Procol Harum

Beyond
the Pale

Birmingham Town Hall, UK

Setlist • 11 September 1974

Brooker Cartwright Copping Grabham Wilson

Bringing Home the Bacon
Conquistador
Cerdes (outside the Gates of)
Beyond the Pale
As Strong as Samson
Power Failure
Grand Hotel
The Idol
The Poet [latterly 'Without a Doubt']
The Devil Came from Kansas
A Salty Dog
Nothing but the Truth
Butterfly Boys
Simple Sister

Encore:
Eight Days a Week
A Whiter Shade of Pale

Roland from BtP writes: I was living in Leamington Spa and playing with Café Theatre at the time; Linda was in principle living in Cambridge, but term had not quite started and we'd decided to go to this gig, without any planning or forward booking. We arrived in the labyrinth of central Birmingham in the middle of a beautiful evening and found the isolated, stately Town Hall without difficulty: but getting inside was another story, as the building appeared to be completely shut up. We'd missed the support, and as we stood outside in frustrated bewilderment we heard Procol-thunder striking up inside: Bringing Home the Bacon.

I bashed on the blind panelling of one arcaded door, hoping to raise some janitorial figure. I had a five-pound note ready in my hand (enough to pay for several tickets, in fact), but no real idea what I was going to say. Immediately the door opened and two people came out ... perhaps they'd been there for the support act only (the band was Strife, and the NME review slated them), but they certainly were in a hurry to leave! Brushing aside the proferred banknote, they invited us to go up and sit in their seats, and we negotiated the fire-stairs and found our way into the gallery in double-quick time, long before the opening song was over.

'Our' two seats were conveniently on the aisle, and everything else was sold out. No management or staff were on hand to challenge us so we sat down and counted our blessings. A few rows in front, to our right, was the sound desk, and when Keith Reid left his station there to go backstage I shook his hand as he passed: first time we'd met. The view and the sound where we were sitting were superb and the playing likewise. Linda's favourite item that night was The Idol; I think I was most struck by Power Failure and the backlit drum-solo from Barrie Wilson, downstage left.

Afterwards the streets were thronging with fans and I remember the crowd parting to give way to a little Mini with 'Procol Harum' written in white capitals inside the windscreen. If you're the hardcore PH fan who was driving that car that night, get in touch! Linda and I didn't get to see Procol again until much later in the Autumn. No idea why we didn't go to the nearby Coventry gig the following night; presumably I was playing or otherwise occupied. One never thought, in those days, that these gigs would run out one day. 'If I'd know then what I know now ... '

16	songs altogether:	2	From Procol Harum	0	from Shine on Brightly
2	from A Salty Dog	0	from Home	2	from Broken Barricades
2	from Grand Hotel	5	from Exotic Birds and Fruit		from Procol's Ninth
	from Something Magic		from The Prodigal Stranger	2	non-album tracks
1	Non-originals	This setlist came to light on 10 May 2008 on the back of a scruffy envelope: it wasn't written down until immediately after the show, so we're not absolutely certain that the order is right; the songs, however, are correct. 'The Poet' is counted above as a non-album track, though it would later surface on Procol's Ninth.

Have a look at other set-lists

1974 Procol tour