Items of Procol Harum tour memorabilia for
auction (1)
Proceeds shared by the BJ Wilson Fund /
'Beyond the Pale'
This item was sold at
eBay to a customer in America for 102 GBP: thanks!
When Procol Harum toured the world in 2003, promoting their new album The
Well's on Fire, they gradually accumulated strange toys and crazy mementoes
– by the time the Union Chapel DVD was filmed, the stage was strewn with
seagulls, pigs, clockwork mice, models of George W Bush (a former president of
America), a singing M&M homunculus, a stately galleon, a Baby Dumpling, and a
fat old Buddha carved in gold.
Gary Brooker has invited 'Beyond the Pale' to auction a few of the surviving
items at eBay, the proceeds to be divided between The BJ Wilson Fund (through
which Gary is able to help BJ's family) and 'Beyond the Pale'.
So we're starting
with this gaudy 'spokescandy' homunculus, whose little electronic voice was heard all
over the world chanting 'So far behind' in certain gaps in the song of the same name. The joke trades on the homophonic
similarity of 'M&Ms' (a brand of confectionery) and 'Eminem' (the rapping artist).
We think his battery has gone flat: only the lucky winner will know if Gary's
voice is still inside, when the battery is replaced! He is signed on the behind
by The Commander, for authenticity's sake, and is pictured at the foot of the
page with Gary – in the control room of the studio in his barn in deepest
Surrey, UK.
Complete with toy headphones and microphone, ready for onstage
Procol duty
Rear view shewing clipboard
Signed in an appropriate place by Gary Brooker
Gary with singing homunculus, in his control room
Here's a rather muddled shot of M&M on stage with Procol Harum
(and Mighty Baby Dumpling,
who has also fallen over) at Islington's Union Chapel in December 2012
Features at 'Beyond the Pale' | Another stage item for sale