What was new at 'Beyond the Pale'

January 1999

January 31:

Added a very 70s picture of Geoff Whitehorn from a Portuguese picture-single (thanks, António A)

Refreshed our page on Something Magic with new graphics (thanks, Richard)

Decorated our page about AWSoP at the Mick Ronson Memorial Concert with a picture of Gary Brooker (thanks, davelee)

... and if you can get Swedish TV don't forget to record Gary Brooker on Booster tomorrow

January 30:

Added various upgrades, including a list of past bands, and comments thereon, to Dave Ball's BtP page (thanks, Dave)

Added a brief commentary to our AWSoP Multimedia Corner (thanks, Joan)

One Procol Harum song is coming out on DVD ... read all about it here and please mail the company to ask them to release everything else they've got in their PH archive.

January 29:

Added a review of A Salty Dog returns, with personal comment from Joan May (thanks, Joan)

January 28:

Procol Harum on the front page of Sweden's biggest daily newspaper – Gary Brooker on Swedish Television (thanks, Jonas)

Added a page containing Robert Fripp's praise for Robin Trower, 'a man who hung himself on the details' (thanks, Joan)

Added a strange dog and a midi-file link on our AWSoP page (thanks, Sam)

January 27:

The Mammoth Task: Procol Harum news in its chart context, kindly extracted for BtP from the New Musical Express of 31 years ago today by Yan Friis: Mick Grabham's band listen appreciatively to Gary Brooker; Mick plays Hendrix; Procol planning a televised appearance in the States?

January 26:

Even to the most ardent Procoholic, the names 'Procol Harum Bizarro', 'Procol Harum Drunken Sailor' or 'Procol Harum Mon Chipolata' won't ring an immediate bell.

These enigmatic names cropped up when Sam Cameron went in search of a cat's birth-certificate: his feline research is about to rock the foundations of everything you have ever believed about the naming of your favourite band (many thanks, Sam)

January 25:

Added another set of excellent pictures of Procol Harum in action at the Hollywood Bowl in 1973, kindly sent to BtP by Mick Grabham (thanks, Mick)

January 24:

Added some more fab Procol Harum pictures from Larry Pennisi's archive (thanks, Larry)

January 23:

Added an amusing note from guitarist Dave Ball about his reaction to a famous but ill-informed review (thanks, Dave)

January 22:

Added a very surprising snippet about A Whiter Shade of Pale, published exactly a year ago (thanks, Sam)

January 21:

Any Gnidrolog fans out there? The eccentrically-named 70s band is reforming to record a new album, and asked BtP's help in locating Chris Copping, whom they wanted to play keyboards on it. Some of the e-conversation about the good Professor makes illuminating reading (thanks, Stewart)

January 20:

The Mammoth Task: Procol Harum news in its chart context, kindly extracted for BtP from the New Musical Express of 31 years ago today by Yan Friis: Procol announce American dates; meanwhile news of an extended track on the next album is leaking out.

And here is a link to the website for Herreavdelingen, a Norwegian radio show hosted by Yan when he is not working on his Mammoth Task or other BtP-related activities (sorry, all texts in Norwegian!).

Claes Johansen makes some weighty claims about the Procol Harum book he's working on: see the bottom of this page.

January 19:

The first written report from Gary Brooker's Christmas concerts comes from Peru! (thanks, Jose)

Added two illustrations to The Mammoth Task's first-ever mention in print of A Whiter Shade of Pale (thanks, Yan)

January 18:

Added a a review of Matthew Fisher's Whiter Shade of Dirty Water recording (thanks, Bas)

January 17:
Added some images of Gary singing AWSoP in Lisboa, August 1998 (thanks, António A)

January 16:

Added some images of the Southend concert on 19 December (thanks, António A)

January 15:

Added links to two great Mick Grabham pages, sessions and biography, at a splendid site called The Musicians' Olympus.

Don't read this interview with Cynthia Plastercaster unless you are over 18 ... there's a Procol link here ... 'nuff said! (thanks, Snake)

January 14:

Added a picture to our page on Henry Spinetti

Brooker (& Spinetti) completists may like to order the Colin John CD Live in the Spirit by reading this page (thanks, António A)

January 13:

The Mammoth Task: Procol Harum news in its chart context, kindly extracted for BtP from the New Musical Express of 31 years ago today by Yan Friis: Gold Disc for Homburg, and a confusingly premature gig at the Speakeasy. Meanwhile Mick Grabham's band makes an appearance!

January 12:

'Procol might consider devoting an entire album to the works of Leiber-Stoller while sending Keith Reid on an extended leave of absence'

Added Bud Scoppa's review of Procol's Ninth from Rolling Stone (thanks, Joan)

January 11:

'Procol Harum remained a cut above the best,' claims the book Stairway to Heaven – the Spiritual Roots of Rock 'N' Roll, excerpted here. 'The Reid / Brooker partnership at its best achieved ... an obsession with sin, self-abasement, and moral decay that would warm the cockles of a flagellant's heart' (thanks, Bert)

January 10:

Added a page about Matthew Fisher's Whiter Shade of Dirty Water recording (thanks, Bas)

January 9:

Added a page about AWSoP in Q magazine's 1999 'Best singles of all time' chart: No 92, indeed!

Some illustrations, hitherto omitted from The Mammoth Task, are now in place here and here(thanks, Yan)

January 8:

Added Something Missing, a feature about the tracks that might have appeared on Procol Harum's tenth album had it not been for the growth of TwaTT. Roland Clare ruminates (inconclusively, it must be said) on various sources, including a tiny Brooker interview specially conducted for the article by Frans Steensma.

January 7:

Added some nice pictures of Procol Harum at the Hofstra University in 1976 (thanks, Carol and Matthew)

Did you read this post-Christmas article last year?

January 6:

BtP's server was inexplicably down for several hours on 5 January: circumstances 'Beyond our Control', unfortunately.

Thanks to all the people who wrote in with solutions to our Christmas Conundrums feature: the first one was in a few minutes after the final page was published! Thanks to the many Palers who said they'd enjoyed the whole business, and well done those who were working in their second or third language!

Not everyone had the answer we were expecting ... but the names of the first seven may be found here – congratulations to you! – and we look forward to finding out your real-world addresses so that prizes may be posted out to you.

The Mammoth Task: Procol Harum news in its chart context, kindly extracted for BtP from the New Musical Express of 31 years ago today by Yan Friis: Procol lost amidst a sea of Englebert in the chart retrospective; a handful of obscure college gigs, and a decision to postpone the concert tour!

January 5:

Unveiled our last dose of puzzles: senders of the first seven correct answers to reach 'Beyond the Pale' will be soon be sent their fab Procol Harum prizes !

Normal service will be resumed tomorrow ...

January 4:

Unwrapped our penultimate batch of puzzles: have you selected what you want from the list of fab Procol Harum prizes ? Tomorrow it's a race against the clock ...

So we assure you that BtP will be updated tomorrow at exactly midnight Norwegian time, which is the same as Central European Time.

January 3:

Revealed our antepenultimate collection of prize puzzles ... getting easier day by day

January 2:

Disclosed our ninth clutch of prize puzzles ... not too late to start if you didn't log in over Christmas: just go back to page one and work forward.

January 1: Happy New Year!

Made public our eighth consignment of prize puzzles ...

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