A third 'Beyond the Pale'

Procol Harum

Beyond
the Pale

'Beyond the Pale'

The Biography of Procol Harum … index page

Back jacket blurb: From the outset, 1967 was predicted to become 'the year of Engelbert Humperdinck'. But in May of that year along came a totally unknown and strangely-named rock group that smashed into the charts all over the world with an innovative and overpowering sound. The song was called A Whiter Shade of Pale and the group Procol Harum. Combining Gary Brooker's soulful voice, Keith Reid's enigmatic lyrics and Matthew Fisher's sweeping organ sound, it became one of the enduring anthems of the sixties and stayed at number 1 for six weeks in the UK. Over the next ten years Procol Harum continued to produced some of the best records of the era, including all-time classic albums such as Shine on Brightly, A Salty Dog, and Broken Barricades. They broke up in 1977, only to reform again [sic] to much acclaim in 1991 with a line-up including original members Gary Brooker, Keith Reid, Matthew Fisher and Robin Trower, who in his own right had already had a hugely successful career in the US. Novelist and musician Claes Johansen has spent many years researching the group's history, from their early days as The Paramounts, through to Procol Harum's status as one of the biggest attractions of the late sixties and seventies. Beyond the Pale is a profound and insightful look at one of Britain's finest rock acts.

We present a first glimpse of the front and back covers of the long-awaited Procol Harum book by novelist / musician Claes Johansen, published by SAF.

You may not recognise the publisher's name, but their catalogue looks good, including books on The Only Ones, Jethro Tull, Wire, TAFKAP, Robert Wyatt, Tangerine Dream, John McLaughlin and the wondrous Vivian Stanshall.

Our heroes seem to be in safe hands.

Improved cover-scan submitted by Bob McWilliams, who adds, 'a color corrected version ... to the skin tones; trying to calibrate to the color of the 60s' clothes, good luck.'

ISBN 0946 719 26 8
Paperback, 156mm x 234mm, 224 pages - illustrated
UK price: £12.99

SAF is associated with the famous Helter-Skelter music bookshop in London: 'We promote their books, they promote ours, and we have a joint imprint, Firefly. We started out as a joke in the pub about fifteen years ago,' laughs SAF's genial Dave Halbery, before going on to reveal that SAF was originally The Serious Arts Foundation!

As always, more information the moment we have it ...

Order from the publishers	Order from Amazon USA	Order from Amazon UK
Early news about the book	Book due in February 2000	Review in Mojo
BtP review	A review from the USA	Detailed comments from Chris Copping
Comments on Copping from Frans Steensma	Danish review of the book	A fan's comments at BtP
Review in Goldmine	Pictures from the book	Read it online