Procol Harum 

Beyond
the Pale 
 

PH on stage | PH on record | PH in print | BtP features | What's new | Interact with BtP | For sale | Site search | Home

How the tale unfolds ...

Procol features originating on this website


About the band name

The Latin theory (includes the Arabic theory!)

Procul Harun: Marcus Gary's brilliant investigative trail pieces together the 40-year enigma of the band's name, the cat who originally owned it, and all the links, coincidences and associated.blind alleys along the way

The cat theory: a miscellany of pieces about the original, feline bearer of the band's name

Some contemporary Procol cats, licence-plates etc., and an American crossword-clue

A mountain named after Procol Harum, a minor planet named after Procol Harum, a racehorse named after Procol Harum, a star named after BJ Wilson, a trotting-horse named Procol Harum, and the Procol Harum orchid

Tribute bands


About the players

The Musicians' pages - biography, discography, pictures, and links to further articles

A pictorial miscellany

Procol Harum family-tree, parts one and two: a graphical history by Jonas Söderström

Books about Procol Harum

1975: Curved Air's Francis Monkman ... will he join Procol Harum? A wide-ranging interview ...

A Note on Gary's Composing by Anthony Rowat

Authorised excerpts from Dave Ball's autobiography

CD releases by Procol fans: Amorta, Frightening Beauty, Inferno, Resolution, Where the Glass Birds Fly, Beauty and Innocence, The Other End of the Wheel, This Pilgrim's Progress, Northern Sky, Reflections in my Tea

'I guess I was born at the right time'. Bert Saraco on the various Procol Harum guitarists

Leo Kottke connection (illustrated)

Links between Procol Harum and Southend's Mickey Jupp: see here too

Matthew Fisher talks to Marcelo Pereira

Roland Clare talks to Gary Brooker, to Geoff Whitehorn, to Mick Grabham, to Bobby Harrison, to Richard Brown, briefly to Keith Reid, and to Kenny White, lifelong friend of Barrie Wilson

Ronald L Smith's comprehensive interviews with Matthew Fisher and with Pete Solley

The Mammoth Task: Procol Harum stories and snippets comprehensively excerpted from NME for BtP by Yan Friis

The Procol Harum Diary: work in progress on a timeline from the musicians' births forwards.

The Procol musical legacy of Dave Ball, and of Ray Royer and Bobby Harrison

What-if History of Procol Harum by davelee

Who is Procol Harum, asks Joan May 

The History of the Band written for this website by Ronald L Smith

Where do Procolers' surnames originate?

A fascinating interview with Derek Sutton, one-time Procol Harum manager

A fascinating interview with Julia Brown, Procol Harum artist of choice


Miscellaneous

The beginnings of an index to various Procol pieces written by Roland Clare

Procol Harum 1 ... the Alpha Days ... feature by David Evans

'Thames Delta' • 7 April to 16 June 2012: a substantial exhibition in the cradle of Procol Harum and the Paramounts

1971: The Illustrated In Held 'Twas in I ... by Carole M Hassan

Why You Should Listen To Procol Harum Again (2017)

2003 tour memorabilia for sale: unique items

Procol Harum at 40

Parodies of Procol Harum song words

Shine Online: an online version of the 90s' paper Shine On fanzine

A radio interview about an astonishing AWSoP collection

George Lovell's brilliant little Procol Harum book, The Waiter Brought a Tray

What does 'Prog Rock' mean, and how does Procol Harum music fit into the genre?

Lookalikes: Gary Brooker in leftwing politics? Gary Brooker in the Salvation Army?

A Salty Dog, mentioned by a journalist in the context of 'safely unattainable shores' in The Scotsman

A summary of Procol's Progress in the first five years since the Procol Party at Redhill

A Whiter Shade ... goes extra-terrestrial: superb feature on science-fiction and how we listen to Procol Harum music, by Jonas Söderström

Why It's Always Better to Have Procol Harum Stuck in Your Head ...

Numerous novels with a Procoloid thread

About the supposed Lost Matthew Fisher album

Add yourself to our register of online Procol Harum fans by clicking here; subscribe to our occasional Procol newsletter by visiting this page

Amorta: Procol-influenced music from a major fan; Baroque Rock from Les Fradkin

A Moody Blues fan admits to his anti-Procol prejudice ... and reviews all their albums!

