'The Tavistock Ticket'

*** Tormod Ringvold ***

Many thanks to Tormod Ringvold for this fascinating feature, which records some of the very earliest impressions of a Procol Harum gig – from the Royer / Harrison line-up, in fact – that BtP has so far come across.

I bought this ticket, which I normally refer to as "The Tavistock Ticket", at the London Victoria Record Fair in May 1998. It is from a "Beat Dance" at Tavistock Town Hall on 16 June 1967 and is signed on the backside by Gary Brooker, Matthew Fisher, Bobby Harrison, Dave Knights and Ray Royer.

I was told that the ticket came from a collection of one of the organisers of the concerts in Tavistock, Devon, who had made it a habit of getting the groups to sign a ticket on the night. This man had recently died. There were several tickets, signed by other groups like The Troggs, The Tremeloes and Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick & Tich, but I went for Procol Harum.

[Left, the back of the ticket (actual size 9.6 x 6.7 cm) Clockwise from the top it reads, Bobby Harrison, Ray Royer, Dave Knights, Gary Brooker, Matthew Fisher]

There was one problem, however. In Shine On I could read "Procol played their last gig for some time at the Marquee Club - 12.6.1967." If this was true, what about my ticket ? With the help of Shine On, the Procol Harum expert Frans Steensma from Holland informed me that the final gig with Harrison / Royer in the line-up in fact was in Torquay on June 18. So far so good.

I wanted to know more about this event, and with the help of the internet, I found the local weekly newspaper of Tavistock, the Tavistock Times Gazette. I contacted the newspaper and told about the ticket, my fond interest in Procol Harum and asked if they had archives back to June 1967 - and if so, was there any mention of the concert?

Once again, the English enthusiasm and helpfulness showed. An answer came immediately. I was told they indeed had the archives, and they had found that the Procol Harum concert was mentioned on three successive Fridays, first one week before, then the 16th, and finally the week after. ( I ought to mention that the newspaper was issued only on Fridays in 1967).

They would send all three articles by fax, but they would also like to talk to me on the phone, to make a story. Thus, I had two conversations with the editor, Colin Brent. I also sent a copy of the ticket. And on 19 August 1999 there was half a page in the Tavistock Times Gazette dedicated to Procol Harum, the ticket and myself. But now, back to 1967 ...

I found out from the articles: back in the late sixties, the football club in Tavistock organised concerts at the town hall. The football club's social secretary, Dave Spurrell, did a great job in booking groups just before they hit the big time. Among the groups that played in Tavistock were The Troggs and The Tremeloes. On June 16th 1967, with A Whiter Shade Of Pale at No 1, Procol Harum played in Tavistock.

Dave Spurrell had died some years ago. This must have been the man who got the tickets signed. It fits in well with the story the vendor told me. But first, back to 1967.

9 June 1967: Tavistock Times Gazette under the column "News and Views" (edited by Brian Fogg):

16 June 1967: Tavistock Times Gazette

Beat Dance of the Year Tonight's the night. Theoretically at any rate, it should be the beat dance of the year,. Procol Harum, brand new on the pop scene but already at the top with their sensational A Whiter Shade of Pale, are booked for Tavistock Town Hall by Tavistock Football Club. And after the treatment they have received on television, it should be a Town Hall sell-out.

And finally 23 June 1967:

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