John originally recorded GOD SAVE US on 1st June 1971. It was specifically written to raise money and support for the underground magazine "Oz" which was being suppressed and faced obscenity trials in England.
Issue 28 (May 1970), otherwise known as "Schoolkids OZ" became a cause celebre during and following the prosecution of its editors Richard Neville, Jim Anderson and Felix Dennis for obscenity in 1973.
Using the same backing track John's vocal was replaced with one sung by Bill Elliot.
Bill Elliot was from South Shields in the North East of England. He was in a group called "Half-Breed" when Mal Evans heard some tapes of the band. Mal went North to see them, and he liked what he saw. It was Mal that invited Bill to sing Lead on "God Save Us".

After the demise of Apple, Bill was co-founder of "SPLINTER", who were one of the few genuinely bright discoveries to come out of the Beatles orbit. Their first L.P. "The Place I Love" was the first album release on the Dark Horse record label and was produced by George.

1. GOD SAVE US (1971)

E-mail Jordi and Amparo

© 1998 MELGAR PRODUCTIONS.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.