Procol Harum in Vienna, 11 February 1992
Images © Peter Skorpik
The Austrian composer Peter Skorpik (hear an excerpt from his 1993 Concerto for violin, viola and strings here: the solo viola is played by Valery Oistrach, grandson of the great David Oistrach) sends us these three pages of excellent Procol Harum pictures. They were taken just two days before the recording of the fine Live at Utrecht CD ... with which any fan of New Testament Procol Harum is surely already familiar.
Peter writes, "As far as I can remember the choice and sequence of the songs was the same as shown on CD Live in Utrecht: but I'm sure Procol Harum were performing at least two additional songs. They started with Conquistador and of course ended with A Whiter Shade of Pale.
"Although being a composer of classical contemporary music I'm keeping my eye on my first love, Procol Harum: indeed there are only some few bands in Rock worth mentioning. The most remarkable of them is Procol Harum: superb sound, varied chords and rhythms, romantic reminiscences in words and music and not least "the importance of being earnest". I'm still deeply impressed."
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Gary Brooker, suitably Viennese in his coiffure, playing what looks like a grand piano ... in fact it is the Faux piano made by his former schoolmate Barry Sinclair. Though it is elegantly marbled, one can see from the structure of the top of the leg that it is not of conventional manufacture. |
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The 'stage picture' of the band on this early New Testament tour was much as it had been at the end of the Old Testament: organ in the middle, flanked on the right by the guitar and on the left by the bass (in this case, Dave Bronze). |
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Mark Brzezicki, stage left, with his favoured Pearl kit. He seems to be wearing a robe of silk ... familiar already from the cover of the Utrecht CD. Note the stately pillar of the concert hall |
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Matthew Fisher is caught here in repose, but clips from various bits of promotional TV at the time show that he moved about quite a bit during this standing-at-the-organ phase ... |
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Absolutely characteristic Whitehorn photograph ... wonderful lighting! |
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Gary appears to have started a song ... Geoff takes a quick refreshment break |