Previous years of hebdomadal BtP updates

Year 20, ending October 2017

7 October:

Added the recent Procol Milan setlist with some characteristically terse and under-written song-notes from one of the BtP webmasters ... how the band used a standard B3, how the antics of local knock-off merchants were received, and how Procol triumphed over adversity with the encouragement of a very warm Italian crowd, and much more twaddle besides – including a new Brooker fishbag snap.

Added the recent Procol Pordenone setlist, barebones version

Added the recent Malta setlist (thanks, Andrea)

6 October:

Added two Procol Harum concert dates for 2018 (thanks, Chris)

Added the recent Procol Turku setlist (thanks, Hannu)

2 October:
RIP Tom Petty

Added the recent Procol Tampere setlist (thanks, Hannu)

1 October 2017 : the fifty-first hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added the recent Procol Helsinki setlist (thanks, Sari)

Added song-by-song notes to the recent Procol Hengelo setlist

Procol Harum are now on course to play the Finnish gigs that were previously shadowed with contractual uncertainty. If you're there, please send setlists and so on to webmaster@procolharum.com . There will be Fiftieth Anniversary Tour Booklets, lotto-badges (click image, right) CDs and tee-shirts at the merchandise stall.

Added a fourth and final page of pictures of Procol on stage in Edinburgh (thanks, Bernie)

30 September 2017:

25 September:

Added lots of notes to the recent Procol Odense setlist

Updated pages here, here , here and here

24 September 2017 : the fiftieth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added Roland's hitherto un-archived liner notes for 2014's Inside / Outside compilation ... a somewhat paradoxical project, to compile and present a history of the band using no recordings from the Regal Zonophone days, supplying the deficit, to an extent, with some excellent live tracks on a second CD

Added a third page of pictures of Procol on stage in Edinburgh (thanks, Bernie)

22 September:

Added the recent Procol Randers setlist (thanks, Matilde)

21 September:

Added the recent Procol Copenhagen setlist (thanks, Roland)

Corrected the Fulda setlist (thanks,  Karl)

20 September:

Added the recent Procol Hamburg setlist (thanks, Roland and Holger)

19 September:

Added the recent Procol Essen setlist (thanks, Roland and Herbert)

17 September:

Added the recent Procol Stuttgart setlist (thanks, Hans)

16 September 2017 : the forty-ninth bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added the recent Procol Mainz am Rhein setlist (thanks, Hans)

Added Roland's hitherto un-archived liner notes for Procol Harum Then and Now, a compilation from 2010 that was destined for the non-Paler market, as is clearly reflected in the notes

Added a second page of pictures of Procol on stage in Edinburgh (thanks, Bernie)

Added a Procol-related Berlin ticket here (thanks, Gorslas)

A little research goes a long way, it seems; added more to this page from writers who presumably feel they're 'taking turns in trying to pass it on' (thanks, Peter)

12 September:
Added the recent Procol Fulda setlist 

Added the recent Procol Nürnberg setlist (thanks, Jochen)

10 September 2017 :  the forty-eighth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added the recent Procol Berlin setlist (thanks, Peter)

Added a brief Billboard interview with Gary Brooker (thanks, Peter)

Added Roland's hitherto un-archived liner notes for Secrets of the Hive ... a fair-length essay from the 2007 compilation, containing plenty of juicy morsels about Bj Wilson's saxophone practice, and the Gary B and the Reidtones recording

Added a first page of pictures of Procol on stage in Edinburgh (thanks, Bernie)

Added links to two controversial Procol-related items on YouTube, here and another at here (thanks, Lukas)

Added a Keith Reid link (here / here) (thanks, Tony)

7 September:

Added the recent Procol Zoetermeer setlist

6 September:

Added the recent Procol Heerlen setlist 

3 September:

Added Procol's recent Procol Veruno setlist (thanks, Stefano)

2 September 2017 :  the forty-seventh hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

RIP Walter Becker

Procol Harum have started their European tour! Added this evening's setlist from Tallinn (thanks, Markku)

Added a must-read page about a marvellous raffle in which you can win a signed copy of the planned multi-CD/DVD Fiftieth Anniversary Procol Harum boxed set (thanks, Mark)

Added, somewhat chronoclastically, a selection of Veruno soundcheck pictures from 3 September (thanks, Stefano)

Tweaked several pages of Procol words, in order to improve consistency and readability ... here, here, here, here, here, and here (thank you, Peter) 

Added some good sleuthing, which solves the mystery of Procol Harum's 1993 Buffalo gig, which really happened at Darien Lake NY (thanks, Bert)

26 August 2017 :  the forty-sixth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

' ... I hate to say it, but we may have witnessed one of the world's pop icons for the last time ...'
Added a review of Procol Harum at Zoetermeer in 2016, whither they will be returning in a few weeks' time (thanks, Anvil)
If using Google Translate, please note that 'vijfsnarige' doesn't mean 'low-fat' or 'scary', and 'zeemeeuwen' are decidedly not 'guinea-pigs'

Read two pieces from The Guardian, written ten years apart, commemorating the 40th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of A Whiter Shade of Pale

Remedied the want of a couple of links here, and sorted out some issues of consistency here and here (thanks, Peter)

Added the words of a hitherto missing Brooker/Reid song (thanks, Bill)

20 August 2017 :  the forty-fifth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

' ... eleven selections that bely a common trait of acts of their vintage – that meticulous modern production values disguise falling standards of composition ...'
Added a new review of Novum (thanks, Stuart)

Procol Harum (in a sense) closed the Edinburgh Military Tattoo this week ... was it with The Piper's Tune? Clip here (thanks, George)

‘… still a vital force, fifty years on … the quality of the compositions and musical performance is rock-solid …’
Added a new review of Novum (thanks, Gerrie)

Major Procol Harum fan wins outstanding prize! Michel Birrell, one of a number of Palers who were at the UK's three-day Cropredy Festival last week, bought one ticket to support Fairport Convention's choice of charity, and in hopes of winning a signed guitar. Out of 20,000 punters, many buying multiple tickets, he was the Only One ... see the signatures here (including Richard Thompson! Procol ancestors are circled in red). Michel reports, 'When I checked out my prize guitar when I got home it contains the autographs of not only Feast of Fiddles but also past and present members of Fairport Convention and many of the other musicians and singers who performed'.