An address to a conference of Scottish Anaesthetists ... about Procol Harum ...

Benefits of searching for Procol lore at BtP, as opposed to phoning a friend: nice story here

'Beyond the Pale' celebrated its first birthday here, and held its own interactive celebrations for Christmas 1997, (see also a wander through my Christmas cards), Christmas 1998, Christmas 1999 (see also Palers' wish-lists to Santa 1999 and 2000); the first Palers' Convention, held at Guildford in September 2000, is extensively recorded here, to say nothing of parties that followed at Kristiansand, Manchester, Croydon, and Los Angeles; webmasters' message for 2000/2001 is here, and that from a decade later is here

April Fool's Day at 'Beyond the Pale': 2011, 2010, 2009/2009, 2008, 2007, 2006/2006/2006, 2005/2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999/1999, 1998

'Beyond the Pale' visitors celebrated Walpurgis Night 1998 with a fine suite of Repent Walpurgis articles, and the Redhill First Anniversary likewise.

Procol ales

'Beyond the Pale': as well as being a PH song, it's this website, a folk band, an album of contemporary klezmer

Brief account of 32 years of live Procoldom: including the whereabouts of some equipment stolen from the band

Procol on their first visit to New York City

Brief memo of the organ set-up at a 1968 Procol Harum gig

Brooker, Reid and Trower comment on Jimi Hendrix … and he on them

Carmen - a band even more forgotten than Procol Harum

College report! A 17-year old Danish girl gives a comprehensive and personal account of Procol Harum.

Did Procol Harum play Wreck of the Hesperus live in 1969?: concert memoir by Peter Tutak

Gary Brooker's hand-prints, and Procol Harum (not yet) at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; Procol at Mme Tussaud's (not!)

Have you got a Procol Harum anecdote to contribute to a forthcoming book? If so, please see here (posted October 2002)

In January 2003, some 250 survey-respondents gave an interesting glimpse of the North-American attitude to Procol Harum and to this website

Joan May's Synthophobia; Gary Brooker's 'faux' grand piano

Life-landmarks: Procol Harum in our personal history, as our 'Basement Analysts'; a psychedelic love-story here and a second-generation AWSoP marriage; a family encounter with Gary and Matthew; a new-born's present

Mac Gajda's story about life with Procol Harum behind Poland's iron curtain

Many Procol Harum articles, full of insight and scholarly research from Frans Steensma

Musicians and other artists praise Procol Harum: a list of links here

Musician knocked down by Gary Brooker in front of 40,000 fans

Numerous gigs remembered (by Andrew Slim)

Numerous gigs remembered (by Harry Salzberg) and a 1970 Ode to Procol Harum (by his simple sister)

Paler-power in action: Procol Harum fans bewail perceived snub: from Florida's Sun Sentinel in August/September 2001

Peyton Place - A 'Procol Hairum' melange from the late 'honorary Procoler', Beverly Peyton

Presenting Keith Reid words to an Eng Lit class at Rutgers University: Greg Panfile

Procol at Atlanta 1973, a vivid memoir of missing them, by Brent Coursey

Procol at San Antonio, Texas: Sunday 26 July 1970: Mike Morgan's exciting reminiscence

Procol at Houston, Texas in 1970: Mike Morgan's amusing reminiscence

Procol at Cropredy, 1995: Richard Ashworth's funny and revealing account of his family going to the festival

Procol at Palm Springs, 1969: a vivid concert memoir by AJ Johnson

Procol at the Atlanta Pop Festival: a vivid concert memoir by Richard Beck

Procol at the Shepherds Bush Empire: a vivid concert memoir by George Beck

Procol Harum / Matthew Fisher music used in Church

Procol Harum and the dawn of rock in the 'alternative reality' of 60s Uruguay - feature by Marcelo Pereira

Procol Harum and the Tavistock ticket

Vinter's Gazetteer – a fascinating book to anyone interested in one of the most swingeing changes to affect the United Kingdom during the rock'n'roll era – by a hardcore Procol Harum fan

Procol Harum in Venezuela

Procol Harum play Nashville and Atlanta, and win a life-long fan

Procol Harum through Italian eyes: a weighty sleeve-note, translated

Procol's achievements and place in Rock History

Putative links between Procol Harum and Monty Python

Rouslan Minin's story about life with Procol Harum behind Brezhnev's iron curtain

