What was new at 'Beyond the Pale'

December 1999

December 31: New Millennium's Eve

Have a crack at our seventh contingent of wondrous prize quizzes ... and if fewer than seven answers are right in the end, those who did answer correctly will get more than their fair share of prizes!

If your name is not Scrooge, please re-read our urgent appeal from a Paler in Venezuela (thanks, Guillermo)

And at BtP, where we can never resist a pun, the first Procol century will finish in Finnish, with the words of the song that started it all, and a translation too (thanks, Rainer)

Tomorrow this page will be updated as the Kiribati Islands enter the new millennium ... the first place in the world to do so ... at 10.00 in the morning GMT or 11.00 in the morning Central European Time

December 30: BtP update was late tonight because the webmaster was taking a full backup in the light of Y2K (better safe than sorry)

Please sample our sixth parcel of prize quizzes ... not too late to start if you didn't log in over Christmas: just go back to page one and work forward.

To vote A Whiter Shade of Pale best song of the Millennium, follow the Rolling Stone 'Daily News' link on the top left of this page.

See how our friends in the Netherlands rate Procol Harum, who have four songs in their Millennial poll (thanks, Eric / Wilfried)

119 Palers have already subscribed to our 'Beyond the Pale' Newsletter: make sure your name gets on the list: full details here.

December 29:

Enjoy our fifth episode of prize quizzes ... remind yourself of the fabbo prizes!

87 Palers subscribed to the 'Beyond the Pale' Newsletter within 24 hours of its announcement. Make sure your name gets on the list. Details here

Added even more wishes for Santa. Have a look at the Palers' wishes for Christmas and the new millennium, and send your wishes here to make sure Santa will be busy in the new millennium..

December 28:

Show your Haroid skill ... and use your common-sense ... on our fourth collection of prize quizzes ... If you can't log on for a few days, don't worry: you can join in any time over the twelve days and catch up easily.

Subscribe to the Beyond the Pale Newsletter: details here

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December 27:

Came out with our third dollop of prize quizzes ... not too late to start if you didn't log in over Christmas: just go back to page one and work forward.

Updated information on Stand by Me, the CD by the Danish artist Flemming "Bamse" Jørgensen featuring a cover version of A Whiter Shade of Pale. (thanks, Flemming)

December 26:

Adduced our second helping of prize quizzes ... you could already be well on the way to winning some Harum goodies. If you can't log on for a few days, don't worry: you can join in any time over the twelve days and catch up easily.

Added even more Christmas wishes. Have a look at the Palers' wishes for Christmas and the new millennium, and send your wishes to Santa here.

December 25: Happy Christmas and a Cool Yule to all Palers!

Added a third Christmas Salutation to the Palers from Gary Brooker (thanks, Gary)

Added the first of our twelve Christmas quizzes ... the prizes are listed here, and the details of what to do are here

Please re-read our urgent appeal from a Paler in Venezuela (thanks, Guillermo)

December 24: Christmas Eve: BtP wishes a Merry Christmas to all Palers !

If your name is not Scrooge, please read our urgent appeal from a Paler in Venezuela (thanks, Guillermo)

Added a page fully introducing our new Christmas prize quizzes ... a true Scandinavian tradition, reflecting the fact that the BtP server is in Sweden, and one of its proprietors is in Norway!

The quizzes start tomorrow ... but if you can't log on for a few days, don't worry: you can join in any time over the next twelve days and catch up easily ... good luck to all!

Added even more Christmas wishes. Have a look at the Palers' wishes for Christmas and the new millennium, and send your wishes to Santa here.

Send a Christmas gift to somebody in need. Visit the Hunger Site and donate free food.

December 23:

Added a setlist from 1974, Copenhagen

Congratulations to Mark Ennis from Lancaster PA, the 300th Procoholic to sign in on our Fans' list. Please click here to add yourself if you wish

To vote A Whiter Shade of Pale best song of the Millennium, follow the Rolling Stone 'Daily News' link on the top left of this page.