Watch these pages for news of a Procol Harum raffle starting in a couple of weeks' time, and the excellent prize associated. The odds in this raffle will be very much shorter ... much more in the buyer's favour! To keep abreast of developments, sign up for the 'Fresh Fruit' Newsletter.

Indelible AWSoP alert! After his remarks on BBC Radio 4's Counterpoint music quiz, we imagine all right-thinking Procol fans will be backing Eddie Alexander, from Essex, to win the current tournament: listen here (shortened, for emphasis)

12 August 2017 :  the forty-fourth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

RIP Glen Campbell

' ... a country living without any type of military defense [sic] surely would be opening itself up to numerous 9/11-style attacks and utter chaos ...'
Added a bonkers review of Novum (thanks, Nate)

'It's the kind of music that takes up where I Am The Walrus takes off'
Added the opinions of Rick Nielsen (of Cheap Trick) about A Salty Dog (thanks, Barbie)

Added another, somewhat delayed, page of 2016 Convention photographs (thanks, Inger)

Added a whimsical re-evaluation of A Salty Dog (thanks, Charlie)

Added a clarificatory codicil to this review page (thanks, Jim)

Updated this vital page in several ways

Added a Haapsalu review with pictures (thanks, Peter)

Added a graphic here, and a good brief review of a recent Procol gig here (thanks, Jim)

29 July 2017 :  the forty-second hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

RIP the very entertaining Kitty Lux

Added the setlist from Gary Brooker's solo show in Haapsalu (thanks, Markku)

Added a Procol press clipping here (thanks, Paul)

'Nothing lasts forever ... only Procol Harum'
Added a link to a fifteen-minute online interview in which Gary Brooker talks about Novum, and Keith Reid, and his mother [start about 62 minutes in] with an American journalist (thanks, Nimbus)

Added a brief – yet somehow revealing – review of a performance by The Paramounts (thanks, Michael)

27 July 2017 :

Novum is now available on iTunes. Link here

22 July 2017 :  the forty-first hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Just a few days now until Gary Brooker's solo orchestral gig

Added a recently-rediscovered image ... of special interest to LNER fans ...  to the foot of this page

'An explosive week, filled with mystery and muffled resentment, for Procol Harum'
Added scans and transcripts here (thanks, various people)

In this connection, time to re-read related articles here and here

15 July 2017 :  the fortieth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

' ... How much of a difference that shift in authorship credits will make to even hardcore PH fans ... is negligible, as it’s all quite identifiably Procol ...'
Added a new review of Novum (thanks, Anvil)

The author of the above piece also wrote this recent article, and was first named at 'Beyond the Pale' in this short page, which we published some while ago

Added the somewhat clunky and uncredited – yet informative – liner-note from the 'Record Store Day' release of early 1967 tracks (thanks, Peter)

Added an article 'about Gary Brooker planning a Roman ruins mega-gig' ... believe this at your own risk, of course (thanks, Macaw)

Added a final, somewhat delayed, page of 2016 Convention photographs (thanks, Uta)

Added a frustrating YouTube link to this very recent setlist (thanks, Charlie)

Still no light (sadly) to shed on to the mystery of the Procol Gear Box

11 July 2017 :

At last, tickets for Procol's 5 October show are bookable online (thanks, Chris)

9 July 2017 :  the thirty-ninth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added useful detail about Procol's Rome gig this year (thanks, Stefano)

'What stupid gits we humans are!'
Added a comprehensive new review of Novum (thanks, Peter)

Added an article about the 'Record Store Day' release of early 1967 tracks (thanks, Peter)

Modified this informative page

1 July :  the thirty-eighth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

' ...always wanted to be a pop star but I didn’t really take to it very well – I felt embarrassed by it. ...'
Added a substantial Procol feature from 1992 (thanks, Paul)

Classical Structures, Rock Motifs, and Sweeping Melodies with Unparalleled Virtuosity
Added a page about the Mobile Fidelity limited-edition reissue of A Salty Dog (thanks, Dave)

25 June 2017 : 

Procol Harum were guests (along with The Jacksons, who did an interview, but did not perform) on Aled Jones's 'Weekend' show on the UK's ITV 1.  The host chatted with Gary (and with Josh, who played a bit of his Come Dancing theme), and the band played Sunday Morning (two verses) and an excellent Whiter Shade of Pale (two verses, guitar solo, quickish ending) ... all live in the studio,  their gear neatly ranged in a small, brightly-lit corner (into which The Jacksons had briefly crowded for a photo and handshakes with the legendary band). PH sounded great. Aled Jones was genial, and actively promoted Novum. The ITV listings, and the onscreen 'coming-up-soon' banner, didn't mention Procol at all. Nonetheless ... live TV fifty years on, sounding as good as ever, and the vision director no longer ignoring the organist ...

Added graphics to pages here and here (thanks, Paul)

Added a clipping here (thanks, Paul)

Added a Melody Maker piece here, foreshadowing what must have been one of PH's longest-ever gigs,  26 songs and two huge instrumentals (thanks, Paul)

Added an Edmonton review here; if you know where this was first published, please drop us a line ... we contacted the author, but he doesn't recall (thanks, Paul)

Added a 1977 review here (thanks, Paul) (in which connection, do re-read this article and this behind-the-scenes companion-piece ... 'Brooker was in a pretty pissy mood and Reid was drunker than shit ...'

