What was new at 'Beyond the Pale'

December 2003

December 31:

Added Dose Seven of the Christmas puzzles with lavish prizes ... (thanks, Hans)

December 30:

Added Dose Six of the Christmas puzzles with lavish prizes ... (thanks, Hans)

December 29:

Added Dose Five of the Christmas puzzles with lavish prizes ... (thanks, Hans)

December 28:

Added Dose Four of the Christmas puzzles with lavish prizes ... (thanks, Hans)

Added a picture here, and a link to more pictures from Club Riga here (thanks, Paul)

December 27:

Added Dose Three of the Christmas puzzles with lavish prizes ... (thanks, Hans)

December 26:

The Christmas puzzles – with substantial prizes – continue here ... (thanks, Hans)

Added the text of yesterday's Christmas Greeting from the BtP Webmasters to all subscribers to the website newsletter

December 25: A Merry, Merry Christmas to all of you from the BtP team.

The Christmas puzzles – with substantial prizes – start here: good luck! The quiz (an annual tradition at BtP) runs through to Twelfth Night. You can join in at any time and all you need is a pencil and an internet connection! The answer at the end will be a single word, as in previous years. (thanks, Hans)

December 24: 

Added a page introducing this year's BtP Christmas puzzles – we know that old hands will enjoy these, but we particluarly welcome all the new Procol fans who have come on board this year ... you will have a lot of fun with these new puzzles and the substantial Procol prizes are virtually yours for the taking! (thanks, Hans)

Added two tickets (here and here) to our Procol collection (thanks, Dave)

And where were Procol Harum on 21 September 1973? In LA or in New Zealand? (thanks, Paul)

December 23:

Added the setlist from the No Stiletto Shoes gig in Southend-on-Sea ... you should have been there!

Reminder: if you want any signed Procol Harum CDs, tee-shirts, posters, rarities: see the list of the Fab Prizes that you will win in this year's BtP Christmas Fun-and-Games ... why not revisit the puzzles we've run over the last six years: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002?

Many thanks to Jonas for manning the galley and playing to the gallery while the BtP team was elsewhere. We must do this more often!

December 22:

And finally, the report from Saturday's fantastic charity gig with Gary Brooker and friends, aka No Stiletto Shoes.

Simultaneously, the guys have just played yet another concert, in Southend. A setlist and report of that will certainly appear on Beyond the Pale - as the replacement cook will return the page to the competent hands of the regular webmasters, and concentrate on waiting for the baked Christmas ham to reach 74 degrees (centigrade), after which it shall be coated with egg and breadcrumbs and grilled. (Drop by in an hour or two, and I'll treat you to a slice!) Jonas signing off here - nice to have been with y'all!

December 21:

(Soon midnight):was it really a fabulous concert in Helsingborg, Sweden? Of course it was! And here - as proof (hey, as if we would need proof! I mean, we got faith, haven't we!?!) - a couple of pictures to prove it

(Dark outside - must be late): a little final dose of Swedishness before we return to the shores of England: Did you know that a few weeks ago, Procol Harum and A Whiter Shade of Pale won the "Top 500" poll, arranged by Sweden's leading "sixties" radio station, Radio Vinyl?

Swedish listeners voted our Procol Harum to the top of the list; surpassing Mr Elvis Presley, who reached an honourable second place with a thing called In The Ghetto and Mr John Lennon, who came in third with a song in his own write, Imagine. To see the results, go to the Radio Vinyl "Top 500" page.

Even more satisfying was that Procol advanced five positions since last year's poll. Perhaps the fact that Procol played a fabulous concert in Sweden the week before might have something to do with the result. (Sadly, Messrs Lennon and Presley have not been seen here up north for a long, long time. But Procol you can always count on.)

(Mid-day): when I aim my spyglass in the general direction of distant Guildford, I see - barely discernible - signs of a real treasure trove: a golden (not gilded!) setlist of 27 songs, ten musicians, very surprise guests ... So, all hands on deck! Man the boat, we'll make sail to sack that town and bring home these guilders and share them. But given the wind, we won't get there until midnight.

(Even later still): and what did Prince Charles really say when the medals were handed out? Fellow MBE Gerry Marsden reveals something in this article in the Australian Sydney Morning Herald.

(Later): nice pictures from Germany, but, hey - is this a Swedish BtP weekend, or is it a Swedish BtP weekend? I say we have to have some serious Swedish best-selling phonetic exercises here.

