What was new at 'Beyond the Pale'

June 30:

Added two concise reports on the Bramhall Marquee gig (thanks, Richard; thanks, davelee)

Added news of a new album by a great musician who loves A Whiter Shade of Pale (thanks, Mark)

June 29: The US version of the Procol Harum DVD can now be ordered from Amazon

How could there be four completely different sets of words for one Procol Harum song, with the same tune and the same title? Remind yourself of the three here, here, here, and then check out this new one (thanks, Jorge)

Added some Whiter Shade of Pale covers to this page (search for 'Jorge') (thanks, Jorge)

June 28: RIP John Entwistle
Happy Birthday, David Knights (1945)

Added a second page of pictures from the Palers' Fair on 25 May (thanks, Jonas). More welcome!

Added a stylish Dutch Procol ticket here and here (thanks, Tony)

Tonight: a great gig in prospect from Gary Brooker, Dave Bronze, Graham Broad et al : Blues on the Farm.
Have a look at some video clips of No Stiletto Shoes' millennium concert (but do read the explanation for the strange orientation of these clips)

June 27:

Added a page that sets out to analyse the repertoire heard on Procol Harum's recent European gigs, the only tour for which we have complete and reliable setlists.

June 26:

Added a page that should have been published in the summer of 2000, but which slid under the BtP carpet … best to re-read the rest of the story first, which is accessible here (thanks Jonas)

June 25:

Added a nice Bramhall gig report, with words and pictures (thanks, Charlie)

June 24:

Added the setlist from Procol Harum's midnight set at Bramhall, Cheshire, with which the band concluded the current European tour (thanks, Charlie … who has also filed a good concert report which we hope to be able to bring you tomorrow)

June 23:

Added some pictures of Procol Harum, and fans, in Croydon (thanks, Graham)

What Old Testament Procol album depicts only Copping, Trower and Wilson on its front cover? Answer here (thanks, Beverly)

June 22: Happy birthday Bobby Harrison (1939); tonight Procol Harum play Bramhall, UK

Added an illustrated memoir of various 70s gigs played in the vicinity of Manchester UK, where Procol Harum tonight are concluding their present European Tour (thanks, Andrew)

Summer Solstice: Happy birthday Mark Brzezicki (1957); tomorrow Procol Harum play Bramhall, UK, and in a week's time No Stiletto Shoes play 'Blues on the Farm'

Procol Harum première eight great new songs in Sweden ... have a look at the earliest setlist we have so far come across (thanks, Bo and Bengt)

Added a concert ticket from October 1974 (thanks, Bengt)

Added details of a Procol gig in Honolulu (thanks, Joel)

June 20:

Added an illustrated page in which Gary Brooker promises to play Paris in 2003 (thanks, Malène)

Added a brief report on the recent Zoetermeer concert (thanks, Bert)

Danish Procol fans! Remember that there is a special supply of the Procol DVD for you in Denmark. You are welcome to order your copy of the DVD here with your credit-card, and pay only the UK price (saving yourself postage). Your DVD will be sent direct to you from Denmark: contact Morten Olsen about this. This is to compensate for the fact that stocks of DVD ran out at the Vega gig in Copenhagen, and there were so many people left without copies. (thanks, Morten!)

June 19:

Added a good miscellany of pictures and press cuttings from Procol Harum's recent excursion to Katowice in Poland (thanks, Mirek)

June 18:

Added the playlist for the recent Procol Marathon #7 from uclaradio.com (thanks, No 6) containing many mp3 sound-clips for your listening enjoyment (thanks, No 6)

Added information about the American release of the Procol live DVD (thanks, Ben) - this DVD can now be pre-ordered from CDNow.

June 17:

Added the setlist from Procol's recent gig in Poland, where they played to 3,500 people, and their arrival in the country was a featured item on the national TV news (thanks, Mirek)

June 16:

Added the setlist from Friday night's excellent – and hot – concert in the Netherlands (thanks, Ryan)

June 15: Today Procol Harum play Katowice, Poland, and in a week's time Bramhall, UK : today, the seventh Procol marathon from uclaradio.com

Added a first page of pictures from the Palers' Fair on 25 May (thanks, Jonas). More welcome!

