The Twelfth Album

"The Twelfth Album" is an alternative history short story by Stephen Baxter, first published in Interzone in April 1998. It is about an imaginary twelfth album recorded by The Beatles, called God. The album features songs that were written and recorded as solo projects by the group's members in reality, but in a parallel universe where The Beatles did not split up following the release of Let It Be, resulting in these songs being recorded by the group. In the universe where it was recorded, the Earth was apparently destroyed by a hail of comets, which shocks the two middle-aged men who find the album in their deceased workmate's room on board the docked Titanic Hotel in Liverpool.

In reality, The Beatles did release twelve albums; the story ignores one of them, Yellow Submarine, because it is considered by the author more a George Martin score than a Beatles' album.

Webcomic Subnormality alluded to the concept, though its version of the album was titled Imagine a Photograph of a Passing Jet.

The Twelfth

The Twelfth (also called Orangemen's Day) is a celebration held on 12 July by the Orange Order, a Protestant fraternal organisation originating in late 18th century Ulster. It celebrates the Glorious Revolution (1688) and victory of Protestant king William of Orange over Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne (1690), which began the Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. On and around the Twelfth, large parades are held by the Orange Order and Ulster loyalist marching bands, streets are bedecked with British flags and bunting, and large towering bonfires are lit. Today the Twelfth is mainly celebrated in Northern Ireland (where it is a public holiday), but smaller celebrations are held in other parts of the world where Orange lodges have been set up, including the Canadian province of Newfoundland where it is a provincial holiday. The Twelfth involves thousands of participants and spectators, although not all Protestants celebrate it.

In Ulster, where about half the population is from a Protestant background and half from a Catholic background, the Twelfth has been accompanied by violence since its beginning. Many Catholics and Irish nationalists see the Orange Order and its marches as sectarian, triumphalist and supremacist. The Order is also politically a unionist/loyalist organization. Violence related to the Twelfth in Northern Ireland worsened during the 30-year ethno-political conflict known as the Troubles. The Drumcree conflict is the most well-known dispute involving Orange marches. Attempts have recently been made to downplay the political aspects of the marches and present the Twelfth as a cultural, family-friendly event at which tourists are welcome. Although most events pass off peacefully, some continue to result in violence.