Added even more Christmas wishes. Have a look at the Palers' wishes for Christmas and the new millennium, and send your wishes to Santa here.

December 22:

Yes, to all those who have written in! BtP will be running our traditional Twelve Days of Christmas Procol quizzes, starting on 25 December: please have a look at our excellent prizes and decide which one you want! We have signed CDs, shirts, souvenir programmes, badges ... and the first three copies of the Procol Biography to be made available! (thanks, Westside, Strange Fruit, SAF publishing, Shine On, and Gary Brooker)

299 PH friends on the Fans' list now: click here to add yourself if you would like the distinction of being Number 300

To vote A Whiter Shade of Pale best song of the Millennium, follow the Rolling Stone 'Daily News' link on the top left of this page ... you can see how the song fared in the Dutch Poll on the same subject (thanks, Eric / Wilfried)

Added even more Christmas wishes. Have a look at the Palers' wishes for Christmas and the new millennium, and send your wishes to Santa here.

December 21:

Added a new, illustrated interview with Geoff Whitehorn ... in which he doesn't mention Procol Harum at all! Incidentally if you want to play like him you could do worse than buy January 2000's Total Guitar which comes with instructional CD (thanks, Christian!)

Maybe too late for Christmas but lists some collectable Procol Harum items. Added a link to it from our For Sale section.

Vote A Whiter Shade of Pale best song of the Millennium! Follow the Rolling Stone 'Daily News' link on the top left of this page.

December 20:

Added a bilingual page concerning Gary Brooker's recent interview / performance at the London Barbican (thanks, Antonio / Martin)

296 PH friends on the Fans' list: can we get to 300 by Christmas when the four winds blow? Click here to add yourself if you would like to ...

Added even more Christmas wishes. Have a look at the Palers' wishes for Christmas and the new millennium, and send your wishes to Santa here.

December 19:

Sex and drugs and rock'n'roll ...

Added a snippet about Procol Harum's psychedelic trip (thanks, Tormod)

To prove Keith Reid's point about his words passing into common parlance, also added a fragment of a flagellation fantasy to this AWSoP page : not for those of a nervous disposition or high moral standpoint (thanks, ... er ... do you really want your name attached to this discovery?)

December 18:  

'The real revelation here though is young guitarist Dave Ball'

Added a write-up of the PH Musikladen film from Psychotronic Video (thanks, Oleh and Michael)

Please have another look at yesterday's Midt-fyn Festival item since, by initially putting up a misleading link, we may have deprived you of seeing some interesting pictures (sorry, Per!)

December 17:
Added an illustrated setlist from the Midt-Fyn Festival in Denmark (thanks, Per)

We've got a lot of new PH friends on the Fans' list: can we get to 300 by Christmas when it's bound to snow? Click here to add yourself if you would like to ... thanks and Hello to all those who have recently come on board!

December 16:

Added a useful page about Procol Harum at the Isle of Wight (thanks, Len)

December 15:

Added a fascinating and copiously-illustrated feature, the story of the early Procol Harum and the Tavistock ticket (thanks, Tormod)

December 14:

Added a Danish Homburg to our list of cover-versions ... and an astonishing nine Finnish cover-versions to our list of foreign-language Procol renderings; our friends the Finns are the only nation we know of to have covered As Strong as Samson, and they've done it twice! (thanks, Rainer)

We've got a lot of new PH friends on the Fans' list: can we get to 300 by Christmas when the four winds blow? Click here to add yourself if you would like to.

Added a codicil to our recent Bamse interview (thanks, Niels-Erik)

Added to our new feature for Christmas: the Palers' wishes for Christmas and the new millennium. Send your wishes to Santa here

December 13: Norway World Champions in handball after beating France in the finals!

Started our new feature for Christmas: the Palers' wishes for Christmas and the new millennium. Send your wishes to Santa here.