Sam Cameron's 'Procolpaedia', listing numerous surprising links between many rock names and Procol Harum

Summer of 1998, 'mailers' who frequent the Procol Harum message-list voted for a fans' Top Thirty PH songs ; in May 2000 they sent in suggestions for the ideal PH set-list

The LA Times music critic on Procol Harum

The Nights we Dined at Hotel Ritz: two more vivid concert memoirs from Richard Beck

The Procol Box: feature on the rarest 1971 collectabilia

Three early gigs: Chris Purcell's memoir

Under the Influence: a personal essay on the influence of drugs on rock culture

Unwelcome in Asbury Park: a vivid concert memoir by Greg Panfile

Where Glass Birds Fly: music by a band keen to resurrect PH in the USA

Where were you when you first heard crucial PH news ?

Who are 'The Surrealists of Rock'? Deutschlandfunk's Steffen Graefe has the answer

Gary Brooker MBE and Peter Hain MP

A Procoholic jeu d'ésprit about the Periodic Table and various other chemical matters

Mysterious cupboard full of films ... 'Gear Box Procol Harum'

Bryan Rooney was a Procol roadie in the early days ... order his book here

A Procol-fan's book about badly-designed computer systems

2017: Gary Brooker 'planning Roman ruins mega-gig'


About the repertoire

Taking Notes and Stealing Quotes: a comprehensive and very well-received guide to the verbal and musical background of the Procol Harum repertoire
  

Additional notes on particular songs:

 

A Real Attitude
A Whiter Shade Of Pale: (you can contribute to a documentary about this song) 
A Salty Dog
Broken Barricades and three other songs from that album (MD, PF and PM)
Beyond the Pale: a brief consideration of Procol Harum and Jewishness
'Everything I Do Is Wrong
Grand Finale
Harlequin
In Held 'Twas in I (authorship) and performance
In the Wee Small Hours of Sixpence
Last Train to Niagara
Learn to Fly
Legend
Pandora's Box
Pilgrim's Progress
Quite Rightly So
Rambling On
Repent Walpurgis (see also Walpurgis Night special
Simple Sister
Stoke Poges
'The Story About A Suit
The Devil Came from Kansas
Four 'odd songs' rejected from early albums 
 

See This Old Cat and A Huge Slice of England for brief commentary on many other songs

Are the varous Procol records concept albums, or thematic albums?

The Ten Commandments as a theme in Novum

2017: 'Why you should listen to Procol Harum again'

BBC sessions - towards a list of the band's radio and television sessions

Conflicting song-writing credits - where different labels make different claims

Cryptonyms: the band's names hidden in the songs (or not)

Dump my Thesaurus - verbal oddities in the Procol world

Gary Brooker's song-introductions in concert

Has your brain been idled, too? - song-words misheard and misunderstood

Liquorice John Death And The Rock 'N' Roll Allstars

Phil Jackson's illuminating retrospective prompted by the TransAtlantic cover of In Held ('Twas) In I

Procol's progress in various charts

Sam Cameron explores the magical resonances of Home, Reid's Recurrent and Absent Symbols, the Genuine Feline History of Procol Harum, how Procol links to The Band, and offers a comprehensive account of magic allusions throughout the Procol oeuvre: index to his many Procoloid writings here

John Lock explores the magical resonances of Grand Hotel

Something Missing, about the tracks that might have appeared on Procol Harum's tenth album had it not been for the growth of TWaTT.

The Imponderable Strangers: who did what in the Prodigal small print?

The Tape-Operator's Tale: a fine suite of pages from Chris Michie about crucial 70s Procol matters

Use this device when you can't decide what Procol music to listen to.

All about the Procol Broadcast Marathons that started in 2001 from uclaradio.com

A fan's poetic tribute to the band


Procol-related Art

Annabel's Random Gallery: excellent Procol Harum portraits

Procol influence on Tolkien illustrators

Creative AWSoP musical notation: the cake and the signature

Matthew Fisher's wife Carol Bellantoni is a painter: see her Procol illustrations for BtP

Fanware: PH tee-shirts: from Bert Saraco, from Richard Beck

Procol Harum tee-shirts. produced commercially
 


If you like Procol Harum, read this list of bands that are even better

 


PH on stage | PH on record | PH in print | BtP features | What's new | Interact with BtP | For sale | Site search | Home