Procol Harum's NME coverage ...

20 May - 24 June 1972

These excerpts from New Musical Express, kindly selected for 'Beyond the Pale' by Yan Friis, show 'Harum make it second time around' in the single and the album charts.

NME, May 20, 1972

NME Top 5:

1. ( 14) Metal Guru, T.Rex
2. ( 6) Rocket Man, Elton John
3. ( 1) Amazing Grace, Royal Scots Dragoon Guard, Pipes, Drums & Band
4. ( 4) A Thing Called Love, Johnny Cash
5. ( 3) Could It Be Forever, David Cassidy
20. (28) A Whiter Shade Of Pale, Procol Harum

British Albums

1. ( 3) Fog On The Tyne, Lindisfarne
2. ( 1) Machine Head, Deep Purple
3. ( 2) Harvest, Neil Young
4. ( 9) Bolan Boogie, T.Rex
5. ( 5) Farewell To The Greys, Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, Pipes, Drums & Band

NME, May 27, 1972:

front page headlines:

RAINBOW RE-OPENS
The Rainbow Theatre in London's Finsbury Park - acclaimed as Britain's leading rock centre during its brief four-month span until it closed down in early March - is to re-open shortly.

The lease on the premises has been acquired by a specially formed company run by Chris Wright and Terry Ellis, who are also the bosses of the Chrysalis organisation.

Artists and groups recording for the Chrysalis label, or handled for management or agency by Chrysalis, will be among the first attractions featured at the re-born Rainbow. These include Jethro Tull, Ten Years After, Procul [sic] Harum, Cat Stevens, Black Sabbath and Edgar Broughton.

Full details on page 3.

52 PAGES: BIGGEST EVER ISSUE

Great Western preview, exclusive running order

Janis Joplin sensational LP (big pic)

Ringo as Dracula (story)

Inside: JAGGER/STEWART/WYMAN/ELP/MOODY BLUES/DR. JOHN/FLOYD/ORBISON

There's also a Beach Boys live album headline (with pic and story, but I have cut out the piece with the headline unfortunately)

NME Top 5:
1. ( 1) Metal Guru, T.Rex
2. ( 5) Could It Be Forever, David Cassidy
3. ( 2) Rocket Man, Elton John
4. ( 4) A Thing Called Love, Johnny Cash
5. ( 6) Come What May, Vicky Leandros
13. (20) A Whiter Shade Of Pale, Procol Harum

The chart is dated May 23, so it is more or less exactly 5 years since the song made its début!

British Albums:
1. ( 4) Bolan Boogie, T.Rex
2. ( 1) Fog On The Tyne, Lindisfarne
3. ( 3) Harvest, Neil Young
4. ( 7) Paul Simon, Paul Simon
5. ( 2) Machine Head, Deep Purple

News pages:

RAINBOW IS RE-OPENING
(a more detailed version of the front page story, but Procol Harum (correctly spelled this time) is only mentioned once among the same artists (and a couple more) as on the front page.)

MAJOR BOOKINGS FOR LYCEUM ALL-NIGHTERS

(excerpt)

...Subsequent attractions will include J. Geils Band, Quintessence, the Strawbs, Wishbone Ash and Procol Harum. Booker John Martin says that the Friday-night concerts will run through the summer. "They are a revival of the first-ever rock sessions at the Lyceum," he added.

Main single reviews by Danny Holloway:

Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler), Marvin Gaye
Take Me Bak 'ome, Slade

Outta Space, Billy Preston
Lay Down Your Weary Tune, Coulson Dean McGuinness And Flint
Stand By Me, Atomic Rooster
Troglodyte, The Jimmy Castor Bunch

Main album reviews:
In Concert, Janis Joplin
Free For All, Free (sic! - the title would of course become Free At Last)
At His Best, Jimi Hendrix
The Road Goes Ever On, Mountain
Sailin' Shoes, Little Feat
A Possible Projection Of The Future / Childhood's End, Al Kooper
Obscured By Clouds, Pink Floyd
Music Of My Mind, Stevie Wonder
Phase III, The Osmonds

NME, June 3, 1972:

NME Top 5:

1. ( 1) Metal Guru, T.Rex
2. ( 3) Rocket Man, Elton John
3. ( 8) Oh Babe What Would You Say, Hurricane Smith
4. ( 2) Could It Be Forever, David Cassidy
5. (10) Vincent, Don McLean
11. (13) A Whiter Shade Of Pale, Procol Harum

British Albums:
1. ( 1) Bolan Boogie, T.Rex
2. ( -) Exile On Main Street, The Rolling Stones
3. (14) Honky Chateau, Elton John
4. ( 6) Cherish, David Cassidy
5. ( -) 20 Dynamic Hits, Various Artists

NME, June 10, 1972:

Front page headlines:

PURPLE AT RAINBOW

MAGGIE BELL SOLO ALBUM (big pic and story)

BEACH BOYS SHA NA NA FREE GIG

ROBERTA FLACK VISIT

Inside: Bolan / ELO / Neil Young / John Entwistle / Steve Marriott (and some more, but piece cut out)

NME Top 5:
1. ( 1) Metal Guru, T.Rex
2. ( 5) Vincent, Don McLean
3. ( 2) Rocket Man, Elton John
4. ( 3) Oh Babe What Would You Say, Hurricane Smith
5. ( 6) At The Club / Saturday Night At The Movies, The Drifters
12. (11) A Whiter Shade Of Pale, Procol Harum

