White Stripes are to release a limited edition Christmas single, ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE WHITE STRIPES’.
The single will be released on seven-inch vinyl only on December 16. It features a track called ‘Candy Cane Children’ on the A-side, backed by the spoken word ‘Story Of The Magi’ – a biblical reading from Jack and ‘Silent Night’ sung by Meg.
The record sleeve sees Jack and Meg sitting on the front lawn of a suburban American house by a table holding a nativity scene.
Import copies of the single on the V2 label appeared out of the blue in independent record stores in Britain last week. Fans quickly snapped up the few copies on sale.
In the UK, just 1,000 copies of the single will be released on the XL label. A spokeswoman explained: “It’s a very limited seven-inch Christmas single –White Stripes just wanted to put it out as a present to the fans.”
A version of ‘Candy Cane Children’ was originally featured on a 1998 Christmas compilation seven-inch single, ‘Surprise Package Volume 2′ – but the single has long been unavailable. The limited edition single, also featuring Rocket 455 and The Blowtops, is now a collectors’ item.