23 June 2017 :

Added a Procol Harum date in a major capital city (thanks, Chris; thanks, Roland)

21 June 2017 :

Procol Harum will perform two songs, live, on Aled Jones's Sunday morning show, ITV 1, 25 June at 8.30 am

Added an obituary for Mick Brownlee (thanks, John)

17 June 2017 :  the thirty-sixth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

RIP Mick Brownlee, Anita Pallenberg

' ... when I first fell in love with the band, there were some things I wanted to experience in real life ... to hear the great man sing the word 'profiteroles' ...  a refreshing change to the sour-faced posing of many younger bands who think they have all of the style yet have no sense of humour'
Added a thoughtful and illuminating illustrated review of Procol Harum's recent Manchester concert (thanks, Claire)

Corrected an assertion here (in the light of the solo-Brooker authorship of Somewhen) ... nice to have such detail-conscious BtP readers writing in (thanks, Jim)

Listen to the recent whimsyfest that was Gary Brooker's session with Jools Holland on BBC Radio 2 ... great version of Baby Lee, though! (thanks, Paul)

While you're at it, remember these Brooker / Holland screenshots ... here, here and here

'Of course the songwriting is not evolved ...'
Added another unevolved review of Novum (thanks, Gillespie)

11 June 2017 :  the thirty-fifth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added new Procol Harum concert dates here, here and here (thanks, Chris)

Added a well-crafted article about A Whiter Shade of Pale at 50 (thanks, Memling) ... see other material on this topic here

Added another review of Novum here (thanks, Hans / Doris)

Added a new Gary Brooker interview with several interesting offstage pictures (thanks, Steve) ... see other material on this topic here and here
Added a 'wrong wife' explanation to the page above

Added another fan's personal concert page here (thanks, Hans)

Performed hours of routine maintenance on this excellent page
 

2 June 2017 :  the thirty-fourth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

RIP Gregg Allman

Added Gary Brooker's interview from Good Times (thanks, Michael, und Hans)

Added a well-informed and appreciative illustrated review of a concert from the recent UK tour (thanks, Roy)

Added a note about the availability of new PH merchandise (thanks, Chris)

Added, here, a second ticket for an early Procol show (July 1968) that may or may not have happened (thanks, all)

' ... Novum übersetzt gewissermaßen das Exotic Birds and Fruit-Album von 1974 in die Jetztzeit – und das funktioniert!'
Added a brief but positive review of Novum (thanks, Hans)

' Procol Harum's brand of folk prog ... this feels like it could have come from almost any period of the band's history ...'
Added a very complimentary review from someone apparently pretty unfamiliar with Procol Harum (thanks, Anvil)

Added a concert mp3 from the Procol UK fiftieth anniversary tour here (thanks, Mr E)

Added a link to this page (see Set 4) that will enable to you see Gary Brooker performing a fine solo song (thanks, Jonas)

This update was compiled under the Hammond-heavy influence of the progtastic Hansson and Karlsson (thanks, Inger and Jonas)
 

26 May 2017 : the thirty-third hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added some excellent photographs from the Shepherds Bush Empire gig (thanks, Peter)

Added an illustration here

Added a joyful review of Procol Harum in Bristol (thanks, Steve)

Added a Sunday morning response to Procol Harum at the Shepherds Bush Empire (thanks, Carrie and John)

Added a picture here

Added some Procol Harum tickets here (thanks, Dave)

Added some good words about Procol Harum in Birmingham, then and now  (thanks, Dave)

Added a link to a sepia-toned AWSoP from 1968 ... the familiar film tinted

22 May 2017

Procol Harum add two more dates and one more country, this autumn ('fall'), to their Fiftieth Anniversary tour (thanks, Chris)

19 May 2017 :  the thirty-second hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

RIP Chris Cornell

' ...neither preached nor taught, but revealed through the feelings it evokes ... '
Added an authoritative, amusing, provocative and musicianly firework-show of a Novum review by one of BtP's oldest friends (thanks, Richard)

Added a Procol Harum concert in London on 8 June (thanks, Josh)

Many customer enquiries/inquiries about the fab little enamel and brass 'Fiftieth Anniversary' lapel-badges you saw on the recent Procol merchandise stand (photo, right. thanks Paul).
We're debating whether to have more made, the first batch having sold out completely on the UK tour.

Added an early line-up picture here (thanks, Tariq) and a ticket here (thanks, George)

Added a good article about Procol Harum on Tyne Tees television (thanks, Jim). See also here and here

Added an interesting, sometimes erroneous, and probably contentious piece of writing (how often do you see 'snooty' in a rock review?) that proposes 'eighteen' (in fact twenty) tracks that one ought to listen to (thanks, Miranda)

Added a link to this Procol-free page (thanks, Evan)

Updated pages here, here, here, here and here

We received a great deal of excellent material in the past week ... thanks to our many generous and eagle-eyed contributors ... so we're holding plenty over for coming bulletins

16 May 2017 :

Added the setlist from Procol Harum's Bristol show. the very best of an excellent UK tour which, sad to say, it also concluded

14 May 2017 :

Added the setlist from Procol Harum's fine Nottingham show

13 May 2017 : the thirty-first hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added the setlist from Procol Harum's Shepherds Bush Empire (02) show ... every bit as good as the Liverpool recital, and to a packed London audience!

Added a review of the Edinburgh show by a valued and prolific correspondent (thanks, Charlie)

Added a review of the Liverpool show by a long-standing friend of 'Beyond the Pale' (thanks, Phil)

' ... the patented mix of blues, rock and classical ... the album still retains the vintage Procol Harum touch ...'
Added another nostalgic, reactionary Novum review, this time from Jazz Weekly (thanks, Arturo)

' ...a decent album by a fabled band that has been in the music scene for fifty years now ...'
Added an unevolved Novum review from Grande Rock (thanks, the Fair Isobel)

Updated pages here, here and here

' ... the album's persistent jauntiness has a frail edge ... not that Novum (funny title) fails, it just doesn't soar ...'
Added a further Novum review from Metal Jazz (thanks, PJZ)

11 May 2017 :

Added the setlist from Procol Harum's Birmingham show

Added some very amusing notes on the Liverpool show (thanks, Mike)

10 May 2017 :

Added the setlist from Procol Harum's stunning Liverpool show

8 May 2017 :

Added the setlist from Procol Harum's Manchester show

6 May 2017 : the thirtieth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Procol Harum's UK tour starts today

Added the setlist from Procol Harum's Edinburgh show, the first-ever of the Novum era

Added pictures here and here

' ... a captivating image of a woman at one with both nature and music ... shades of the Beatles’ Piggies ... the syntax is purely poetic ... the theme song of the Illuminati ... Procol Harum has maintained its sound and quality ...'
Added an agreeably positive and peculiar Novum review from Rebeat (thanks, Robin)

'... an extension of a worthy legacy as well as a laudable work on its own terms ...'
Added a well-meaning Novum review from All About Jazz (thanks, Miranda)

' ... an album that drips with rock, blues and soul ... one cannot survive on just a Hammond organ ... one of the most complete albums by any line-up under this name ... groovy sort of listening experience ...
Added an insightful Novum review from Classic Rock Revisited (thanks, Nabil)

Follow 'Beyond the Pale' on Twitter (http://twitter.com/ProcolHarum1) and at the somewhat new 'Beyond the Pale' Facebook page, where we hope gigs / events can be more easily spotted than they are amid the busy newsfeed on our former Procol Facebook group.