Added a page of good pictures of Procol Harum No 13 onstage in 1995 (thanks, Axel and Erik)

December 12:

Added a timely page about Gary Brooker and Evita, which US Palers will be watching on television today (thanks, Beverly)

December 11:  RIP Rick Danko

AWSoP is No 1 in Denmark, and it turns out that the recording is by a lifetime fan: added an interview with Bamse specially conducted for this website (thanks, Claes, and welcome abaord)

Updated the Wishbone Ash link on this Matthew Fisher page (thanks, Joan)

December 10:

'All hands on Gus': added a page about the non-collaboration of Brooker and Reid on the song Word of Mouth Parade (thanks, various contributors)

December 9:

Please find and enjoy some pictures of last night's Brooker event at the Barbican (including one of Brooker and Reid together) (thanks, Peter) a preliminary report on the presentation, and the biographies and suchlike from the official handout: to say nothing of a useful index page for the whole affair.

Also: remember to visit classicrockpage.com and vote Procol Harum albums as your favourite top 3 albums. We voted BJ Wilson as the best drummer: now let us get the music on top as well.

December 8:

It's been a while in the BtP pipeline but when you read our report on Greg Panfile's new record you will see why this was the perfect date to publish it on.

December 7:

'Brooker and Fisher ... fold up forever the crazy quilt of influences that Procol Harum patched together ...'

Added the Rolling Stone review of Gary Brooker's Echoes in the Night (thanks, Dr J)

Today: Gary Brooker in interview with Douglas Adams, + Brooker performing live and on film, + public question-and-answer session at The Barbican, London: details here Tickets still available!

December 6:

We have just learned that Gary Brooker has suddenly ordered a piano for his appearance tomorrow at The Barbican, London: if this changes your mind about attending, please find booking details here.

Have a look at The Beanstalk (entry 133) where Peter Solley has come online and made his comments about the Albert brothers article we recommended a few days ago (thanks, Peter)

While looking at The Beanstalk, you should read message 132, which is a greeting to the Palers from BJ Wilson's sister, Pamela.

Also on Peter Solley, have a look at Record Collector December 1999 issue, pointing to an amusing connection between Peter Solley and Procol Harum even before AWSoP topped the charts in 1967.

December 5:

Added a fantastically full double album to our register of PH Compilations (thanks, Brian)

December 4:

Added an extremely small review of a Procol Harum concert in Bristol (thanks, Dave)

'Something for the weekend?': added a long-overdue index to help you re-read some of the most stimulating, quirky and learned writings at 'Beyond the Pale'

Added a great mondegreen for Butterfly Boys (thanks, Jay)

Added a link to this South African PH cover (thanks, Sam)

Not long now to Gary Brooker's Barbican event on 7 December. Please mail us if you'd like your name to be added to the page recording names of those going to London for it.

December 3:

Added a useful page that recommends some of the pre-Procol guitaring of Geoff Whitehorn (thanks, davelee)

Added a link to a long article about Ron and Howie Albert, producers of Something Magic: find out about their piano-miking technique, their inimitable B3 sound ... (thanks, Sam). Reading this article you will be struck by some significant contrasts to the views expressed in BtP's great Pete Solley interview: 'the guys couldn't mix a cake. They were totally inept.'

December 2:

'I felt a yearning that was like nostalgia with the volume turned up. But the very vocabulary was bankrupt ...'

Added a very entertaining and touching piece of writing about a family going to hear Procol Harum at the Cropredy Festival, 1995 (many thanks, Richard)

We've already had a lot of help with the dates missing from this page (thanks, Beverly, Bill, Fred, Per and Stig): some still missing so further dating help would be appreciated: please mail us.

Not long now to Gary's Barbican event on 7 December. Please mail us if you'd like your name to be added to the page recording names of those going to London for it.

December 1:

Added a setlist from the Felt Forum, 1975 (thanks, Beverly)

Added some new pictures, and replaced some monochrome shots with colour ones, in the Italian View we published last month here and here (thanks, Stig)

Read what was new on this website in previous months