What's New at BtP ...

18 September: the forty-seventh hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Procol Harum's show at The Dominion, London, on 24 November with the BBC Concert Orchestra and Crouch End Festival Chorus will be recorded for later transmission on BBC Radio 2. Advance tickets will be available to readers of this website on 19 September – the organisers are giving Palers a week's grace, to choose the seats they want, before the rest-of-world publicity starts (thanks, Chris).

Details of how and where to apply will be announced through our Fresh Fruit newsletter on that day.

If you want the booking details, re-subscribe to the new Fresh Fruit newsletter by clicking this link. Your old subscription won't work any more, and there will be no more mailings through the former Fresh Fruit mailing system – too many people's ISPs were creating delivery problems and there were too many 'dead' addresses on it.

Notes: BtP is not planning to organise a Basecamp Hotel this time; there are many hotels close to the theatre, and a hotel-booking link for you to click in the imminent Fresh Fruit mailing. What we shall do, however, is organise a fans' meal on the evening before the Procol gig, once we know how many people are coming to London. There's a Facebook Event page for the gig – do sign up if you're coming – at the new 'Beyond the Pale' Facebook page, where we hope gigs and events will stand out rather more clearly than they do among the adverts and promotions and music clips that predominate on our former Procol Facebook group.

Updated this useful page

Congratulations to pre-eminent Paler/scholar George Lovell FRSC (get his Procol book) ... read about his recent distinction here

Fixed a dating blunder here and here (thanks, Jim)

Added sad news from Denmark (thanks, Niels-Erik)

Added surprising news from Southend on Sea (good luck,. Riga Steve)

All visitors to this website are welcome to send their own accounts of recent Procol events (words, pictures, etc): please have a look at the Guidelines for Submissions page

Selling well and sounding fantastic: Procol Harum download-only album ... Some Long Road ... [click to download]

Follow 'Beyond the Pale' on Twitter (http://twitter.com/ProcolHarum1)

12 September: the forty-sixth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Procol Harum will be appearing at the Dominion, London, on 24 November 8 pm with a hundred musicians from the BBC Concert Orchestra and the Crouch End Chorus. The show will be recorded for later transmission on BBC Radio 2.

This was the news we'd originally hoped to bring you at Gary Brooker's birthday party in May this year ... negotiations have been continuing ever since (as have fans' speculations) and the contract was in fact signed only last night – so you read it here first.

Advance tickets will be available to readers of this website (thanks, Chris) on 19 September, and details of how and where to apply will be announced through our Fresh Fruit newsletter on that day.

What do you do when you find that your musical chops have turned to minced meat over the years?
Added a very detailed and interesting account of one Procol fan's adventures in July 2014 (thanks, Paul)

In which connection, why not re-read another Adventure in Paler Wonderland from 2003?

8 September:

We are moving Fresh Fruit, our occasional Procol Harum newsletter, to a new system. If you wish to subscribe to the list, or to maintain your current membership, you need to subscribe again using this link. No more mailings will be sent via the old system.

4 September: the forty-fifth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

RIP Glenn Cornick

Added a great page of pictures taken when Procol Harum played at Ridgefield in July this year (thanks, Bert)

So, whose is the floating head on the cover of Procol's tenth album? It's taken us five years to get round to adding the liner notes for the Salvo re-issue of Something Magic, commissioned from and written by Roland from BtP (thanks, Chas)

'... another dimension of life and universal truth'
At last ... the meaning of A Whiter Shade of Pale! Add another explanation (thanks, Peter)

Procol Harum's high-profile orchestral gig in London on 24 November 2014: BtP and PH management are still awaiting news of how to book. As soon as we know what's what, we'll alert fans via the Procol newsletter, 'Fresh Fruit'. To get on the mailing list for this, sign up here.

28 August: the forty-fourth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

RIP (last month) Paramount Diz Derrick

21 August: the forty-third hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Procol Harum will play a high-profile orchestral gig in London on 24 November 2014.
'Beyond the Pale' visitors will enjoy a few days' priority booking before the tickets go on general sale (thanks, Chris); more details by the end of the month. The special booking arrangements will be released through the Procol newsletter, 'Fresh Fruit'. To get on the mailing list for this, sign up here.

