When I stole the spotlight from one Gary Brooker, MBE
3 juni 2017 | Ingen har kommenterat än
The Angler – Gary Brooker & The Palers' Band from Jonas Söderström on Vimeo.
Every two year or so, me and a couple of friends from all over the world come together to play music. Specifically, the music of Procol Harum and Gary Brooker (of A Whiter Shade of Pale fame, of course).
Last year, playing in Zoetermeer, Holland, we hade the honour and the privilege of being joined by mr Brooker himself. Here’s an audience recording of a cute little country-tinged number called The Angler (off one of Gary’s solo albums).
We played in a night club called Clooney’s, and we didn’t have a proper stage, and therefore no proper lighting. It so happened, that my place on this makeshift stage, playing the guitar, was under the one single direct lamp … in effect, I was stealing the spotlight from a living legend and music superstar.
It’s an audience recording, so the sound not perfect. But for me it’s a fantastic happy memory. I also got to play bass on another Procol Harum song – The pursuit of happiness – actually a live world premier, since the band itself has never played it live. And I sang (!) a couple of tunes. To do that, when a man with one of the best voices ever, also the composer, is sitting in the audience, was absolutely terrifying. Legs were shaking – but I didn’t faint and we actually pulled it off, I think. In the pursuit of happiness, one must take risks.
So here is The Palers’ Band: in this incarnation, my good friends Ian from Oman, Tito from New York, Roland from Bristol, Wolfgang from Germany, Gary from Indiana, Katie from the UK, Hans from The Netherlands, and myself in ”The Angler”.
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