Procol Harum

Procol Harum is an English rock group from Southend-on-Sea, United Kingdom, active from 1967 to 2022. The band forms around singer and pianist Gary Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid after the break-up of The Paramounts, a Southend-based group that has minor UK chart success in the mid-1960s. Early line-ups change frequently and include organist Matthew Fisher, guitarist Ray Royer, drummer Barrie “B. J.” Wilson, bassist David Knights, and later members such as Robin Trower, Chris Copping, Dave Ball, Alan Cartwright, Tim Renwick, Mick Grabham, Peter Solley, Matt Pegg and Dave Bronze.

Style and early success

The group is associated with art rock, crossover prog, progressive rock, psychedelic pop and rock, and its music also draws on psychedelic rock, proto-progressive rock, blues, rhythm and blues, soul, baroque and classical influences. Its best-known recording is “A Whiter Shade of Pale”, recorded in April 1967 at Olympic Studios in London with session drummer Bill Eyden and produced by Denny Cordell. The single features Fisher’s prominent Hammond organ part, influenced by J. S. Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, and becomes an international hit after radio support. It reaches number one in the UK for six weeks, reaches the top five in the US, and sells over 10 million copies worldwide.

The band gives its first live performance on the day the single is released in London. Its follow-up, “Homburg”, appears later in 1967 and reaches number six in the UK. The self-titled debut album appears in the US in 1967 and later in the UK.

Albums and line-up changes

Shine on Brightly, released in 1968, moves further towards progressive rock and has moderate success in the US but does not chart in the UK. A Salty Dog follows in 1969 and becomes the band’s first strong-selling UK album; its title track receives significant FM radio airplay in the US. The group is invited to perform at Woodstock but does not appear because of personal circumstances involving a member’s family.

Fisher and Knights leave in 1969 and are replaced by Chris Copping. Home appears in 1970, and the band performs at the Isle of Wight Festival. After Broken Barricades in 1971, Trower leaves to form his own group, Dave Ball joins on guitar, and Alan Cartwright joins on bass. The band signs to Chrysalis Records and tours extensively, especially in the US.

Live work, later 1970s and regrouping

Procol Harum Live: In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, recorded in 1971 and released in 1972, becomes a major commercial success, reaching number five in the US and earning gold certification. Later albums include Grand Hotel (1973), Exotic Birds and Fruit (1974), which marks a return to a harder rock style, Procol’s Ninth (1975), with the single “Pandora’s Box”, and Something Magic (1977). After that, the band’s activity declines and the line-up continues to change frequently.

The group reforms in 1991 with Gary Brooker, Matthew Fisher, Robin Trower and Keith Reid, and releases The Prodigal Stranger. During the 1990s, touring versions of the band include various musicians, and it performs at the Cropredy Music Festival in 1995 and tours in the UK and US. A 30th-anniversary concert for “A Whiter Shade of Pale” takes place in 1997 and features several former members.

2000s to the end of the group

In the 2000s, Procol Harum records and tours again, releasing The Well’s on Fire in 2003 and several live recordings. Fisher leaves in 2004 after legal disputes over songwriting credits for “A Whiter Shade of Pale”; he later wins the case in 2006. The band continues touring with a revised line-up and also works with orchestras in Denmark and Sweden. Archival and retrospective releases also appear during this period.

In the 2010s, the group continues to perform internationally, often with orchestral arrangements. Novum is released in 2017 and is supported by a European tour. Brooker is hospitalised in 2012 after a fall, recovers and continues performing. The band remains active until Brooker’s death in 2022, after which Procol Harum ceases activity and effectively disbands.

Recognition

“A Whiter Shade of Pale” is nominated for performer induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 and is inducted into the Singles category in 2018.