Gary Brooker Live At Rockpalast 1983 (CD + DVD)

(MIG Music) 18 tracks, digisleeve

This Rockpalast performance by Gary Brooker (1945 - 2022) on February 18, 1983 in the Markthalle in Hamburg is unique, because - it's hard to believe - the head, singer, keyboardist and pianist of Procol Harum actually only gave one solo concert with songs from his two solo albums in his long career.

A great band accompanied Gary Brooker through his program that evening: bassist John Giblin (1952-2023), drummer Henry Spinetti (born 1951), guitarist Tim Renwick (born 1949), and keyboardist Tim Cross (1955-2012). The line-up may be reminiscent of the classic Procol Harum line-up, but the band members' CVs read like a who's who of rock history: John Giblin accompanied artists such as Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel and was a member of Simple Minds, Henry Spinetti was Eric Clapton's sideman for years, Tim Cross came from the new wave band The Adverts and was an integral part of the Mike Olfield Group and Tim Renwick toured with Pink Floyd and David Bowie, among others. In fact, John Giblin and Henry Spinetti had only recently played together with Gary Brooker at a ‘Rock and Classic’ event in Munich, where Tim Cross and Tim Renwick also appeared on stage with Mike Oldfield. Hamburg was the only concert of the five protagonists as a quintet.

The setlist: Songs from Brooker's first solo album “No More Fear Of Flying”, produced by George Martin, including the hit single “Say It Ain't So Joe”, and above all from the second album “Lead Me To The Water”, released in 1982. The two Procol Harum classics “A Salty Dog” and “Homburg” rounded off the harmonious program. This Rockpalast is a classic in many respects!