To remind yourself of how brilliant the last two orchestral Procol shows in London have been, reacquaint yourself with the Rainbow pages (1972) and the Barbican pages (1996) (judging by the periodicity of those two recitals, we were not due another such triumph in the capital until 2020).

14 August: the forty-second hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Just a few more hours ... to the end of another historic Procol Harum tee-shirt – donated for auction once again by Gary Brooker –
which will help raise money BtP's next Paler gathering, and also support the BJ Wilson fund (thanks, Gary and Franky)

Another New York Procol tribute band, 'Shine on Brightly', makes its debut today with a 60-minute set at Hawkins Park, City Island, NY at 5:00 PM. Entrance is free. The band includes Ken Stasion, guitar and voice; Mike DeRosa, all keyboards and voice; Chris Scott, drums and voice; Tom Mahoney, bass. City Island is a picturesque island which is part of The Bronx, NYC. 'The weather promises to be lovely and there are a number of seafood restaurants in the area with an alehouse across from the park,' writes Ken.

7 August: the forty-first hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

RIP Peter Sculthorpe

NEW! Added a page about the eBay sale of another historic Procol Harum tee-shirt – donated for auction once again by Gary Brooker –
which will help raise money BtP's next Paler gathering, and also support the BJ Wilson fund (thanks, Gary and Franky)

Added a good illustrated report of Procol Harum in Paris, France ... pictures shot from Row Q! .(thanks, Charlie)

Have a click here and search for 'procoralan'. Strange how, even in an anecdotal, non-musical article like this, the writer for some reason thinks of Procol as a 'progressive' group. (thanks, Charlie)

All visitors to this website are welcome to send their own accounts of recent Procol events (words, pictures, etc): please have a look at the Guidelines for Submissions page

29 July: the fortieth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added a page about the eBay sale of a historic Procol Harum tee-shirt – donated for auction by Gary Brooker – which will help raise money BtP's next Paler gathering, and also support the BJ Wilson fund. (thanks, Franky and Gary )

Also added a page about a similar shirt that you can also get from eBay ... though the price may not suit everybody

'Mysteriously whisked to the backstage area, I was asked to take a few pictures ...'
Added a nice portrait of Procol Harum 2014; also updated pictures here and here (thanks, Bert)

Added a page of excellent 'insider' pictures from Procol Harum's symphonic Ottawa concert – thanks to a member of the choir (thanks, Diane)

23 July: the thirty-ninth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

17 July: the thirty-eighth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

11 July: the thirty-seventh hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

The BtP team with many good friends are enjoying hot and hectic days of music-making and associated revelry in Brooklyn in preparation for tomorrow's Convention. (thanks, Gary C, Lorraine, Tito and many others)

July's Procol Harum convention – In Held 'Twas N.Y – at Westbury, Long Island is SOLD OUT.

But there may still be tickets available for the Procol Harum concerts in USA. See here for details

3 July: the thirty-sixth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Very sorry tonight to report the death of our friend Pirjo Aalto, a core Procol fan – friendly, enterprising and committed – who organised the Helsinki Party in October
(and sent BtP such brilliant cameos, such as this). Our very sincere condolences go out to her family and many friends in Finland and beyond.

July's Procol Harum convention – In Held 'Twas N.Y – is at Westbury, Long Island in nine days' time.

There is just under a handful of tickets remaining. Please note you cannot come in on the door ... entry for both parties is by advance booking only.

Follow these links to make your booking: the Convention itself, what you get and what you'll do, and how to book your place; Basecamp Hotels for the Manhattan and Westbury gigs, and special codes that will get you good accommodation rates.

26 June: the thirty-fifth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added a good review – illustrated – of Procol Harum playing at 'three Glastonburies rolled into one day' (it also explains about 'The Brooker Test') (thanks, Tom)

July's Procol Harum convention – In Held 'Twas N.Y – is at Westbury, Long Island in two weeks' time.

