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Gary and Franky Brooker • Silver Wedding Anniversary
July 1968 – July 1993
July 2018: Whaler-in-Chief Michael Ackermann writes to 'Beyond the Pale' from Wuppertal, in Germany:
'Reading the new BtP article I was surprised how fast time flies! But it brought back great memories of the Silver Wedding Party in 1993.
'Franky and Gary had invited a small number of members of the Gary Brooker Fan Club ‘Whaling Stories’ (sadly often, and wrongly, marked as a ‘Procol Harum Fan Club’)
'Beside many other wonderful recollections, a very special one stands out in my mind: having had interesting conversations with a lot of marvellous people, suddenly I talked to a very smart man. He was very, very kind and interested … he even asked me where I came from (surely because of my Teutonic accent). I remember that I thought to myself, that he was really the ideal I had in mind of a perfect British Gentleman.
'Later Gary came over and asked me if I knew to whom I had spoken. My answer was ‘No!’. And then I learn that it was none other than Sir George Martin. I really was amazed!
'I enclose just a few pictures of that unforgettable event. Not all musicians are pictured: as far as I remember Dave Bronze was there, and Matthew Fisher, but in my memory the latter didn't play. Against appearances in the picture, Franky did not sing!
Franky Brooker, Gary Brooker. The scene is the Brooker barn
On drums, Ian Wallace ... at that time, Procol's drummer
And of course Geoff Whitehorn on guitar, with the Commander behind at the grand piano. And one slightly half-hearted balloon
Elsewhere on the premises, an al fresco string quartet
And, somewhere on the road, two young Whalers! Wolfgang Lieke and Michael Ackermann, of course :-)
Gary Brooker's page at BtP | The wedding article | The Brookers' 50th anniversary
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