29 April 2017 : the twenty-ninth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Procol Harum's UK tour starts in one week's time

Added full details about 13 May's pre-gig / post-gig London gathering, and the associated merchandise offer

' ... the band is alive and kicking and capable of creating a lot that is new, different and definitely classy ...'
Added a BtP review by one of our most energetic correspondents (thanks, Charlie)

'If you still enjoy what you do, why stop?
Gary Brooker himself answers the question, 'Where is Gary Brooker now?' (thanks, Malco)

Novum is far better than anyone had any right to expect: it's energetic, hungry, and swaggering. That said, it retains the trademark class and musical sophistication that makes Procol Harum iconic
Added a great review from AllMusic (thanks, Bertha)

Added a photograph of a news article from a Scottish newspaper (thanks, Yvonne)

'Odds are this will be Procol Harum's last album. Maybe that's for the best'
Added a rueful look at Novum (thanks, Pilt)

Added a recent (and not blunder-free) Novum mention from the Los Angeles Daily News (thanks, Shari)

'Brooker's voice was also Procol's sixth instrument ... singing with a lack of diction along with a pitch shifting change between the lyric's syllables'
Make what you will of this review from Prog Archives (thanks, Gretschen)

21 April 2017 : the twenty-eighth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

RIP Bruce Langhorne

Procol Harum's UK tour starts in a fortnight's time

Happy Novum day! 'Beyond the Pale' salutes Procol Harum and their manager Chris Cooke on today's release of a new album, a great critical and artistic success.
We can't wait to hear this excellent new music live!

' ... Procol Harum is not “most bands” ... '
Added a superb review and Brooker interview from The Observer ... the sort of mainstream coverage that the band really deserves (thanks, Dianne)

' ... Novum is a staunch blueprint for how best to fuse the eternally classic Procol Harum sound with modern sensibilities'
Added a good review and Brooker interview from Sound and Vision (thanks, Anvil)

'We don't fight each other. It's become what I've always thought a band is supposed to be'
Added a piece about Novum from Billboard (thanks, Marge)

Added a link to the words of the songs on the Novum album ... which also appear inside the CD booklet

' ...Going on and off stage, you should always have a man with a torch ...'
Added a brief article about the healing of Gary Brooker's 'Boxers' Fracture'

Added a brief article about Ricola to our page of scans from the inside of Novum (thanks, Timbo)

15 April 2017 : the twenty-seventh hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Procol Harum's UK tour starts in three weeks' time

RIP J Geils, RIP Alan Holdsworth

Added a page of scans from the new album, Novum (thanks, Chris)

'... two key words: 'soldier on'. And 'shine on' too – which was precisely what [Gary Brooker] did ...'
Added an ebullient, learned and perceptive write up of March's Royal Festival Hall experience by Procol diarist George Lovell (thanks, George)

Added an excerpt from a significant Pete Brown interview which touches on the theme behind the Novum songs ... as prefigured here (thanks, Chris)

Gary Brooker on BBC Radio 2, on Sunday afternoon ... 'Sounds of the Seventies': click here (thanks, Anvil)

' ...seasoned like ships' timbers the salty dogs return to the front of the queue of vintage musical athletes setting the bar very high in 2017 ...'
Added a Novum review as perceptive as its proof-reading sadly ain't (thanks, all)

Watch ex-Palers' Band musicians playing at Coachella – the Lemon Twigs – this is a new 'vintage [of] musical athletes' especially towards the end

8 April 2017 : the twenty-sixth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Procol Harum's UK tour starts in a month's time

RIP DJ Brian Matthew

' ... Gary Brooker and company prove that you can, in fact, turn the page forward ...'
Added a comprehensive review of Novum specially written for BtP by our American Correspondent (thanks, Bert, specially for the 'spawning planetesimals')

Pre-order your copies of the new album, Novum, by clicking these special links (which incidentally send a few cents to keep this website afloat): Amazon UK / Amazon USA

Added a link – here – to Procol's session on BBC Radio London with Robert Elms; the new single, Last Chance Motel, was played, and Gary, Geoff W and Josh played a new, topical version of The Blink of an Eye live in the studio. A band with a new album to promote might well have relied on airing a second hitherto unheard track ... but not the Procols ... read the variant words, in Gary Brooker's own handwriting, by clicking here

Added a link to a fan's clip of Gary Brooker signing autographs in London outside the BBC.

' ... normally Harum hits us like lightning right away; after twenty listens we forget it and move on to other things. But this time the opposite happens ... '
Added a translation, with comments, to this review page (thanks, Peter)

Very pleasing numbers of Harum completists sent BtP their orders for a free copy of the Procol Phone-taps book. The fact that all the Procol content had apparently been deleted from the transcripts did not deter them in the slightest. Well done, all!

Recommended! The 'Best Of' compilation by Paler Ronnie D'Addario, father of the Lemon Twigs but a great songwriter and musician in his own right. Click here (USA) or here (wider world)

'... it underlines why they might still alienate as many listeners as they will now attract ...'
Added a flimsy, non-committal review of Novum (thanks, Bradshaw)

George Earl writes to us, from America: Hello - There is a new video documentary about Joe Cocker, titled Joe Cocker: Mad Dog with Soul, currently playing on Netflix in the US. I assume that it is available from other sources as well. A clip of Joe singing live in concert starts around minute 46, in which there are a couple of brief flashes of BJ drumming. Stay with the clip because you will see BJ again later, from above from the back. In fact, the complete documentary is worth watching on its own merits (thanks, George)

BtP is not planning a social event in the Scottish capital, but if you're interested in an aftershow fans' get-together in Edinburgh, at 'The Green Mantle' (EH8 9JP) send a mail to organiser George Beck (g.beck3@ntlworld.com).