We have been able to add ten more tickets for the Westbury Convention, but when they are gone, they are gone and no more bookings can be accepted.
We originally planned ticket sales to end Friday 4 July, but now expect the eight remaining tickets to be sold earlier.

19 June: the thirty-fourth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

July's Procol Harum convention – In Held 'Twas N.Y – is at Westbury, Long Island.

Follow these links to make your booking: the Convention itself, what you get and what you'll do, and how to book your place; Basecamp Hotels for the Manhattan and Westbury gigs, and special codes that will get you good accommodation rates.

12 June: the thirty-third hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added some photographs of Late-Night Nuptials during the Procol celebrations in Freising (thanks, Fred)

29 May: the thirty-first hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Happy Birthday Gary Brooker 1945

We're updating the site in the wee small hours after Gary Brooker's excellent birthday party. 50+ people from many nations ate, briefly sang, and laughed together at moving/fascinating/funny/rhyming speeches by the likes of special guest Eberhard Schoener, the BtP team, and of course Gary himself. A Methuselah of bubbly made a spectacular appearance, having been transported all the way from Rome. A notable guest was Emilia Wallace, whom Redhill veterans will remember as 'The Australian Baby in the Audience' in 1997! Procol themselves got a fine reception and mingled extensively. John, Thomas and Geoff from the crew got a special mention, as of course did Gary's former teenage gang-mate, and now manager, Chris. The food was tremendous and the brewery staff, specially Gaby and Patrick, could not have been more attentive. Photographs and more info to follow when 'the dust has settled'. Thanks to everyone who came and made it such a lovely occasion. Special thanks to Stefano, Andrea and Paul for administrative work, groundwork and much more. Meanwhile, if you have pictures from the evening, please send them to webmaster@procolharum.com.

Added pictures here of 'Broken Barricades', the ensemble who will share the stage with the Palers' Band at our Convention in July (thanks, Larry)

22 May: the thirty-first hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Gary Brooker's relatively recent recording of A Whiter Shade of Pale (with orchestra and backing singers), which was scheduled for June transmission on French TV, actually went out on 17 May.
The programme (as mentioned here) was called Les Années Bonheurs... watch it here (thanks, Chris)

Nice to hear that Procol Harum have been 'dusting off the cobwebs', in a new rehearsal environment, though the available photograph isn't packed with clues as to what we'll be hearing as the 2014 tour starts (thanks, Josh)

Everyone in the Palers' Band of 2014 should by now know have their schedule of music to work on for our very short rehearsal in July. If by chance you haven't received it, send us an e-mail

Our attention is drawn to this extraordinary Procol sonic montage (thanks, Charlie)

Keep the orders coming in to the BtP online Procol store, but please be aware that there will be no despatches, nor 'dispatches', between now and 2 June 2014

15 May: the thirtieth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

8 May: the twenty-ninth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Procol race: in a few hours' time bidding closes on two historic Procol Harum tee-shirts – here and here – donated for auction by Gary Brooker, which will help raise money for the enhancement of the In Held 'Twas N Y Convention . Have a look and see which one you fancy ... or if you can guess which one (the UK or the US one) will command the higher final price.

Added some more shots from Paul Jones's Christmas bash in December 2013(thanks, Heidi)

July's Procol Harum convention – In Held 'Twas N.Y – is at Westbury, Long Island. It comes at the midway point (in space and time) among Procol's three consecutive New York gigs, Manhattan, Westbury, and Westhampton

Follow these links to make your booking: the Convention itself, what you get and what you'll do, and how to book your place; Basecamp Hotels for the Manhattan and Westbury gigs, and special codes that will get you good accommodation rates

1 May: the twenty-eighth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added a link to a page about a historic 1991 tee-shirt donated to BtP by Gary Brooker, to be offered for sale to fans to raise money for the enhancement of the In Held 'Twas N Y Convention (thanks, Gary)

Added some pictures relating to Great Balls of Fire on the way home from Procol Harum's Christmas meal in December (thanks, Heidi)

24 April: the twenty-seventh hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

July's Procol Harum convention – In Held 'Twas N.Y – at Westbury, Long Island is 60% sold-out in the first week, so don't delay with your booking!

