Sometime in the early '90s, when I was between record deals, I was approached by producer Jon Tiven about writing a Christmas song for a proposed compilation featuring different artists doing tunes celebrating the festive season.

I wrote one pretty quickly, only to be told that the project was not coming together, which invariably happens with these things. So, being a bit of a bastard, I wrote two more songs, and told Jon I had done so.

He was working with this new label, hardly off the ground, named Dakota Arts, and suggested we do an EP of Christmas tunes for them. Not wanting to waste my hard work, I agreed, and "Graham Parker's Christmas Cracker" came into being.

No one, myself included, seemed to know or at least be too worried about the fact that in order for Christmas records to have any chance you need them done by July. Can't recall when we were actually recording this thing, but I reckon I was dusting off my Long Johns by the time mixing came around, as there was already a hint of Autumnal chill in the New York air.

Whatever, the label folded almost as soon as the Cracker came out, and that was that.

(I like to think that I was largely responsible for bringing down a record label, and having just seen the recording budget on this mere three-song effort, I may well be correct! Suffice to say, people got paid way too much (except the artist, natch) and these days I could make two and a half albums for what the Cracker cost.)

Recently, I got two requests for licensing for compilations from two different record companies: one for "Christmas Is For Mugs" from Shout/Factory and one for "Soul Christmas" from EMI or Sony or something, this track to be used on a compilation of Christmas duets ("Soul Christmas" features Nona Hendrix dueting with me, to great effect, I might add).

This spurred me to call up one of the two founders of Dakota Arts to see what was going on with the record, since neither of the labels requesting clearances seemed able to find out exactly who to license the tunes from.

The result of my enquiries led to the procurement by my good self of a bunch of Christmas Cracker CDs and the ability to sign off on the licensing requests, thanks to the unusual generosity of the Dakota Arts honcos. I say unusual, because when a recording contract contains the word "perpetuity," as most deals before the end of the '90s do, the word is taken literally and no matter how rich the blokes who signed you to the deal are (and when it comes to record company execs, they are all richer than all but the most hugely commercially successful artists, and getting richer year by year) you will never get the rights back to your work, even if it has recouped expenses, which mine never do anyway.

A big salute, then, to the fine chaps of this ill-fated company (yes, there should be a law in which artists immediately get the rights to their work back if a label folds, but there isn't; and a statute of limitations come to think of it), and to you the buying public who are no doubt right now as we speak purchasing many copies of this rare, long deleted work in order to get a jump on the Christmas season and have your stocking stuffers well ahead of time, hidden in a drawer and ready for wrapping come November.

Enjoy.

GP