Procol Harum

Beyond
the Pale

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Christmas Quiz 2014

 Ten handsome prizes!


Each year at Christmas, following the Scandinavian custom, BtP sets twelve days of Procol puzzles which great numbers of the band's adherents follow with much interest and merriment ... at the end of the trail is typically a tiny answer, which you send in by e-mail to the webmasters, to win one (or more?) of the prizes below. The puzzles start on Christmas Day – some would say that they grow more and more straightforward year by year, while the prizes get more and more desirable.

This year's fine freebies are, we trust you'll agree, quite as desirable as 1997's, 1998's, 1999's, 2000's, 2001's, 2002's, 2003's, 2004's, 2005's, 2006's, 2007, 2008's, 2009's, 2010's, 2011's, 2012's or 2013's: special thanks to Procol Harum and all the other kind donors. Click here, in due time, to view the schedule of winners

 A

Procol Harum LP on brand-new de luxe 140 gramme vinyl: choose one of Broken Barricades, Live in Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Grand Hotel, Exotic Birds and Fruit, Procol's Ninth, Something Magic, The Well's on Fire, or Live at the Union Chapel (thanks, Andy). This will be released early in 2015, we understand.

 B

Procol Harum 45 rpm promo single: an A&M 7-inch vinyl rpm (40+ years old, unplayed) promotional copy ('not for sale') of Simple Sister (1287 /1287-S); Mono one side, stereo the other side (thanks, Gary)

 C

Procol Harum at The Dominion Theatre tee-shirt: picture here – printed both sides on black cotton, limited edition, commemorating Procol Harum's triumphant concert on 24 November 2014 (thanks, John Weir and Gordon Chalmers, from the Isle of Mull)

 D

Southend R'n'B on CD: a signed and dedicated promo copy of the album Stonechucker by Gary Porter (general release late February 2015) recorded, mixed and mastered at Southend's Big Noise Studios and featuring guitar, bass, drums, piano and organ as well as some brass and reeds (thanks, Gary)

 E

A signed poster from last year's Gary Brooker and Friends' gig at Le Vigan in France (thanks, Mick, Zara, Mick and Rose)

F

Procol Harum tee-shirt [large] signed by all five members of the band (yellow-and white-on-black 'Secrets of the Hive' design backed with European tour dates) (thanks, Gary, Geoff, Matt, Josh, Geoff)

G

A ladies'-style 'Sixteen Vestal Virgins' tee-shirt (full colour printing, one side, on black cotton) designed by Wuppertal artist Holger Weber, size large (details here)

H

A classic Salty Dog tee-shirt, exactly as shown here, size XL: formerly owned and worn by Gary Brooker, and supplied with a signed photo by way of authentication (thanks, Gary)

 I

Procol Harum tee-shirt [large] signed by all five members of the band (multicoloured 'wood-block' design backed with European tour dates) (thanks, Gary, Geoff, Matt, Josh, Geoff)

 J

Procol Harum LP on brand-new de luxe 140 gramme vinyl again: choose one of Broken Barricades, Live in Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Grand Hotel, Exotic Birds and Fruit, Procol's Ninth, Something Magic, The Well's on Fire, or Live at the Union Chapel (thanks, Andy) This will be released early in 2015, we understand.


Competitors should rank the above prizes in the order they favour them, and send in their preference – all ten letters, please! – with the solution to the puzzles. Your message will look something like: "The one-letter answer is [x] and my prize preferences are AGBHCIDJEF". We'll correspond, about the choice of albums, with the winners of A and J once they're known.

Quick! We shall allot the first three prizes on a beat-the-clock basis, where the earliest correct response earns its first choice of prize and so on; after that all subsequent correct entries received in the next 48 hours will be placed in the BtP Homburg and the remaining prize-winners will be drawn by a suitably Glamorous Assistant, all being well.

In the somewhat unlikely event of there being fewer than ten winners, the first people to submit correct answers will get more than their fair share of the prizes!

The quiz starts on Christmas Day and runs through to Twelfth Night. You can join in at any time, if you have a pencil and an internet connection.


How to play | The solution | Winners | First question


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