll take what we can get, right? Another great episode, Matthew.

[@CollectingElton]

Hi Michael - I wondered if you'd recognize that 45! About the 1973 Hammersmith Christmas show: I believe that was the show that occupied CDs 3 & 4 of the 2014 _Goodbye Yellow Brick Road_ super-deluxe box set. It contained the entire show, including the "Rudolph" cover. If memory serves, there is a "rehearsal" version of the track that appeared on one of the boots you gave me that's still unreleased.

[@MichaelEnglish-m2j]

@@CollectingElton Yeah, I just now this minute discovered the track listing for the 2014 release before I read your comment. My bad. Even so, the concert needs it's own limelight for an official release as a concert album.

[@shineonugrzydieman]

Thanks Matt Was totally unaware of the Spotify release. Glad the only difference was the cover. Very entertaining video. Shared. Look forward to next.

[@CollectingElton]

Thanks for sharing it!

[@talkaboutcinema3304]

I always say that "Step Into Christmas" is my favorite Christmas song because it's everything that's perfect about an Elton John song, but it just happens to be about Christmas. The B-Side I always describe as his "Monty Python song"; still fun, but obviously a much different vibe than its predecessor. It's interesting to see the various other songs they've included on these later vinyl releases; as much as I like "Cold as Christmas", it is a stretch to really qualify it as a Christmas song. There is an instrumental version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "Silent Night" by a band called Ebenezer Moog which has long been rumored to be Elton playing around with Moog synthesizers. If they could ever prove that it's him, I think that would be a perfect inclusion on future Christmas releases. The A-side especially feels very ahead of its time, predating stuff like Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Great video as always; always fascinating to see rare vinyl variants I've never seen before.

[@CollectingElton]

Thanks. Only recently did I learn about (and get copies of) the "Ebenezer Moog" material. It's great to listen to but for some reason it just doesn't sound like Elton to me. I'm inclined to believe it was someone else. And yeah, I agree that "Cold as Christmas" has nothing to do with Christmas. It uses winter imagery as a metaphor for a loveless/dying marriage. Its inclusion on Christmas singles Elton released in 1990 and 2022-23 is odd to say the least.

[@connorhart3972]

Where do you find all you're 45's. Ive thought about gettin into the singles. Also step into christmas was the first radio christmas song i had heard this year funny enough😂 Lastly I had placed in the top .005% in elton's spotify and I never seen anything regarding limited vinyls i might have to check out to see

[@CollectingElton]

I get my stuff from stores, record shows, online sellers, and some has been given to me. About Spotify: Was that last year? If so, then according to what I read, you should have been offered the chance at one of those. Perhaps there were more criteria than just being in the top 1%? Maybe it was offered to people in some locations but not others? Hmm.

[@connorhart3972]

@ Unfortnately my college town's record store only ever has a max 3 brand new pressings of his mainstream albums. Hopefully soon looking to see what my hometown record stores have in stock. The spotify album looked very familar. I believe that i still was a top 1% fan so unfortnate i missed out but possibly in the future they will do sometiong. This year I know all they had was a video from elton and had a ribbon at the top which said click here to buy merch and vinyl which didnt have any special vinyl pressings for the top 1%.

[@ralph929]

did sausages for everyone ever get a physical release?

[@CollectingElton]

Good Lord, I hope not! Lol I checked Discogs and couldn't find an entry for a physical release.

[@ralph929]

@@CollectingElton thank you

[@Capt.Ego-78]

@@ralph929 I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but “Sausage Rolls for Everyone” was released as a 4-track CD single in the UK in Dec. 2021 (FRTYCD01836). The other 3 tracks were the previous “Sausage Roll” charity singles. All the copies I’ve seen have been signed by LadBaby and Ed Sheeran. They may have been sold at a premium to augment the charity contribution. I’ve never seen or heard of a vinyl issue, and I’ve never seen one signed by Elton, too. Again, I’m sorry to bring you such news at the Holidays!

[@Capt.Ego-78]

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but "Sausage Rolls for Everyone" was released as a 4-track CD single in the UK in Dec. 2021 (FRTYCD01836). The other 3 tracks were the previous "Sausage Roll" charity singles (See _Record Collector_ Nov. 2023, page 72). All the copies I've seen have been signed by LadBaby and Ed Sheeran. They may have been sold at a premium to augment the charity contribution. I've never seen or heard of a vinyl issue, and l've never seen one signed by Elton, too. Again, I'm sorry to bring you such news at the Holidays!

[@CollectingElton]

@@Capt.Ego-78 Oh my goodness, I'm getting older... the years are flying by. I thought that “Sausage Rolls for Everyone” was released in 2022, not 2021. Searching by year instead of song title, I missed that entirely on Discogs. Hmm. It's been three years(!) since that atrocity beat Elton and Ed Sheeran's lovely "Merry Christmas" (which should've been the UK Christmas #1 that year)? Time flies.

[@DetroitRockCitizen]

Not really fan of this. I have the Qobuz download which includes a "performance" of Step from a Gilbert O' Sullivan. It's just a remix of the released version and a superior one to the original IMHO. Not sure about here in the US but in Britain it was upstaged by Slade's Merry Christmas Everybody and the absolutely wonderful I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday by Wizzard. There was no room at the inn so to speak.

[@CollectingElton]

Some years I love the song, some years I can't stand hearing it. The US Christmas singles market in 1973 would've included releases by Elvis Presley and The Carpenters -- so, "Step" definitely had some competition in the US too. That said, I'm not sure making #1 on the "Christmas singles" chart was really a big accomplishment.

[@herculesstudioltd]

Charlotte Tilbury Ultra Rare Repackaged 10" Single + promo video Enlcosed kzbin.info/www/bejne/f2G3loeBfLyJrrc

[@CollectingElton]

Thanks!! I didn't know about this one.

[@herculesstudioltd]

there is a mega rare 10" Charlotte tilbury with differnt cover i will upload a video for you

[@CollectingElton]

Thanks!