Gary Brooker's vinyl gift to fans

An auction for the 80th year since The Commander's birth
... and a competition, now ended (see foot of page)

Fellow Procol Harum fans (writes Roland from 'Beyond the Pale')

'In September 2021 I was invited to the Brooker residence in Surrey, UK because Gary had some items he wanted to pass on to fans via www.procolharum.com . As we sat on his veranda he worked through a pile of vinyl LPs, largely unplayed, adding Post-It notes to clarify the contents (especially where white-label promos or test pressings were concerned) and signing them, occasionally with typical, curious messages, using his collection of coloured Sharpies. The records span the period 1970 to 1977 and range from run-of-the mill items through particular surprises to at least one high-value rarity; some come with photos and associated ephemera too.

'This page contains brief details of the albums, and links to photographs and full particulars of these 20+ items. Think of them as GB's final bequest to fans – taking turns in trying to pass them on – from a time when he knew he was not at all well, and wanted to be sure they ended up in good hands ... your hands! All being well the auction will start on 29 May, and you'll have a wonderful spectrum of souvenirs to bid for. Maybe you collect and play vinyl ... maybe you haven't got a turntable but would enjoy owning or exhibiting something that belonged to a great musician. Either way, it will be an interesting week or so.

'As Gary signed each item, in my presence, he told me that one was 'obviously going to be the most popular'. So we asked you to read all the descriptions and let us know which record you think he was referring to. If your guess was right, your name went in the BtP hat, and – in the miodnught hours beginning 6 June – one name was chosen from that hat: the narrated adjudication (and much more besides, may be viewed at https://youtu.be/iG_6NnInzUU. The winner will soon have the 'most popular item' sent to the address he or she gave us free of charge. In a way it was a mournfully nostalgic assignment, moving these desirable records along ... but there was no reason why it couldn't be accompanied by a bit of Procolesque fun as well.

'Note that there are no shop-worthy LP sleeves except where mentioned. Note also that the 'most popular' album will be sent to its winner before the auction is over ... nobody can win it away from you once your name has been pulled from the hat.

'The proceeds will be shared between The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity , and the Procol website, as was Gary's wish.'

A	Rock Roots factory sample LP (‘not for sale’) with typed insert. Signed in black	Pictures and particulars A
B	Home test pressing on a surprising label ‘Noted for quality and Service’. Signed in black	Pictures and particulars B
C	Broken Barricades on A&M, white label promo ingeniously signed with a missing 'o'	Pictures and particulars C
D	Procol Harum Lives, highly desirable and rare promo box set packed with goodies and discs	Pictures and particulars D
E	Prime Cuts (Chrysalis box set sampler from 1973 [incomplete, but including a signed Robin Trower album] bundled by way of compensation with The A&M Bootleg Album)	Pictures and particulars E
F	Grand Hotel 603 7511, signed pressing of overseas manufacture	Pictures and particulars F
G	Exotic Birds and Fruit, signed in green	Pictures and particulars G
H	Exotic Birds and Fruit, side one, 21 February 1974	Pictures and particulars H
I	Exotic Birds and Fruit, one side, dated 22 February 1974 (one day later)	Pictures and particulars I
J	Exotic Birds and Fruit, sent to a woman by a man involved with the recording, and endorsed with an ornithological exclamation	Pictures and particulars J
K	Procol’s Ninth CHR1080 signed	Pictures and particulars K
L	Procol’s Ninth white label, signed with a curious use of Roman numerals	Pictures and particulars L
M	Procol’s Ninth (signed with curious Schubertian gag) white label	Pictures and particulars M
N	Something Magic 6307 593, signed pressing of overseas manufacture	Pictures and particulars N
O	Something Magic heavy acetate with typing on surprising label, signed in red	Pictures and particulars O
P	Something Magic test pressing on a surprising label 24 January 1977	Pictures and particulars P
Q	Something Magic test pressing, also on a surprising label, 24 January 1977	Pictures and particulars Q
R	Something Magic white label A-side updated to 7 February 1977, signed with an ominous quotation	Pictures and particulars R
S	Something Magic Worm and the Tree, signed with a riddling question	Pictures and particulars S
T	Something Magic white label, the worm and the tree, signed in red plus reference tone a-side	Pictures and particulars T

---

Prize competition ... now (6 June 2025) ended ...
While signing these albums (as shewn) on 17 September 2021 Gary Brooker predicted that one of the items was 'obviously going to be the most popular'. But which? Read the above list carefully, and visit the 'pictures and particulars' links, before making your choice/guess. Each item above is listed with an alphabetical letter in red, so just send a message 'My Gary Brooker vinyl legacy choice is [letter]' to webmaster@procolharum.com . We're open for entries until 00:01 on 6 June, UK time Don't forget to send your postal address. And no pseudonyms, please! All correct guesses go into a hat, and we'll pull one winning name from it at random before the eBay auction ends.
The prize item has been withdrawn from the auction, and a very lucky winner chosen. To know what/who it was, please watch this short film

 

---

Gary Brooker's page at BtP

Results of eBay auction and competition

---

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