It comes at the midway point (in space and time) among Procol's three consecutive New York gigs, Manhattan, Westbury, and Westhampton

Follow these links to make your booking: the Convention itself, what you get and what you'll do, and how to book your place; Basecamp Hotels for the Manhattan and Westbury gigs, and special codes that will get you good accommodation rates

There's a week left to sign up to play with fellow fans in The Palers' Band: click here to be part of this excellent party. The sign-up period it closes on Walpurgis Night, 30 April.

Added a link to a page about a unique tee-shirt donated to BtP by Gary Brooker, to be offered for sale to fans to raise money for the enhancement of the In Held 'Twas N Y Convention (thanks, Gary)

Added a Procol ticket here and here – from the most celebrated US Procol show in recent memory (thanks, William)

Added a brief report of a hitherto-unlogged Procol Harum concert in 1967 (thanks, Joe)

17 April: the twenty-sixth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added all the details you need for booking July's Procol Harum convention – In Held 'Twas N.Y – at Westbury, Long Island.

This excellent affair comes at the midway point (in space and time) among Procol's three consecutive New York gigs so it could not be more convenient of you're going to any – or all! – of the gigs in Manhattan, Westbury, and Westhampton

For those wondering what BtP's Procol Conventions are typically like, here are some more as-yet unseen photos from the end of the last one (including the longest photo-caption at BtP to date) (thanks, Andreas)

Everybody who signed up for Gary Brooker's 69th birthday party has received an e-mail with details about paying and other matters; a number of people have not yet responded, and we look forward to hearing from you in the next ten days.

Tomorrow sees the publication of Koko Ura, a Procol Harum biography every bit as good as the recent one by Henry Scott-Irvine. More details if you click this link

Great response to this year's April Fool's day stunt. Big thanks to all of Procol Harum for the special recording :-). It seems that demand has crashed the server – our apologies! – but this has now been fixed so just click here. Judging by various reports, some fans didn't realise that the brief SatNav jingle is not the main event: the full file is an mp3 download with the complete new No Exit number, and full spoken comments (and two excerpts played live by two more PH numbers) from the whole band. You get this by choosing one of the operating-system links towards the foot of the page ... recommended link is I would like to hear the sample clip.

Thanks to the various people who were confused about our RIP entry on April Fool's day. There's still a few every year! Suffice to say it was not the only silly item in that update.

18 April sees the publication of Koko Ura, a Procol Harum biography every bit as good as the recent one by Henry Scott-Irvine. More details if you click this link (thanks, Jorma)

Added three links – here, here and here – to some intriguing reviews of Alexa Ray Joel (daughter of Billy 'A Salty Dog' Joel) singing Procol Harum: 'It’s a great idea, and could be a hit single' (thanks, Charlie)

3 April: an interim bulletin

Gary Brooker's 69th birthday party: booking is now closed, and payment details will be added to the page in coming days.

Commiserations to people who would like to mingle with fellow Procol Harum fans at a BtP party, but who can't make the Freising celebrations. Don't despair ... still there'll be more ... as the famous song advises: see here

Commiserations also to anybody who couldn't figure out reasons for the inclusion of certain items in our April Fool posting below.

April Fool's Day: the twenty-fourth abdominal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

RIP Carlo Curley

Now available: Procol Harum's new download-only album, all recorded live during recent tours (many fans will be intrigued to hear the Wuppertal orchestra, playing Procol, for the first time, and to hear the band play a great tune from the Brooker solo album, Echoes in the Night). Entitled ... Some Long Road ... it features twelve live songs, produced by Dennis Weinreich, which sound amazing. Liner-note and photography are by Bert Saraco from the USA.

... Some Long Road ... is available from the 'Spinshop'. As with past download albums, fans will get the recording through BtP (but not from BtP).

