Procol Harum's first year in the NME

'Quite Rightly So': 23 March 1968

These excerpts from New Musical Express, kindly selected for 'Beyond the Pale' by Yan Friis, reflect the tragic decline in single-buyers' taste in the nine months since A Whiter Shade of Pale. Scant surprise that Quite Rightly So failed to chart significantly alongside so much anodyne kitsch. And who's seen that film that the German crew was out to make?

Front page: Full front page advertisement: Plastic Penny, Nobody Knows It (Grabham in the picture, crooked nose and all)

Main feature headlines:

RINGO talks about Lady Madonna ... his fears ... Harold Wilson ... crazy Beach Boy ... Candy... and his kids to Alan Smith

THE HAPPIEST BEATLE

Quarter page advertisement for Procol Harum's Quite Rightly So, Regal Zonophone RZ 3007.

NMExclusive

Beach Boys Bruce and Al meet Elvis: They'd like to do a show together with Beatles, Bill Haley and Ravi Shankar! by Keith Altham

He's putting back the rockin' clock: 'Guitar Man' proves he can still whip up excitement by Nick Logan

BEATLES HAVEN'T MASTERMINDED US SAY THE GRAPEFRUIT by Alan Smith

MEET THE FIFTH TREMELOE - GEORGE by Richard Green (George being a drum machine)

Tipped for the charts by Derek Johnson:

Monkees, Valleri
Bee Gees, Jumbo / The Singer Sang His Song
Hollies, Jennifer Eccles
Cliff Richard, Congratulations
John Fred and his Playboy Band, Hey Hey Bunny
Spencer David Group, After Tea

NME Top 5:

1 (1) Cinderella Rockefella, Esther & Abi Ofarim
2 (2) Legend Of Xanadu, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
3 (4) Delilah, Tom Jones
4 (3) Rosie, Don Partridge
5 (7) The Dock Of The Bay, Otis Redding

New entries this week:

No 6, Lady Madonna, The Beatles
No 15, Congratulations, Cliff Richard
No 26, The Valley Of The Dolls, Dionne Warwick
No 30, Simon Says, 1910 Fruitgum Co.

Main features in the singles review section:

The Monkees, Valleri
Bee Gees, Jumbo / The Singer Sang His Song
Hollies, Jennifer Eccles
Cliff Richard, Congratulations

The Procols are over on another page together with John Fred and his Playboy Band (Hey Hey Bunny) and the new Spencer Davis Group (After Tea).

Derek Johnson's review:

It's interesting to note that ol' Derek only reviews the A-side. This means that his copy is a one-sided preview single, the B-side was probably not yet chosen at pressing time. Same goes for the Regal Zonophone ad, no mention of the B-side ... )

Procol Full Of Contrasts: Quite Rightly So (Regal-Zonophone).

For its third single, Procol Harum reverts to the rich organ sound that characterised Whiter Shade. It fades in at the beginning, establishing a spectral effect - then the beat takes over, and we break into a much faster tempo than the group has attempted before.

The vocal is delivered as compellingly as ever, commanding attention despite its off-beat nature. As the disc progresses, the organ loses its dominance, as twangs and a thumping beat take over.

As we've come to expect from Procol, it's a very interesting disc, full of contrasts and quivering sounds. But melodically, not nearly as catchy as the previous two. Should make the chart, though.

Plastic Penny's Nobody Knows It reviewed, Derek not too impressed: '... nevertheless, it's above average ...'

News pages:

Record prices go up. Singles up from 7s 41/2d. to 8s. 31/2d. Pop albums up from 32s. 5 1/2 d. to 36s. 6d.

GERMAN-TV FILMS HARUM

A German TV camera crew arrives in this country next week to film Procol Harum performing in British clubs. This follows the group's success on its recent German tour with the Bee Gees, and is intended for inclusion in a documentary to be screened in that country. Procol is to return to America for another tour this spring - probably at the end of May, but dates have not yet been finalised.

POPLINERS

(excerpt)

... Procol Harum play Weston-super-Mare Winter Gardens tomorrow (Saturday) ...

Read more from the first year of Procol press