Procol at the BBC : legitimate release?

'Strange Fruit' appeals to the Palers

September 1999
Sue Armstrong at Strange Fruit Records rang 'Beyond the Pale' to chat about Harumish matters, and followed it up with this communiqué for the Palers at large:

Hardcore Palers will already know this concert, since it has circulated 'informally' under a variety of names. Nevertheless it's an exciting prospect, since the vast majority of the oblivious rock public will suddenly become aware of live Procol, as the CD joins a prestigious catalogue of BBC / Strange Fruit material, including the highly-regarded Led Zep set.

Remember also that the BBC broadcast two songs from Golders Green (Beyond the Pale and Grand Hotel) that are not on the non-legit version that fans are familiar with, and for all we know there may be more still on tape that never graced the airwaves. The quality of the Strange Fruit sound is also likely to be very good.

Strange Fruit is well-known as an artist-friendly label and we feel that fans should be thoroughly heartened by this development. We might well hope that good sales of this album will encourage Gary and Strange Fruit to put out other choice material from the BBC vaults.

So do write to Sue if you have ticket-stubs, unfamiliar 1974 PH photographs, or any of the other typical ephemera that make a CD-liner attractive. Even if you haven't, some appreciative e-mail would undoubtedly be helpful in furthering the Procol cause.

RC