Nick Frater shared with Sweet Sweet Music blog, “I’m going through quite a productive songwriting period at the moment, and melodies seem to arrive thick and fast.” This creative burst has culminated in the creation of two exquisite albums, adding an extra sparkle to the musical landscape of 2024. November saw the release of ‘Bivouac,’ landing it in the Top 10 of The 50 Best Power Pop Albums of 2023. Now, right after Christmas, ‘Nick Frater presents The Rebutles 1967​-​1970‘ pays homage to The Rutles, often considered the ‘ultimate’ Beatles tribute. It’s quite a journey, isn’t it? Below, Frater delves into the mechanics and origins behind this musical endeavor.

A surprise release so late in the year. What’s the story?

“The Rebutles / 1967-1970” has been a little side project I’ve been working on this year, as a follow-up to my last ‘secret’ album, “Nick Frater presents The Rebutles: Ron, Dirk, Stig and Barry the Solo Years, Vol 1,” which I included as a CD in the first 200 Earworms LPs.

I thought releasing it on an unsuspecting world on Boxing Day was the perfect poetic nod to Magical Mystery Tour, which was first shown on Boxing Day 1967. What I’ve learned through doing this is that Boxing Day isn’t really a thing in the USA! I received several messages from friends and fans in the States asking what the hell I was talking about, in the various hints and clues I was putting out in the run-up.

I’ve read a lot of positive reactions. Do you have an explanation for this so soon after the release?

I’ve been quite taken aback by how well “The Rebutles /1967-1970” has been received! I guess people still love, as I do, the idea behind The Rutles. As a HUGE Beatles fan and Rutles fan, creating the songs for my original tribute (is that a thing?) was a lot of fun to do, and I hope that translates into a fun listen. For years, I’ve been wanting to try something very, very ’60s psychedelia, and this was the perfect excuse. Getting great feedback from some of my favorite bands has been wonderful.

I’m so curious about how the concept came about and how far you think you can go if you want to continue it?

As with most great ideas, The Rebutles started off as a joke with friends in the pub—the idea of what The Rutles would have done in their solo careers. The idea stuck with me, and I started writing the first album. It turned out that my musical friends were VERY into the idea and helped to turn it into a reality. Having started at the end of the story of The Rutles/Rebutles, the only place to go was backward and do a prequel. Although things start to get a bit meta; like that bit in Back to the Future where the characters on different timelines mustn’t ever meet! Never let conceptual sense get in the way of a good song.

Did you consciously start writing songs in this specific style for this project or does something like this arise organically?

I’m going through quite a productive songwriting period at the moment, and melodies seem to arrive thick and fast. So writing The Rebutles came more from ideas for song titles. “Loose Tea In Disguise” came early on, and the song pretty much wrote itself. That said, I think there are still some moments that pull the heartstrings in just the right way, like “Come Get Your Tea.” I think it has a nice bittersweet feel; it’s a favorite for me.

You wrote to me a while back, jokingly or not, that the best record of 2023 had yet to be released. You knew you had something good on your hands, didn’t you?

From the enthusiasm of the musicians who helped me record the songs, I had an idea that The Rebutles might be an enjoyable listen. It was always going to be an odd move to release two concept albums a month apart, and right at the end of the year, but hopefully, between Bivouac and The Rebutles, listeners have found something to enjoy. There are lots of things in the pipeline for 2024, including a new ‘normal’ album. It’s well underway and called “Oh Contraire!” (you read it here first!), so it might get released in time for the best of 2024 lists.