Something else you can get to through BtP (but not from BtP) is the brand-new recording of previously-unheard material, undertaken by the Procols in recent days and including a brand-new number, No Exit.

This is a promotional tie-in for ... Some Long Road ... : so if you own – or know how to drive – a motor-car ('automobile') then read more about it here (thanks, Elsabina). The website at http://www.phsatnav.info/ contains new Procol recordings for you to add to your collection, and to help you find your way around the world.

Last call for Gary Brooker's 69th birthday party, to which fans are of course invited. Booking will close on Wednesday 2 April; after that, we're full, and we'll be sending individual mails to the participants with details of how, when and where to send payment.

BtP is thrilled to learn of all the Procol Harum Conventions being planned around the world, and looking forward to attending as many as possible thanks to the new system. Congrats and kudos to resourceful fans in Benghazi, Honolulu, Wyoming, Hyderabad, Scunthorpe, and Magnetic Island. The most innovative idea comes from new tribute band, 'Blight on the Orchard', who will be performing the entire Brooker/Reid catalogue – necessarily at high speed, and missing out the hard words – in an empty basement during Procol's not-yet-announced gig at Cleveland, Ohio.

Following his recent recording session in Paris, watch out for Gary Brooker's performance on French television – the programme is called La Bonne Année, and it will be broadcast in June: more info when we have it (thanks, Chris)

Watch out for Procol publicity in Jukebox Magazine, Paris Match, Rolling Stone, Télérama, and Le Parisien : more details here.

Procol Harum's Paris show is selling well – can we remind Procol fans of the Dunkirk gig, a mere 150 miles to the North, and readily accessible from Belgium and the Netherlands too?

26 March: an interim bulletin

'Beyond the Pale' is happy to announce another orchestral show for Procol Harum: click here (thanks, Chris)

24 March: the twenty-third hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Shifting commitments oblige us to change the update to Monday-night/Tuesday-morning during coming weeks. Let us know if you prefer this to the established Wednesday-night/Thursday-morning time-slot: webmaster@procolharum.com

So nice that Gary Brooker's 69th birthday party, to which fans are of course invited, is going to be such an international affair. 'Beyond the Pale' will be sending further details shortly to fellow-guests coming from Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and the USA.

Orders are piling in for Procol Harum's new InsideOutside album. You can pre-order now for just 8 American dollars [we expect stock from the factory during next week] and Amazon have now got it advertised under the correct title (thanks to all who wrote to them to get that sorted out)

Added nine more pictures to this page about a Procol music gig in the USA lately (thanks, Tito)

20 March: the twenty-second hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added freshly-confirmed Procol Harum concert dates in America: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here (thanks, Chris)

Added a couple of pictures to this page about a Procol music gig in the USA lately (thanks, Tito)

13 March: the twenty-first hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

6 March: the twentieth hebdomadal bulletin already, for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

To date 'Beyond the Pale' has archived information about only a handful of Procol Harum double compilation albums that contain In Held 'Twas in I: here, here, here and here. It's interesting to be able to add a fifth, here (thanks, Paul)

Added a second booking-contact for Procol Harum's fast-selling upcoming Parisian gig (thanks, Paul)

Following last week's link to a Hall of Fame story, here's another (with film-clips) which allows you to vote, if you like, about whether Procol Harum should be 'inducted' (thanks, Charlie)

Orders at the BtP online store, from music fans in the areas where upcoming gigs have been announced, are depleting the stock of remaining Salvo reissues from the 'Regal Zonophone' years. We have a few copies of Home still, and a very few of Shine on Brightly: that's it.

