Procol Harum singer Gary Brooker dies at 76

[dutchman]

Gary Brooker, the frontman of 1960s rock band Procol Harum, has died at the age of 76, his record label has confirmed



The London-born singer led the band throughout their 55-year history, co-writing and singing their most famous song, 1967's A Whiter Shade Of Pale.

He was appointed an OBE in 2003, and A Whiter Shade Of Pale was honoured by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

Brooker died at his home from cancer on Saturday, the band said in a statement.

Born in Hackney, east London, Brooker was just 14 when he formed his first band, The Paramounts, at school.

After achieving success at local youth groups, they signed to EMI Records and scored a minor hit with their debut single, Poison Ivy, in January 1964.

The band received a major endorsement from the Rolling Stones, who gave them guest billing on several memorable shows in the early 1960s - but none of their subsequent singles troubled the charts and they eventually split up.

Brooker went on to form Procol Harum in 1966, and released their best-known song the following year.

One of the anthems of the summer of love, A Whiter Shade Of Pale was an unusual song - from its surreal lyrics ("We tripped the light fandango") to the haunting organ line, and the melancholy arrangement, loosely based on Bach's Air on the G String.

Nonetheless, it became one of the most commercially-successful singles of all time, selling more than 10 million copies worldwide.

At the first ever Brit Awards in 1977, it was named the joint winner (alongside Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody) of the "best British pop single 1952-1977". In 2009, it was named the most-played song of the last 75 years by UK radio stations.

The band promoted the record by touring with Jimi Hendrix, and followed it up with a top 10 single, Homburg.

However, the band "never sought to replicate" the sound of those early records, "preferring to forge a restlessly progressive path", they said in the statement announcing Brooker's death.

Their third album, 1969's A Salty Dog, is regarded as their masterpiece, ushering in an era of lush, orchestrated progressive rock. But they split in 1977 after a series of line-up changes.

Brooker launched a solo career and toured with Eric Clapton's live band in the 1980s, but reformed Procol Harum for a new album, The Prodigal Stranger, in 1991.

He also fought a lengthy legal battle with former band member Matthew Fisher, who claimed to have written the organ riff on A Whiter Shade Of Pale.

The case eventually went to the House of Lords, which ruled that Fisher was entitled to a share of royalties from the song.

Meanwhile, the modern line-up of Procol Harum continued to record and tour until the Covid pandemic put their plans on hold in 2020.

They played their final gig with Brooker in Switzerland in 2019, and used the time away from touring to record a three-track EP, Missing Persons (Alive Forever), which was released in May 2021.