Letters of support!

PLANT TALKS SHRUBBISH! (in Uncut, Spring 2005)

Regarding the interview with Robert Plant (May 2005, Take 96), I must take issue with Plant over the crass comment he made about Procol Harum’s late drummer BJ Wilson, where he stated that Wilson wasn’t in the same league as John Bonham.

I certainly agree that John Bonham was an incredible, dynamic drummer, but so was BJ Wilson.

Come off it, Percy. Do you really believe that Jimmy Page would have even considered approaching Wilson if he didn’t think he was a top-league drummer? Surely Page must have seen Wilson’s ability when he worked with him on the 1968 sessions for Joe Cocker’s With A Little Help From My Friends album.

Furthermore, even the late great Cozy Powell once commented after seeing Procol live back in 1970 that perhaps a few so-called heavy metal drummers should check out BJ Wilson and perhaps they could learn a few points on technique.

Perhaps Plant should check out the 10 Procol Harum albums that Wilson worked on, particularly Broken Barricades, Grand Hotel and Exotic Birds And Fruit, which is probably Wilson’s finest work with the band. However, to really appreciate Wilson’s talent was to witness him playing live, as he never played the obvious and was one of the most powerful, inventive and unorthodox drummers that ever lived. He didn’t just play drums, he orchestrated them.

Sadly, BJ Wilson died in tragic circumstances in 1990 and I am in no doubt if Procol Harum had made it into the ranks of the Top 10 bands of the era (in terms of sales and public attention) then Wilson’s reputation would have surpassed many of his peers. Rest in peace, Barrie BJ Wilson.
Dan Kirby, Sidcup, Kent


HEAVY AS LED

How surprising to read, between the lines, that Robert Plant harbours resentment towards his more critically acclaimed, more talented contemporaries The Who and the Stones. I guess that on planet Zeppelin, the album charts of the 1970s were a Corinthian contest of quality untainted by the whims of the market.

As a consumer of less rarefied air, I recall a plethora of pop compilations and disco soundtracks, each more fun than a Zeppelin opus. Fact is, once over the utter self-absorption of adolescence, Led Zeppelin’s music has nothing to offer bar a sense of time passing discordantly and far too bloody slowly.
Kevin Doyle, Cheetham, Manchester

Thanks to 'Beyond The Pale'
http://www.procolharum.com/bjtxt13.htm

Barrie on You Tube

There are several videos with BJ as drummer, currently to be seen amongst the Joe Cocker and Procol Harum posts. Check them out.

I love this (Dylan) tune below, not just for BJ's contribution although I recognised his phrasing and drumming immediately. For me his best work was with Procol Harum, with whom he worked for ten years. Prior to Procol he had been drummer in The Paramounts in the mid-sixties. They had had moderate success with one of their singles "Poison Ivy" and had toured with both The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, but never got the success they deserved, plus Robin Trower left, due largely to pressure from their record company who'd wanted them to pursue popular music and forgo the R&B they did well. After the band split for good, Gary Brooker started Procol Harum, largely with musicians from the original Paramounts, including: BJ Wilson, Robin Trower, Chris Copping and Gary Brooker.

Joe Cocker at his best below.

You Tube Added February 24, 2007From Krumden

Obituary for Barrie J Wilson

This is one version anyway, I'm sure there are far better and more personal obituaries elsewhere. See the website 'Beyond The Pale' has it's own BJ page at www.procolharum.com/procolbj.htm check it out, it's got lots of information here.


Born : Edmondon, N.London, Mar. 18, 1947, England
Died : Oct. 8, 1990 Corvallis, Benton County, Oregon, USA
Left : Two daughters with ex wife, Sue Wilson.
Rests in Peace: Oakland Cemetary, Corvallis, Oregon, USA Block 9, Section 59, Plot 6.




Occupation: Musician - Drummer, Percussion.



He was the drummer for the British group Procol Harum. Barrie quickly took the place of their original drummer Bobby Harrison in 1967. He played on all their classic LPs, including Shine On Brightly (1968), A Salty Dog (1969), Home (1970), Broken Barricades(1971), Live With The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (1972), and Grand Hotel (1973). With the band's structured songs, he brought a fast powerful style to their sound. He played with the group until they disbanded in 1977. He also drummed for Joe Cocker. He lived in Oregon with his wife Sue and family, and he died there of pneumonia in 1990. He was in my eyes uncomparable as a drummer. He had style.

To steal a beautiful quote from Steve Braitman, because it says it all.

' ... BJ was the true heart of Procol Harum ... BJ's drumming was almost literary – following and emphasizing the narrative with far more power and passion than any mere beat structure.

... In the usual descriptions of Procol Harum's style, "grandeur" is a typical adjective. BJ created that grandeur with stunning punctuations, great open spaces, surprising reversals of rhythm.

... BJ Wilson made the drums express both the unpredictability and inevitability of fate. He was awesome, and he will be missed.'

Stephen Braitman, letter to the Editor, Goldmine Magazine, 31 May 1991

BJ's other work

Barrie was drummer to Joe Cocker between 1979 and 1984 after having originally played drums on the original recording, along with session player Jimmy Page on guitar, on Cocker's uncomparable version of the Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends". The single reached No.1 in the UK in 1969.

Joe Cocker's "The Letter"




My heart leapt a beat when I watched a rerun of Joe Cocker live a couple of years ago, I actually recognised the drumming style but thought it was perhaps a copy of BJ, when I saw the drummer I wanted to cry. But there he was in all his long armed and legged glory. They called him The Octopus (some did) for it seemed like he was not only ambidextrous but had extra long limbs. I actually remember him of being average height and not "that" tall. Certainly nowhere near the height of past Procol Harum bandmember Dave Ball who stood at 6'.4".

In 1983 Wilson was brought in to play drums on AC/DC's Flick Of The Switch album after their drummer Phil Rudd had left the band halfway through the recording for the album. Sadly although none of Wilson's contributions were used in the final album, there is a cover version of AC/DC performing the Junior Wells song "Messin' with the Kid" available on some bootlegs which may feature Wilson on drums.

B.J. Wilson was the drummer on the movie soundtrack of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, on which his former Procol Harum bandmate, guitarist Mick Grabham, also played. Wilson's last recorded work was on the 1985 Gary Brooker solo album Echoes in the Night, along with his former Procol Harum bandmates Brooker, Keith Reid and Matthew Fisher, on tracks "Ghost Train," "The Long Goodbye" "Hear What You're Saying" and "Mr. Blue Day". http://en.allexperts.com/e/b/b/b.j._wilson.htm