Added news of gigs from two Procol Harum tribute acts, in America, and in Denmark

Reminder about the recently-published book by Roland from BtP, in which Keith Reid's words feature. We know it's not a major feature, but that adds to the fun of the reminder. And lots of people are enjoying the seriously hilarious writing, which is the main thing. If you're a satisfied customer who lives within striking distance of Bristol, and would like to come to the book-launch recital on Monday – where Frank Key will be performing, and a couple of Procol offerings will be played – send us a message soon

27 February: the nineteenth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added a couple of screenshots of a valuable disambiguation that has recently been added to a pair of unrelated Wikipedia pages (thanks, Charlie)

Added useful information to this setlist page (follow links if you have never seen 70s' footage of Procol Harum playing The Blue Danube)

20 February: the eighteenth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

' ... mi sentivo preso da una specie di nausea ...'
Added a translation of A Whiter Shade of Pale (some of the English text used containing variants of unknown provenance) into Italian, with some intriguing notes about RMS Titanic (thanks, Carlo)

'... «la voix» de Procol Harum, celle sans qui A Whiter Shade of Pale ne signifierait sans doute plus rien ...
Added some prepublicity for Procol Harum's show near Dunkirk (thanks, all)

Nice to see Procol Harum up in the top ten live albums – alongside Frank Sinatra and Count Basie / Sam Cooke / The Rolling Stones / Otis Redding / Delaney and Bonnie / The Allman Brothers Band / The Who / Simon & Garfunkel / Bob Marley & The Wailers – on this very recent radio show; note the unstable spelling values both there and at this related page (thanks, Charlie)

Add a graphic – knowledgeable, imaginative, professional, ethical, dynamic, innovative, friendly, modern, creative, etc – about Procol Ltd (thanks, Charlie)

13 February: the seventeenth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

RIP Shirley Temple

Added a couple more forthcoming Procol Harum gigs, here and here – one of the purlieux as obscure as the other is renowned (thanks, Chris)

6 February: the sixteenth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

RIP Andrea Trower

Added news about Matt Pegg here and here (thanks, Matt) ... see also The Daily Mail if you can bear the idea of reading such a publication

Added a short review of A Salty Dog (thanks, Anvil) ... anybody know where this was first published?

Added links to two excellent films – indispensable for Procol organ fans – here (thanks, Ian; thanks, Don)

30 January: the fifeenth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

RIP Pete Seeger

Made some changes here, here and here in the continuing interests of clarity (thanks, Bill)

23 January: the fourteenth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added a poster here for 7 November 1970 (Procol Harum and the ABB) ... (thanks, Andrew)

16 January: the thirteenth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

As promised on the Procol Facebook page: clips of six short pieces by Chris Copping for your listening pleasure (thanks, Chris!)

9 January: the twelfth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added the last in our annual series of Christmas puzzles. Good luck with the instructions that follow it: just read 'em carefully and all will be well.

Added the eleventh in our annual series of Christmas puzzles. Don't forget to have another look at the prizes and be ready with your preference order – all ten letters, please! – something like: "AGBHCIDJEF"

You're also very warmly advised to have the answers to hand in printed form: download and print from here and you'll have a big advantage when you're working, against the clock, tomorrow night.

The final clue is scheduled to appear on this page (press F5 or 'Reload' to ensure your browser shows the latest version) at midnight London time (GMT), when Saturday 4 January becomes Sunday 5 January.

Added the ninth in our annual series of Christmas puzzles. Don't forget to look at the prizes.

Added the seventh in our annual series of Christmas puzzles. Don't forget to look at the prizes.

Added the fifth in our annual series of Christmas puzzles. Don't forget to look at the prizes.

Added the third in our annual series of Christmas puzzles. Don't forget to look at the prizes.

Added the first in our annual series of Christmas puzzles – good luck everyone! They get easier and easier, as the prizes get more and more munificent.

Added a page about how to play the upcoming Christmas Puzzles, and a page containing all the answers in advance, which should make it a lot easier for you to win your own choice of the Excellent Prizes. We strongly advise you also to download the pdf of the answers and keep it to hand as a check-list so you can keep track of your answers as the daily questions are revealed (starting on Christmas Day, 25 December 2013)

18 December: the ninth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

If you want to be first to know about any subsequent additions, you need to sign up for the 'Fresh Fruit' newsletter: click here to join – it's free, of course, and only comes when there's something you'll really want to know.