June 14: Today Procol Harum play Zoetermeer in the Netherlands : tomorrow, the seventh Procol marathon from uclaradio.com

Added the setlist from Procol Harum's recent, fantastic gig at the Vega, Copenhagen, Denmark

If you were at this gig , where the stock of DVDs ran out early in the evening, you are welcome to order a DVD here with your credit-card, and pay the UK price (saving yourself postage). Your DVD will be sent direct to you from Denmark (thanks, Morten!)

June 13:

'Procol Harum are back' said the Croydon Advertiser, 17 May 2002 (thanks, Ken)

Did anyone take any photographs at the Palers' Fair, or 'One More Toast', in Croydon? If so, please send some in to BtP: we have none of our own and there aren't any in the pipeline.

June 12:

Added the setlist from Procol Harum's recent gig at the festival in Silkeborg, Denmark

Added the Procol Live 2001 DVD to the Shine On merchandise page, and removed it from the BtP shop where our special offer has now ended.

Added The Flower Kings and Carlos Santana to the Procol non-covers page (thanks, Larry)

June 11:

'Procol Harum eventually turned off their amplifiers to the accompaniment of three minutes of applause …'

Added some rather grudging praise for Procol in Croydon (thanks, Chris)

June 10:

Added a super article: much to agree with and much to disagree with in ' … time to reclaim PH as a great rock and pop band …' (thanks, Billie)

June 9: Procol Harum plays in Copenhagen, Denmark : Jens and Roland look forward to meeting the Danish Palers

Added more non-Procol cover versions, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle and One More Time, to this steadily-expanding feature (thanks, Sam)

June 8: Procol Harum plays in Silkeborg, Denmark : tomorrow, Copenhagen, Denmark, in a week's time Katowice, Poland: and in a fortnight's time Bramhall, UK

Added the date of the next Procol Harum marathon broadcast from UCLA (thanks, No 6)

Added the text of a message sent to Danish Radio on a significant date! (thanks, Thomas)

Added some publicity features for the weekend's Danish gigs (thanks, Niels-Erik)

Added another creative mis-hearing (thanks!) … look for 'sinful'.

Would anyone like to send in some more pictures from Croydon 2002, of the Procol gig or of the two Palers' Events?

June 7: Tomorrow Procol Harum play Silkeborg, Denmark, and in a week's time Zoetermeer in the Netherlands

Procol's contract up for sale ... and a hitherto-unknown contemporary portrait ...

Added a Brooker interview from The Daily Mail, 1969 (thanks, Phil)

June 6:

Added another picture sleeve for Repent Walpurgis (thanks, Beverly)

Added some more pictures of the early Procol line-up (thanks Dave, thanks Beverly)

June 5:

Added 'Procoholics in England!' … a résumé of the Newcastle / Croydon weekend, partly in borrowed words! (thanks, Thomas)

Added a page of Reid texts, as used on badges at the recent Palers' Fair

June 4:

Added some recent pictures of the three men who wrote In Held 'Twas in I, among other masterpieces (thanks, Sam)

Have a look at this new BBC site and hear Procol play AWSoP from 1967
(Thanks, Chris)

June 3:

'It never bothered me what the lyrics meant. It's a great record but not a great song.'

Following on from Gary Brooker's comments, published here yesterday, added a recent Matthew Fisher interview commenting at some length on various aspects of A Whiter Shade of Pale.

June 2: In a week's time Procol Harum play Copenhagen, Denmark

'As soon as that organ starts, you kind of go into a bit of a different world …'

Added Gary Brooker's comments on the meaning of A Whiter Shade of Pale as the results of the Jubilee Poll for best British recording of the last fifty years are declared.

June 1: In a week's time Procol Harum play Silkeborg, Denmark, in a fortnight, Katowice in Poland, and in three weeks' time Bramhall, UK

May was a new record-setting month for BtP: 164,527 pageviews from an average of 1,367 different daily visitors!

Added just one specimen of the numerous pieces of promotion done by Gary Brooker for the Procol gig in Newcastle that was cancelled on him (thanks, Rob)

Read what was new on this website in previous months