2 April 2017:

RIP Ikutaro Kakehashi

1 April 2017 :  the twenty-fifth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Procol Harum's UK tour starts in five weeks' time

RIP our good friend Dave Ball, two years gone, never to be forgotten

'... if Gary Brooker is on the vocal mike, then it will always sound like a Procol Harum record ...'
Added a Novum review from Music Republic (thanks, Anvil)

Added a page containing excerpts from a new Procol Harum 50th Anniversary book, with ordering link (first six applicants get it free) (thanks, various people)

' ... age-appropriate but pleasingly free of fuddy-duddy autumnal wheezing ...'
Added a Novum review from Team Rock (thanks, Bradshaw)

Added a pretty forthright letter received at 'Beyond the Pale', which claims to unravel an undivulged concept behind the Novum album (thanks, Lancelot)

' ... Brooker's vocal gravitas, elegant piano and baroque-soul melodies connecting to Procol's enchanted cosmology ...'
Added a Novum review from Uncut (thanks, Gustum)

26 March 2017 : the twenty-fourth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Procol Harum's UK tour starts in six weeks' time

'Let's not forget that it's Brooker who invented classic-rock, a style later adopted by Emerson, Wakeman and hundreds of others ...'
Added a glowing review of Grand Hotel from 1973 (thanks, Paul)

Compare with other reviews of that album ... click plenty of links here

Added a first page of photographs from the Royal Festival Hall gig, 3 March 2017 (thanks, Martin)

Added a catalogue of favourite rock moments by Steve Simels of Stereo Review ... two good Procol entries (date unknown). (Curious entries on Carly Simon and Lou Reed) (thanks, Paul)

An interesting re-release promises stereo recordings from 1967

19 March 2017 : the twenty-third hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Procol Harum's UK tour starts in seven weeks' time

RIP the great Chuck Berry

' ... a great band that play responsively to each other and follow a strong bandleader in Gary ... they found grooves and dynamics that changed from show to show as they responded to their audience ...'
Added a most intriguing page ... a glimpse into the studio diary of Dennis Weinreich, producer of Novum (thanks, Dennis)

Added the solution, and identified the winner, in our competition about the words of songs on Novum

Procol Harum extend their Autumn tour – list of dates here – to visit one of the world's most densely populated countries (thanks, Chris)

Many new goodwill messages to Gary Brooker, for which he sends his thanks. 'I shall print them off, and take them to the Palace when I go to receive my knighthood'.

10 March 2017 : the twenty-second hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Procol Harum's UK tour starts in eight weeks' time

' ... I lay there for a moment ... thought I wasn’t too bad apart from the blood ... I just started singing with new strength ...'
Added Gary Brooker's own account of last Friday's dramatic Procol Harum concert in London, UK (many thanks, Gary)

Added a page of fans' goodwill messages to Gary Brooker (there were also messages on our former FaceBook group)

Added a fine illustrated review of Procol Harum's Royal Festival Hall show (thanks, Charlie)

Added additional reviews of Procol Harum's Royal Festival Hall concert from Udiscover,  The Daily Telegraph and MusicNews

Corrected an orchestral blunder here (thanks, Peter J)

Added a link to a new merchandise website (not run by BtP) ... click here for new (2017) Procol Harum tee-shirts

Updated fans' concert diaries here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here

7 March 2017 :

Gary Brooker on Steve Wright's BBC Radio 2 afternoon show. Wright played a bit of Conquistador and a bit of A Whiter Shade of Pale, then chatted to Gary in his characteristic manner, after which a bit of Sunday Morning and a bit of Last Chance Motel were played. In this mp3 taken from the broadcast we preserve all GB's speech and the DJ carry-on, but we fade the tracks. Preserved, too, are the BBC's strange jump cuts into AWSoP (around 17.5 seconds) and into LCM (about 5.16). For those who fancy listening to the whole show, it's at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08gmhr5 and you'll hear Gary at about 2hr.42m.

5 March 2017 :

Added a brief medical bulletin about Gary Brooker's condition (thanks, Franky)

Updated this Procol/orchestral page

Listen out for Gary Brooker on BBC Radio 2, the Steve Wright Programme, from 14:00 on 7 March

4 March 2017 : the twenty-first hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added the setlist from last night's dramatic and suspenseful symphonic/choral Procol Harum recital

Added a page about Procol preparations at Tower Hill underground station (thanks, Mark!)

Don't forget to play ... our pleasantly straightforward competition is here, with its signed CD and Procol VIP-pass prizes

Added five tickets to the Procol tickets collection ... click on these links and search for 'Hamburg' each time: here, here, here, here, and here (thanks, Manfred)

Why not reread Tito Davila's Brooker interview from 1998 ... and then get further information about Gary's 'X-ray records' by clicking here (thanks, Frank, indirectly)

1 March 2017 :

RIP Ian Luff

Pre-ordering for Procol Harum's new album, Novum, is now available at Amazon.

When ordering, please use these direct links ... Amazon UK / Amazon USA ... so 'Beyond the Pale' gets a few cents per sale, which helps keep the website afloat!

Don't forget to watch Procol's Festival Hall show on YouTube: link here (thanks, Marion)

As promised, the BtP Festival Hall ticket-service (formerly on this page) was de-activated at 23:59 GMT on 1 March ... after that time the BtP team will be travelling to London and there will be no possibility of supervising it. We must have united about thirty needy customers with surplus tickets – reducing the holes in the audience. Commiserations to people whose tickets went unclaimed.

