'Fits of horrified laughter ...'

Dave Ball, Cozy Powell and that review

In January 1999 Procol Harum's 1971 guitarist Dave Ball dropped a note to 'Beyond the Pale' as follows:

I was just browsing through the site when I came upon that review from Steve Peacock [excerpt below]. I remember cracking up when I read it. Cozy and I shared a flat in Hampstead at the time, so I must confess we both decided he should reply (he had really liked the concert, by the way). So the letter [excerpt below] was one of our two possibilities – the other one would have gotten us arrested!

What I found particularly amusing, considering that Peacock purported to be a bit of a fan of the 'old' Procol, was that he had mistaken the bleeping guitar line in Shine on Brightly for a guitar solo. This 'solo' was simply part of the construction of the song. There was an actual guitar solo later in the piece, where I distinctly remember playing six or seven notes and changing their order about a bit.

I had some fun later when I left PH for Long John Baldry. Sounds wanted to interview me. I insisted that I would only be interviewed by the redoubtable Mr Peacock. He was somewhat uncomfortable as I recall. (I think I could be a little scary in those days).

Ah what fun we had! What a shame that Cozy has buggered off and can't join in this reminisce.

All the best,
Dave