British Albums
1. ( 1) Bolan Boogie, T.Rex
2. ( 3) Honky Chateau, Elton John
3. ( 2) Exile On Main Street, The Rolling Stones
4. ( 4) Cherish, David Cassidy
5. (15) American Pie, Don McLean

U.S. Albums (Cash Box):
1. ( 1) Thick As A Brick, Jethro Tull
2. ( 2) First Take, Roberta Flack
3. ( 3) Harvest, Neil Young
4. ( 5) America, America
5. ( 4) Graham Nash & David Crosby, Graham Nash & David Crosby
30. ( -) Procol Harum Live, Procol Harum

HARUM MAKE IT SECOND TIME AROUND
One of the most amazing happenings in the singles chart for some time is the re-entry of Procol Harum's five-year-old smash hit A Whiter Shade Of Pale.

It couldn't have happened to a better group. Harum are undoubtly the finest thing to emerge in the last decade, although they are still much more popular in America than here.

The single, re-released on the Fly label, also includes the two records that followed-up Whiter Shade Of Pale, Homburg and A Salty Dog.

Singer-pianist Gary Brooker and Keith Reid are the group's leading lights. Reid's active part only involves somgwriting, but without him they probably wouldn't have had even a fraction of their success.

Reid writes the words and Brooker supplies the music, and up to now dozens of numbers have been put to wax.

Their albums, in chronological order, are:
Procol Harum (Regal Zonophone), released 1968.
Shine On Brightly (Regal Zonophone), 1969.
A Salty Dog (Regal Zonophone), 1969.
Home (Regal Zonophone), 1970.
Best Of Procol Harum (Fly; budget album with tracks taken from aforementioned albums), 1971
Broken Barricades (Chrysalis), 1971
Procol Harum / A Salty Dog (Fly, these two albums re-released by Fly), 1972
In Concert With The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (Chrysalis), 1972

When Brooker first met Keith Reid he was still with a group called The Paramounts. Reid had written the words to A Whiter Shade of Pale. Brooker gave them a tune. And as they say, the rest is history.

Procol Harum have had numerous personnel changes, but the standard of their music has never suffered. The In Concert With The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra album is typical of the faultless perfection of their music. At this live concert with an audience of 3,000, they were also backed by the 24-piece De Camera Singers.

The two latest additions to Harum are guitarist Dave Ball and bass player Alan Cartwright, who joined after the recording of Broken Barricades. Ball replaced Robin Trower, now one of the founder members of Jude.

Until Cartwright came in, Chris Copping had been doubling on bass and organ. Now Copping can concentrate on the latter instrument.

Cartwright and drummer BJ Wilson create a tight rhythm behind the piano, guitar and organ lead.

The group have just returned from Japan, and will play some British venues before leaving for America on June 19 for about a month.

(unsigned article)

Main albums reviewed:
So Tough, The Beach Boys (reviewed by Bruce Johnston!)
The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, David Bowie
Nature Planned It, Four Tops
Wind Of Change, Peter Frampton

Main single reviews by Roy Carr:
An American Trilogy, Elvis Presley
Some Day Never Comes, Creedence Clearwater Revival
Simple Man, Paul Williams
Sailing, Sutherland Brothers
Working On A Building Of Love, Chairmen Of The Board
Lean On Me, Bill Withers

THIS IS AMERICA

(excerpt)

Procol Harum's live album, recorded last November with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, has finally been released here.

NME, June 17, 1972

NME Top 5:
1. ( 2) Vincent, Don McLean
2. ( 1) Metal Guru, T.Rex
3. (15) Rockin' Robin, Michael Jackson
4. ( 4) Oh Babe What Would You Say, Hurricane Smith
5. ( 5) At The Club / Saturday Night At The Movies, The Drifters
16. (12) A Whiter Shade Of Pale, Procol Harum

British Albums
1. ( 3) Exile On Main Street, The Rolling Stones
2. ( 1) Bolan Boogie, T.Rex
3. ( 5) American Pie, Don McLean
4. ( 2) Honky Chateau, Elton John
5. ( 8) Fog On The Tyne, Lindisfarne

U.S. Albums (Cash Box):
1. ( 1) Thick As A Brick, Jethro Tull
2. (14) Exile On Main Street, The Rolling Stones
3. ( 2) First Take, Roberta Flack
4. ( 3) Harvest, Neil Young
5. (12) Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway, Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway
22. (30) Procol Harum Live, Procol Harum

By the way, interesting to note Tony Tyler's reaction to the first Roxy Music album:

...Altogether, this is the finest album I've heard this year and the best 'first' I can EVER remember.

NME, June 24, 1972

U.S. Albums (Cash Box):
1. ( 2) Exile On Main Street, The Rolling Stones
2. ( 1) Thick As A Brick, Jethro Tull
3. ( 3) First Take, Roberta Flack
4. ( 4) Harvest, Neil Young
5. ( 5) Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway, Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway
18. (22) Procol Harum Live, Procol Harum

And that concludes the first half of 1972. A good half year it has been too, at least concerning media coverage. Disappointing though, that their re-releases got more attention than the new album. But as we have seen, that's not the media's fault.

But why on earth doesn't the NME cover Procol Harum's concerts? There's so much live stuff in the 1972 issues, but nothing at all on them. Maybe in the second half?