25 February 2017 : the twentieth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

RIP Peter Skellern

Just under a week to Procol Harum's choral/orchestral showcase in London's Royal Festival Hall

Enter now!
Added a pleasantly straightforward competition which will give you (a) a foretaste of the words you'll hear on the Novum album and (b) the chance to win two VIP passes or a signed album (thanks, Chris)

'My impression was that we'd sunk without trace. Nobody came along begging us to continue ...'
Added another Gary Brooker interview from 2014 (thanks, Anvil)

Added a page including details of the variant words in a version of A Salty Dog (thanks, Peter, and The Commander)

22 February 2017 :

RIP Larry Coryell

Expert music journalist Stuart Maconie on BBC Radio 6 ... a new Gary Brooker interview in which AWSoP and the new Procol Harum single, Sunday Morning, were played: mp3 here (songs edited). The programme is available here for 29 days

Maconie went on to play The Lemon Twigs ... I Wanna Prove to You

18 February 2017 : the nineteenth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

About two weeks to Procol Harum's choral/orchestral showcase in London's Royal Festival Hall

Added a Gary Brooker interview from 2014 (thanks, Anvil)

Added, to this page, a graphic showing a bafflingly shoddy piece of 1999 copy about Gary Brooker and Procol Harum, though in fact it mentions neither (thanks, Gary)

Added the Ninth and Final Part of an extensive Australian Brooker interview from 2013

Added a 1972 setlist from St Louis, Missouri – please write in if you can help identifying the mystery tracks (thanks, Jim)

7 February 2017 : the eighteenth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

RIP Ritchie Yorke

Under four weeks to Procol Harum's choral/orchestral showcase in London's Royal Festival Hall

Added a page showing Ritchie Yorke receiving his Gold Disc from Procol Harum (thanks, Franky)

Added a 1973 setlist from St Louis, Missouri – please write in if you can help identifying the mystery track (thanks, Jim)

Added Part Seven of an extensive Australian Brooker interview from 2013

31 January 2017 : the seventeenth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

RIP John Wetton

Added the transcript of a substantial and exclusive conversation with Gary Brooker about the new Procol Harum single, and album, and much more (many thanks, Gary)

Procol Harum announce a Free Concert in a country not thus far included on the 2017 tour schedule (thanks, Chris)

Added pre-sale and general-sale booking links for the O2 Shepherds Bush show (thanks, Marina)

28 January 2017 : the sixteenth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

About five weeks to Procol Harum's choral/orchestral showcase in London's Royal Festival Hall

Added a second London gig (band only!) to the UK tour in May (thanks, Chris). The London show in March is now sold-out, but please contact webmaster@procolharum.com if you are still in need of tickets

Booking for the pre- and post-show celebrations on 3 March 2017 is now suspended, and successful applicants have been alerted. If your plans change and you want to be removed from the guest-list, or the waiting-list, please let us know without delay!

Revamped a graphic here

Added Part Six of an extensive Australian Brooker interview from 2013

Added a 1974 setlist from St Louis, Missouri (thanks, Jim)

21 January 2017 : the fifteenth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

About six weeks to Procol Harum's choral/orchestral showcase in London's Royal Festival Hall

Added news about eating-and-drinking arrangements – and details of how to book – for Procol Harum fans on 3 March, extremely close to the Royal Festival Hall gig

Added a comprehensive and occasionally controversial review of the Esoteric 2CD reissue of Home  (thanks, Peter)

19 January 2017 :

Added further dates, here and here, to Procol's touring schedule for 2017 (thanks, Chris)

Also added Facebook event links here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here

14 January 2017 : the fourteenth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

About seven weeks to Procol Harum's choral/orchestral showcase in London's Royal Festival Hall

Added a page laying bare the solutions to this year's BtP puzzles

'Words cannot describe my feelings for you at this moment.'
Added some competitors' comments, good and bad

Added a link to a film in which Procol Harum's fine organist explains the genesis of his best-known/loved theme

7 January 2017 : the thirteenth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

RIP Peter Sarstedt

About eight weeks to Procol Harum's choral/orchestral showcase in London's Royal Festival Hall

Added a New Year greeting (illustrated) from The Commander (thanks, Gary)

Added some privileged backstage pictures from the Winter / Brooker Manhattan event  (thanks, Franky)

Added the schedule of prize-winners in this year's excellent Christmas conundrums

5 January 2017:

     
     

4 January 2017:

3 January 2017:

2 January 2017:

Added the ninth in our annual series of Christmas puzzles. Don't forget to sneak one more look at the schedule of fab prizes

1 January 2017: Happy New Year!

Fans in the UK were well-served this year, with three Procol gigs on home soil!  Holland, Finland and Monaco also had great shows, and the Zoetermeer Convention – not our largest party, but a memorable one nonetheless – saw Palers playing live music and again enjoying the company onstage of Geoff Whitehorn on guest guitar, and Gary Brooker MBE singing his own The Angler and (a world première) Procol’s The Pursuit of Happiness. Many thanks to all the friends who helped us organise this event, in particular Frans Steensma and our local mainstay, Hans Tammes.

[All who know them have been thrilled with the rapid ascendancy of two young Palers’ Band alumni, Brian and Michael D’Addario, aka The Lemon Twigs, who have received amazing plaudits and publicity since their début album, Do Hollywood, came out in October. They continue to namecheck Procol in their many interviews.]

Unusually there were almost as many Brooker solo appearances as there were Procol shows this year, one in Germany and four in Manhattan: all received with fervour by local audiences. We occasionally see notes on our former Facebook group from people who ‘found out about this show by chance’ or who ‘wish they’d known about the Zoetermeer Convention’. Wise up, folks! ‘Beyond the Pale’ extensively publicises these events from the moment they are contractually confirmed, as does the ‘Beyond the Pale’ Facebook Group.

Though there have been a lot of good Procol moments to look back on this year, we really do have more than one eye on the future as 2017 dawns, the fiftieth anniversary of this great band. In some ways it seems completely incredibly that Procol Harum still exists as a powerful live unit, to delight, move, excite and mystify fans after half a century. In other ways – considering the energy of fans and the enormous goodwill that emanates from so many great people involved – it seems almost inevitable. Our thanks of course to Gary, Geoff, Matt, Josh and Geoff, to manager Chris Cooke and (Strongwoman) Franky Brooker, and the great crew that presents the band on stage. A glance at the gigs list for 2017 speaks volumes about the band’s vitality. Their return to Scotland after forty years, their first UK tour for yonks, and the growing spread of substantial dates across mainland Europe … all this signals a year to remember. Bookmark the What’s New page at Beyond the Pale (www.procolharum.com/whatsnew.htm : do it now!) and sign up for the (free) newsletter (www.procolharum.com/99/newslist.htm : do it now!) and you’ll be bang up to date the minute some exciting developments are officially announced.