'16 Vestal Virgins' tee-shirt ... get yours now! See here (thanks, Holger). Only XXL remains in the men's sizes; no problem still with supplying the women's sizes (Christmas presents, gents?)

11 December: the ninth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added a link to a peculiar robotic introduction to 'A Salty Dog' ... 'Weird facts?' Nothing that I didn't know, however (thanks, Charlie)

Add a page about the 'No Stiletto Boot' album: various customers are asking for a setlist and personnel, having received their bootlegs – which of course have no artwork – in the post

Added a fifth and final page of pictures taken when Procol Harum played Gothenburg this autumn (thanks, Charlie)

4 December: the eighth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added a fourth page of pictures taken when Procol Harum played Gothenburg this autumn (thanks, Charlie)

Added a link to a good short film in which composer Josh Phillips from Procol Harum (note the badge on his jacket) reflects on the orchestration of his very well known SCD theme (thanks, Josh)

Coming soon ... BtP's annual Christmas Puzzles! This year we promise you an excellent selection of prizes and questions so easy you could answer them in your sleep, probably.

Added a hitherto-unrecorded 1971 Procol Harum date here, and a ticket here ... search for 'Coyote' in each case (thanks, Bobby)

27 November 2013: the seventh hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added a fourth page of 'insider' images of recent Procol activity (thanks, Thomas)

Added another fan's personal concert list (thanks, Gerrie). Please go here to see more, and find out how to add your own

Added the link to a Gary Brooker solo song (thanks, Aldo)

Added a link to a 1968 performance of A Whiter Shade of Pale which is interesting because of variations in the bassline, BJ's drumming, and reconsidered passages in the definitive organ line. Intriguingly Gary Brooker retains the very quiet 'mm' in his vocal (thanks, Charlie)

Added a link to the first (1969) TV performance of Whisky Train (thanks, Charlie) about which Prof. Copping writes to BtP, 'Shocking clip – sound probably came from an early Matthew-produced version – but seems to have been cut by a blow torch)

Added another review of the Procol Harum book published last year (thanks, Dmitry)

Created archive pages for two years'-worth of BtP's hebdomadal updates, here and here

Following staff holiday, we have now despatched the outstanding orders from the BtP shop

20 November 2013: the sixth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Note please that there are at present no despatches from the BtP shop. These will resume at the end of the month. Keep the orders coming in.

13 November 2013: the fifth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added a fourth generous page of official pictures of Procol Harum's public performance with the orchestra, choir and dancers in Wuppertal during April: this page has a somewhat Terpsichorean emphasis (thanks, Marcus und Dirk)

6 November 2013: the fourth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added a second page of pictures taken when Procol Harum played Gothenburg this autumn (thanks, Charlie)

30 October 2013: the third hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added one more page of great band's-eye pictures of the recent tour (thanks, Geoff)

Added a third generous page of official pictures of Procol Harum's public performance with the orchestra, choir and dancers in Wuppertal during April (thanks, Marcus und Dirk)

Added some illustrations, but crucially no nudity, from a 'Procol Harum virgin' as The Commander put it in Stockholm (thanks, Björn)

Reread another article here in which Procol Harum keep their clothes on almost 40 years earlier.

In which connection, you might enjoy this article; and here is another (illustrated) on the subject, which contains the views – on spontaneously deciding to undress – of the "small, fuzzy-haired Ray Royer, billed as 'a mystical, dreamy, elf-like man who claims to have twice gone round the magic circle of meditation'"

23 October 2013: the second hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added some more great band's-eye pictures of the recent Procol tour (thanks, Geoff)

Updated personal concert lists here, here and here ... does your own need bringing up to date? Let us know

Added a first page of pictures taken when Procol Harum played Gothenburg this autumn (thanks, Charlie)

Southern FM in Melbourne, Australia, have released their Gary Brooker interview (recorded 5 October) set up via BtP (Jens gets a mention): listen here (thanks, Nick)

16 October 2013: the first hebdomadal bulletin for Year #17 at 'Beyond the Pale'

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In particular:	Details of the Convention itself, what you get and what you'll do, and how to book your place
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