No setlist from Gary Brooker's concert yet, unfortunately: but let's have a look at some onstage pictures from Procol Harum at Unna, Germany (thanks, Frank)

December 20:

Do you want any Procol Harum CDs, tee-shirts, posters, rarities?

Added a list of the Fab Prizes that you will win in this year's BtP Christmas Fun-and-Games ... why not revisit the puzzles we've run over the last six years: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002?

(Even later): since Beverly did ask, nicely – a translation of the Russian page (see mention below)

(Saturday night): yes, it is Saturday night, and Our Beloved Webmeisters (OBW) are near Guildford, UK, enjoying the annual Christmas Charity Concert (CCC) by Gary Brooker (MBE) and friends. What friends? Who will play? What music? Any surprise guests? With a bit of luck, we'll get a report for the midnight update – so we'll know exactly what we've missed. Sigh.

(Early Saturday morning): Red Alert – while the former Mr Jagger (now, Sir Mick) got most of the attention in Western media when he, Gary Brooker and Gerry Marsden were invited to Buckingham Palace last Thursday (in Salon for example), here's a Russian radio station with a better judgement. (What? You want a translation? OK, but you'll have to ask me really nice...)

(Friday night): replace the cook. Yes, the weekend substitute Swedish Beyond the Pale is back online!
The regular update will be at midnight, of course, but, hey, when the cat's away, the mice will play – so anything could happen here – surprise updates at irregular intervals, perhaps? Stay tuned, check in at regular intervals and send your pirate cheers and irate sneers to your irregular weekend host...

Do you remember our late friend, Paler Peter Froning? Over the last year, since his death, his sister Mary has been working on getting his book published. The day has arrived. It's a very funny and interesting view of his year teaching English to Chinese college students in Beijing. Click here for a post card featuring a picture of the cover, a blurb and the address of the website and where to order the book.

Jens and Roland will again not (again we hope understandably) be at their desks for the next couple of nights, and BtP is kindly being hosted again in Sweden by our good friend Jonas Söderström. Click here for the updates on December 21 and December 22 (thanks, Jonas)

December 19:

Added a splendid page showing Gary Brooker MBE at Buckingham Palace (thanks, Gary; thanks, Chris)

Have a look back at the whole MBE story at BtP: Gary's official response, his message to fans, a clarificatory FAX

Added a link (here and here) to Chris Copping's own website ... a very interesting one with photos from every period of his life, and examples of his latest work (thanks, Chris)

December 18: Hear ten Procol songs live on stage in the USA, today

... that weird dichotomy which makes this band so fascinating ...

Added an enthusiastic review of Procol Harum in Islington (thanks, Richard)

December 17: Hear ten Procol songs live on stage in the USA, tomorrow

Added a page about what happened after the Procol show in Islington last Friday (thanks, Alan)

December 16:

Added some more pictures of Palers' Band rehearsals (thanks, One-Eye)

December 15:

Added some pictures to the first Islington review  (one of them is rather unsteady), and another to the Islington index-page

Added some pre-show photographs from Islington

Thanks, Jonas, for some sterling work hosting BtP for the last two days.

December 14:

Update: for those who wait, a splendid first report of Procol Harum's Islington concert (thanks, Charlie!)

Added the long-awaited list of songs played by Procol Harum at their Homecoming Gig in Islington, London ... which, all being well, we shall be hearing on 2004's DVD (thanks, Charlie and Roland)

Something to listen to: Gary's talk with Danny Baker, on BBC London's Breakfast Show on Thursday 11, is available on the net, at the Breakfast Club's Best Guest Interviews Audio Archive ... scroll down a bit to the link to the interview with Gary (Real Audio format) (thanks, Pat).

No pictures from Islington yet, though... but here are some pictures taken after Procol Harum played San Diego (thanks, One-Eye)

December 13:

No set-list from Islington yet ... but a few other things.

Added a question-and-answer session given by Gary Brooker to Spanish radio earlier in the year. The early answers are not unfamiliar but you will want to listen to all the mp3s ... find out, for instance, why Robin Trower is not on The Well's on Fire ... (thanks, Carlos)

A certain Mr. Jagger joined Gary Brooker at the Royal Palace in London to collect their MBEs on Thursday, Sue Leeman reports for AP: read it at Salon or Yahoo (thanks, Jonas)

From time to time, 'Beyond the Pale' reports on the use of the phrase "A Whiter Shade of Pale" in common parlance. Perhaps it should be "'A Whiter Shade of Pale' used as a stock phrase by reporters world-wide"; apparently the phrase can be used in almost every context, from Rugby to politics, from swimming to dengue fever. In any case, it's a good reminder of the fantastic impact of the song; the music and the words. So, here's the most recent: used as a headline for this story about a village in South Africa (pdf copy here) from the International Bureau of the British Local Government Association.

