Procol Harum
Beyond |
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April 2012:
Further down this page you can read the first news we published about Dave
Ball's autobiographical writings – well, it's been eleven years but it's
released now (23 April) and you can
download it
from Amazon.com or
amazon.co.uk (the
book is in Kindle format: if you don't have a Kindle reader, you may download
a reader application for PC, Android or Apple from Amazon)
Dave writes to 'Beyond the Pale' (April 2012): 'I am in the process of finishing the standard E-Pub format – which will run on eg iBooks, Blio, Sony (I think), and so on. This version will feature imbedded graphics and such like goodies – pictures and photographs where appropriate. Kindle was simply not ready for this. I expect to complete this within the next three weeks.
BTW: the book comes right up to date ... much has been added since the extracts below were featured at BtP: we quote: 'It is the 22nd April 2012 at 19:32 hrs. right now, and my Solo Album – Don’t Forget Your Alligator”; this Book – Half Hippie - Half Man ; together with a Bedlam Album are all due for release tomorrow (so you had better hurry up and say good bye then! Ed.) It is a completely new phase of my life, and it is all very exciting. As soon as this is all squared away and all the bits and pieces are out in the (online) market place, I begin the preparation work for my next album and the next book (well, the sequel to this, which learned tome I have already started!)'
September 2001:
BtP was delighted to get a long, friendly call from guitarist/author
Dave Ball during his September return to the
UK from New Zealand, where he now resides.
Part of his trip has been devoted to preliminary negotiations with three London publishers, who are at present considering Dave's very amusing autobiography. This is a racily-written account of his Birmingham childhood, his rock and roll apprenticeship, his big-time breaks with Cozy Powell and with Procol Harum and his gold-selling album, to say nothing of his astonishingly varied career thereafter, in countries round the world.
It deals frankly and warmly with family life, various partnerships, and even with playing in the Palers' Band – including the all-night socio-economic summit at the Jarvis Hotel – and it has an entirely extraordinary conclusion worthy of Douglas Adams. Where it differs from conventional rock biographies is in its variety, unpretentiousness and wit, though it does possess a fair share of classic on-the-road revelations and surprises, which will make it a must-have for the Procoholic.
An early draft of the manuscript attracted Gary Brooker's attention, who put Dave in touch with a publishing contact. Matthew Fisher has also read and enjoyed a preliminary version. BtP will doubtless have more news on publishing progress when Dave has had longer talks to the various editors. His favourite at the moment appears to be the excellent independent SAF Publishers, who also published the Procol Biography by Claes Johansen. Meanwhile we twisted Dave's arm for a few characteristic extracts …
| Sutton Coldfield: Catholic frogs and a stunt budgie |
| Our new house at 190 Rectory Road was quite splendid. It
was a detached house with its own garden, which lead to a park which had
magnificent woods and fields to play in. There was a local cricket ground
that had a beautiful thatched pavilion (until it got burnt down! Not us…
honest!)
The trees in the woods, many of them hundreds of years old, were better than any Disney World. A superb stagnant pool resided at its heart. Every year it became the breeding ground for the local frog population, and the shallows would be overflowing with the semolina-like frogspawn … Dave takes pocketsful of frogs to Communion … numerous pets expire … heart-stopping times for Dinky the budgie … read more of this extract here |
| Sports: Dave Ball in training |
| I was never a keen sportsman in those days. Some kids just
seemed to be natural gymnasts; ball players and athletes. The only sport
I could say I excelled in was …
Dave waxes philosophical about human stature … read more of this extract here |
| Procol Harum Seek Tall Guitarist With View to Long-Term Relationship |
| Something like that anyway. People often ask me if I had
been a big fan of Procol before I joined them. Well, the truth is, I had
loved A Whiter Shade of Pale and enjoyed Homburg and Salty
Dog immensely, but I knew none of their other stuff, nor even that
they still existed.
I did actually have a brief encounter with them back in 1967. My band of the day – Chicago Hush –were shopping for flower-power clothes … Dave meets Procol in hippie days … samples of the Brummie accent … auditions with Gary and Keith … 'why me, do you think?' … read more of this extract here |
| Toujours L’Amour - Osaka |
| Those of you familiar with PH music may recall a tune called
Toujours L’Amour. It is a hopelessly
romantic song and we decided that it deserved to have a cocktail drink
named after it. So, in our hotel in Osaka with a willing barman, fully
stocked bar, no expense limit and some of the most dedicated drinkers the
British Isles could throw up we set to the task …
Dave specifies exactly how to make this cocktail … some Vietnamese weed … Bringing Home the Bacon three times … a bollocking the length of Hamlet … read more of this extract here |
| Me and the Press, or The Press and I |
| Another amusing event related to interviews and publicity
generally. After the Edmonton album was released we were naturally anxious
to get good reviews from the music press. Chris Wright, our Manager, came
out to somewhere in the mid-west to see us and to bring news of the press
reports. We had been reviewed by all of the major British music papers
including Sounds, NME and Melody Maker. Chris was
relating the gist of the reports in a dressing-room before a gig. I happened
to be out of sight …
Chris Wright drops a clanger … gasps of incredulity … read more of this extract here |
Since leaving the UK Dave has also been working on a volume of verse,
Without Rhyme or Reason, many of whose poems would have made excellent
pseudonymous contributions to our Too Many Poets feature (perhaps they
did??). In Reid Between the Lines, for instance, we get a hint of
the Ballistic motivation to write:
| Keith wrote
once in times gone by
Write it down – it might be read He may be right, but who knows why Best I do it before I'm dead. |
As Dave has a large amount of artwork produced over the years, there's a possibility that he may eventually come up with a book combining that side of his talents with the verse-writing.
But his career as a musician is by no means on hold. He has been writing songs in preparation for a solo album, which, he reports, will feature a variety of styles of music: he is looking at present for a record company to take an interest in that project. He also reports that the Big Bertha and Bedlam CD re-releases have been reprinted … BtP will of course be reviewing these when the label gets round to sending promo copies!
| Dave Ball's page at BtP | SAF Publishers …visit their site |
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