We’re not planning any major convention for 2017, but we know there will be great local gatherings of fans in many cities, with a lot to talk about! Meanwhile, good luck with those Christmas Quizzes ... time to size up the prizes and get to grips with the remaining few clues.

Happy 2017 from Jens + Roland
Greetings from Norway and England

Added the eighth in our annual series of Christmas puzzles. Hope you're still having fun, and still making plenty of notes along the way, to save time in the finale.

Just to recap: you can usually track down which Procol song contains a particular word (such as 'bottom') by typing into Google this formula – site:procolharum.com/w bottom.
But you can't always get what you want ... so it's worth trying as well this shortened formula – site:procolharum.com/ bottom (omitting the 'w')

31 December 2016:

About nine weeks to Procol Harum's choral/orchestral showcase in London's Royal Festival Hall

Added the seventh in our annual series of Christmas puzzles. Don't forget to gaze enraptured at the schedule of fab prizes

30 December 2016:

Added the sixth in our annual series of Christmas puzzles

29 December 2016:

28 December 2016:

Added the fourth in our annual series of Christmas puzzles. Hope you're having fun, and making plenty of notes along the way, to save time at the end.

Memorandum: you can usually track down which Procol song contains a particular word (such as 'torture') by typing into Google this formula – site:procolharum.com/w torture.
But you can't always get what you want ... so it's worth trying as well this shortened formula – site:procolharum.com/ torture (omitting the 'w')

27 December 2016:

Added the third in our annual series of Christmas puzzles. Don't forget to keep a record of your findings as you go ... and to look at the schedule of fab prizes

26 December 2016:

RIP George Michael

Added the second in our annual series of Christmas puzzles

You can usually track down which Procol song contains a particular word (such as 'seasick') by typing into Google this formula – site:procolharum.com/w seasick .
But you can't always get what you want ... so it's worth trying as well this shortened formula – site:procolharum.com/ seasick (omitting the 'w')

25 December 2016: Happy Christmas!

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

It looks, and is, very straightforward ... but it's still worth reading this page before you start

24 December 2016 : the twelfth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

RIP Rick Parfitt

About ten weeks to Procol Harum's choral/orchestral showcase in London's Royal Festival Hall

Added a page of advice and information about how to play and win the Christmas Quiz for this year

'... a loud response of howling and baying – eerie and humorous at the same time ...'
Added a third review of the Brooker/Winter extravaganza (thanks, Elizabeth)

 ' ... the song resonated very deeply with ... many, many Americans who ... are now horrified and saddened ... '
Added a fourth review of the Brooker/Winter extravaganza (thanks,Pam)

Added another handful of superb photographs from the Brooker/Winter Manhattan shows (thanks, Bert)

Added Part Five of an extensive Australian Brooker interview from 2013

Updated this useful page

Spending your Christmas money: if you use Amazon, why not visit them through these links – Amazon USA – Amazon UK – Amazon Germany – Amazon Canada .. That way, the Procol website gets a few cents' commission, which we put into parties and prizes and other fan-type pursuits. Of course, it doesn't cost the punter a penny

18 December 2016 :

Added a second review of the Brooker/Winter extravaganza, the first to come in from our illustrious competition winners (thanks, Carmen)

Tweaked the setlist from Gary Brooker's solsticial shows in Manhattan

Updated this page about the Brooker grand piano

About eleven weeks to Procol Harum's choral/orchestral showcase in London's Royal Festival Hall

Added a special, illustrated  report about Gary Brooker at the Solstice Celebrations in Manhattan  (thank you, Bert and Carina)

Added the setlist from Gary Brooker's solsticial shows in Manhattan

Added Part Four of an extensive Australian Brooker interview from 2013

Added a 2017 Procol ticket (thank you, Peter, and Happy Birthday)

Good luck to all involved in the spectacular series of four Gary Brooker solsticial performances in Manhattan (15, 16, and 17 December)!

10 December 2016 : the tenth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

RIP Greg Lake

About twelve weeks to Procol Harum's choral/orchestral showcase in London's Royal Festival Hall

Added the schedule of fabulous prizes that you stand to win in this year's excellent Christmas Puzzles (thanks, everyone)

'We're looking at different treatments of things and other people's visions of what we're singing and talking about.'
Added a Gary Brooker Billboard interview from today (thanks, Cumpo)

Added Part Three of an extensive Australian Brooker interview from 2013

Modified our popular index of Procol Harum parodies (thanks, Dettmar)

BBC Radio interview with The Lemon Twigs (scroll to 1:35:50 or so)

Added three Finnish concerts for 2017 here, here and here  (thanks, Chris)

About thirteen weeks to Procol Harum's choral/orchestral showcase in London's Royal Festival Hall

Added one more Procol Harum concert in The Netherlands for 2017 (thanks, Chris)

Added a Gary Brooker solo concert for 2017 (thanks, Chris)

'...  it's not embarrassing at all to see and hear Gary Brooker, who's in his seventies, sing songs that have been written in a wholly different era ...'
Added another review of the Helsinki show (thanks, Ville)

Added a ticket-scan, here and here

Added Part Two of an extensive Australian Brooker interview from 2013

Remember the BJ Wilson star (directions here)? We were recently sent an index entry for the Procol Harum planet (thanks, John)

Further Procol eponyms for your delight: a mountain, a racehorse, a trotting horse

About fourteen weeks to Procol Harum's choral/orchestral showcase in London's Royal Festival Hall

Added Part One of an extensive Australian Brooker interview from 2013

Added a miscellany of photographs of Procol in Finland (thanks, all)

' ... cruise control was unlocked and exchanged for pedal to the metal ...'
Added an excellent review of the Helsinki show by a dependable correspondent from Sweden (thanks, Chris)

Christmas shopping: if you use Amazon, why not visit them through these links – Amazon USA – Amazon UK – Amazon Germany – Amazon Canada .. That way, the Procol website gets a few cents' commission, which we put into parties and prizes and other fan-type pursuits. Of course, it doesn't cost the punter a penny