December 12: Procol Harum play London tonight

Jens and Roland will not (we hope understandably) be at their desks for the next couple of nights, and BtP is kindly being hosted in Sweden by our good friend Jonas Söderström. Click here for the updates on December 13 and December 14 (thanks, Jonas)

Added a review of Procol Harum at Unna, Germany (thanks, Frank)

December 11: Procol Harum play London tomorrow night

Added the setlist from the Procol gig in Unna (thanks, Frank)

Gary Brooker can be heard twice on Thursday's radio in London: the 8 am Danny Baker show on BBC Radio London (click here to listen online), and on LBC at 3.15 pm or so (click here to listen online). 

If you enjoyed the young Canadian, Charlie A'Court, playing the blues on the recent German Procol tour (PH covered a Charlie tune the last night they played together), please be aware that their Cologne set will be aired on German television next year; it can be received with digital satellite equipment: WDR3, night of 15 to 16 February 2004, 1.00 am. There's one of Charlie's songs from the Rockpalast online here (thanks, Frank)

If you're at the Islington gig, nip along Upper Street and into Oddbins, the wine shop, to say hello to the chap in the Salty Dog tee-shirt ... it's Neal, son of Diane Rolph, PA to Gary Brooker.

December 10:  

Gary Brooker can be heard twice on Thursday's radio in London: the 8 am Danny Baker show on BBC Radio London (click here to listen online), and on LBC at 3.15 pm or so (click here to listen online).

Added the setlist from Procol Harum's concert in Ulm, Germany (thanks, Jutta; thanks, Hanspeter)

December 9:

Added some pictures from the recent Procol gig at Aalborg, Denmark (thanks, Lene and Henrik)

And here is an interesting link: video clips from Procol Harum's recent concert in Tubingen (thanks Carlo)

December 8:

Added some more pictures from this summer's Palers' Festival (thanks, Jan)

December 7:

Added the setlist, with a good illustration and comments, from Procol in K-town, and a ticket here (thanks, Hans; thanks, Jutta)

Hear ten Procol songs live on stage in the USA, 18 December 2003 (thanks, Wilson)

To our German friends! We have not yet been sent Procol song lists for Augsburg (25 November), Halle (20 November), Ulm (4 December), Unna (15 November), or Worpswede (14 November): if you were there, please write in and tell us what songs were played.

December 6:

Added the monster set from a monster concert to 1,200 people in Zurich, the penultimate show of Procol Harum's triumphant 2003 tour (thanks, Ernst; thanks, Werner)

December 5: Procol Harum play London in a week's time, and tonight in Zurich, Switzerland

Added the setlist, with comments on the performances, from Procol in Tubingen (thanks, Jutta; thanks, Achim)

Fans with Islington tickets to dispose of: one from Martin Bostock, or two from Roy Young: click on the link to contact either vendor

December 4: Procol Harum play tonight in Ulm, Germany: German tour poster

'And here it was again. This incredible, indescribable Procol Harum feeling ...'

Added an illustrated review of Procol Harum at Bamberg, Germany (thanks, Andreas)

December 3: Procol Harum play tonight in Tubingen, Germany: German tour poster

Need a ticket for the Islington Concert? Martin has one spare. Contact him here if interested.

With a new DVD suddenly in prospect, might we expect current Procol concerts to be dropping some of the material on their last concert DVD and evolving a set with fewer overlaps?

Read what was played at the recent Regensburg concert (thanks, Jutta), check out the clarified sound-check note from Mainz (thanks, Jim-Bob), and draw your own conclusions ...

December 2: Procol Harum play tonight in Kaiserslautern, Germany: German tour poster

Added the Procol Harum setlist from Mainz ... which, if we interpret it correctly, might be viewed as an excellent omen for Islington (thanks, Jutta)

Added the sound-check notes from Freiburg (thanks, Jim-Bob)

December 1: Procol Harum play tonight in Regensburg, Germany: German tour poster

'Gary agreed when I speculated that Islington will be a very special concert ...'

Added the setlist from Procol Harum's recent Freiburg gig (thanks, Paul)

Read what was new on this website in previous months