January 2002: Procol Radio Marathon # 4 from UCLA

From A Salty Dog: 
Juicy John Pink, Crucifiction Lane

From Home … Plus!:
The Dead Man's Dream, About to Die, Procol Has A Laugh, Dead Man's Dream Remix, Rockin' Warm Up, Still There'll Be More (instumental version), Barnyard Story Remix, Piggy Pig Pig Remix 

from Something Magic: 
Something Magic, Skating on Thin Ice, Wizard Man, The Mark of the Claw, Strangers in Space, The Worm and the Tree

Let's listen to a handful of those numbers in more detail. 

At Manchester the Palers' Band flung its net wider than it had done before, playing not just Procol material, but also exploring songs from Matthew Fisher's solo catalogue, and one from Gary Brooker's … the very tricky Trick of the Night, which features the moody muted trumpet of multi-instrumentalist Peter Clare, and delicate percussion from master-drummer Wolfgang Lieke. 

They also put the horns to work for a funky Brickyard Blues, written by Allen Toussaint, and famously played by Procol with Frankie Miller in London in 1975. This song is one of the all-time favourites of bluesy vocalist, Lou Fowkes, who was doubling that weekend as Procol Harum's publicist.

Lou also sings Holding On on this selection, and Not Her Fault … maybe the first time Matthew Fisher had ever heard his fine ballad played live. We're also going to listen to the rare song, One Eye on the Future, which was toured by Procol Harum in their last line-up of the 1970s: this version is sung by our special guest in the studio today, Allen 'One-Eye' Edelist. 

As well as flinging its net wider in terms of songs, the Palers' Band did some adventurous re-arrangements for this gig: they took the delicate baroque flavours of Matthew Fisher's Theme from "Separation" and turned it into a heavy Walpurgis-like barnstormer; and Roland Clare recast Robin Trower's Crucifiction Lane – which has some of Keith Reid's own favourite words – into a powerful version, almost more Procolesque than the original recording.

Here, then, are Brickyard Blues, Holding On, Not Her Fault, One Eye on the Future, Trick of the Night, Theme from "Separation", and Crucifiction Lane from the Manchester Palers' Band.

You have just listened to seven songs from the third gig of the Palers' Band; and we'll be featuring items from the second Palers' Band, who played in Norway at the home town of 'Beyond the Pale', in a future marathon on uclaradio.com.

One member of the Palers' Band, who was not able to fly to Manchester from Australia for this concert, was Stephen Wallace, nicknamed 'Doc' by Gary Brooker. 'Doc' Wallace sent a recording specially to be played at the Palers' Convention, featuring himself on all instruments, and assisted on vocals by young members of his family and their friends. 

Holding On for DNA is his tribute to Procol Harum's famous fan, the novelist Douglas Adams, who had died earlier in the year. This moving number incorporates voice recordings made at Redhill in 1997, when Douglas Adams introduced Procol Harum at the 30th anniversary party for A Whiter Shade of Pale … a party that was the forerunner of all the subsequent Palers' Conventions, and undoubtably a springboard in the resurgence of Procol and their fanbase. As we learnt in the last marathon from uclaradio.com, it was at that party that the two webmasters of 'Beyond the Pale' first met up.

So let's dedicate this performance of Holding On to the memory of Douglas Adams, and to all the hitchhikers of this galaxy who have been amused and inspired by his writings.

From No More Fear of Flying:
No More Fear of Flying, Say It Ain't So Joe, Pilot, Savannah, Angelina, Give Me Something to Remember You By, Let Me In, Old Manhattan Melodies

From Strange Days:
Living in a Dream, Take me for a Ride, Strange Days; MF's A Salty Dog Returns: Dance Band on the Titanic, A Salty Dog Returns, Pilgrimage, Linda's Tune, The Rat Hunter, Green Onions. 

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