19 November 2016 : the seventh hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

RIP Mose Allison

About fifteen weeks to Procol Harum's choral/orchestral showcase in London's Royal Festival Hall

Please note: the BtP online store is closed for the rest of 2016. Orders placed before 1 January will experience a delay ... but will be dealt with in the New Year

'... It was Dickinson's idea to put the beard on and rough me up,' the usually clean-cut Keith explains ...'
Added an excellent new feature about the artwork for A Salty Dog, including new verbatim comments from Keith Reid ... very good Procol reading (thanks, Christopher)

In which connection, re-acquaint yourself with our existing material about the iconic album-sleeve

' ...really does generate tremendous power and is top, top quality ...'
Added a review of last week's concert in Helsinki (thanks, Pat)

Added another review of last week's concert in Helsinki (thanks, Markku: and also thanks for getting the Helsinki fans and band and crew together for drinks after the show! Great work)

NB Lemon Twigs' US tour dates are here ... and a picture of them is here Why does BtP keep mentioning The Lemon Twigs? Because they are the next big thing and they keep mentioning Procol Harum! Oh yes and they've played in The Palers' Band

14 November 2016

RIP Leon Russell

Added six more Procol Harum dates for 2017: wonderful to look forward the band's performing here, here, here, here, here and especially here! (thanks, Chris!)

Added another Procol Harum date for 2017, before the band's hotly-anticipated German excursion takes off; and another date for after the German tour (thanks, Chris!)

About sixteen weeks to Procol Harum's choral/orchestral showcase in London's Royal Festival Hall

RIP Jimmy Young | RIP Leonard Cohen

Added the setlist from Procol's very recent Helsinki concert  (thank you, Marion)

'Personally I associate with Walpurgis the spooky female figure on the first PH album cover'
Added a dry response to a fan's observations about Repent Walpurgis (thanks, Michael)

Fixed an arithmetical blunder here (thank you, Peter)

Updated this crucial page

Christmas shopping: if you use Amazon, why not visit them through these links – Amazon USA – Amazon UK – Amazon Germany – Amazon Canada .. That way, the Procol website gets a few cents' commission, which we put into parties and prizes and other fan-type pursuits. Of course, it doesn't cost the punter a penny

About seventeen weeks to Procol Harum's choral/orchestral showcase in London's Royal Festival Hall

Added a new page specifying the answer to this straightforward competition to win prime seats for the opening of the Brooker New York shows in December. It also shews the names of the three lucky winners and expresses thanks from 'Beyond the Pale' to the generous donors of the prizes.

In which connection, added a page with new publicity materials including a link to the promo film for this splendid affair: click here

Added a rare 1967 setlist here (thanks, Peter and Ken)

29 October 2016 : the fourth hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

About eighteen weeks to Procol Harum's choral/orchestral showcase in London's Royal Festival Hall

Added five historic US tour dates for Procol Harum (thanks, Forrest)

Added a ticket stub from one of the above dates here (thanks, Forrest)

One more week for this straightforward competition: win prime seats for the opening of the Brooker New York shows in December (thanks, Paul, thanks Kay).  

Added this link to more excellent work from The Lemon Twigs ... this time using Steinway grand instead of the usual range of e-keys. Listen to the 23-minute file ... three songs, and two interview segments ... Procol Harum name-checked aeound 15m 40s, incidentally, alongside Fab Paul.

27 October 2016:

There seems to be a little uncertainty about how to send in answers to the Brooker / Winter Solstice Concert posh tickets competition:

At the moment some people are disqualifying themselves by sending in responses that are not single words as requested (no need to repeat the question, nor to write a sentence or other screed from which we have to extract the winning info).

And others are disqualifying themselves by not sending their street address.

Possibly some people are quite reasonably thinking, 'How can it be a one-word answer if I also include my address?'

So we'd like to clarify!

In your e-mail, write a one-word answer to the puzzle; additionally, write your name; also write your street address; but please don't write anything else.

If there's some other matter you'd like to draw to our attention, please send that in a separate e-mail. Thanks :-)

22 October 2016 : the third hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

About nineteen weeks to Procol Harum's choral/orchestral showcase in London's Royal Festival Hall

Added nine Procol Harum tour dates for 2017 (thanks, Chris)

Added a straightforward competition: win prime seats for the opening of the Brooker New York shows in December (thanks, Paul, thanks Kay).  

And if you've already booked, you can still enter the competition and take a couple of friends, or workmates, or just your nearest and/or dearest

' ... I distinctly remember that the remix session for The Paul Winter Consort’s Icarus album was a nightmare ...'
Time to re-read this very interesting page

Added a slightly mysterious setlist from an era so remote that only a single member of the band is still touring with them now (thanks Jim)

Also, read this fine report of the gig before the above event

Added a reminder of this excellent performance of a classic song by four Procolers and a marvellous vocalist/organist! Setlist from this gig here

15 October 2016 : the second hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

About twenty weeks to Procol Harum's choral/orchestral showcase in London's Royal Festival Hall

Added a feature about an extraordinary series of four Gary Brooker performances in the USA this December (thanks,. Paul)

Added the setlist from tonight's Procol gig in the principality of Monaco, with some on- and backstage pictures  (thanks, Thomas)

Updated this news page and this gig index page

Christmas shopping: if you use Amazon, please visit their site through these links – Amazon USA – Amazon UK – Amazon Germany – Amazon Canada .. That way, the Procol website gets a few cents' commission, which we put into parties and prizes and other fan-type pursuits. Of course, it doesn't cost the punter a penny

8 October 2016 : the first hebdomadal bulletin for Year #20 at 'Beyond the Pale'

RIP Rod Temperton

Today is BtP's 19th birthday ... and it falls on a date on which we always remember the life and music of the great BJ Wilson.

' ... his mastery of the toms as he rolled subtly into sections of a tune. You don’t hear that much any more ...'

Added a Double Trouble bandmate's memoir of working with Barrie James Wilson (thanks, Chris)

Added two further pieces written about BJ Wilson's drumming in non-Procol contexts: here with Lou Reed  and here with Joe Cocker

Updated this comprehensive index and added this page

What was new on this website in past times