God Save Us   b/w   Do The Oz

     The A-side was produced by John, Yoko, Mal Evans and Phil Spector.
     The B-side was produced by John, Yoko, and Phil Spector.

     John originally recorded this song 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.
Using the same backing track John's vocal was replaced with one sung by Bill Elliot. John's original take can be heard on Lennon's Anthology and some bootlegs including both Lost Lennon Tapes - Volume One and Lost Lennon Tapes - Volume Eight, the second of which is a better quality release. Also an original acoustic demo can be heard on Lost Lennon Tapes - Volume Five.

     So, who is Bill Elliot ?
     Bill Elliot is from South Shields in the North East of England (at the mouth of the Tyne). 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.

     As to "Oz", an excellent site containing terrific cover shots and many interesting links can be found at Oz Magazine Covers.
     On 14th July 1971 John made a statement in support of "Oz" magazine. It was during this press conference that John sang "The End Of The Road" which was later issued on a flexi-disc free with "Oz". This can also be heard on Lost Lennon Tapes - Volume One.

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