Procol Harum

A Southend-on-Sea band formed in 1967 around Gary Brooker's piano and Keith Reid's words, whose "A Whiter Shade of Pale" topped the UK chart, and whose UK debut closes with Matthew Fisher's instrumental "Repent Walpurgis".

A Whiter Shade of Pale

After the Paramounts disbanded in 1966, Gary Brooker and the lyricist Keith Reid decided in April 1967 to form a band with their own songs. "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was released in May 1967 and spent six weeks at number 1 in the UK and reached 5 in the US; their first gig was at the Speakeasy on May 12. Ray Royer and Bobby Harrison left in June and July 1967 to form Freedom, replaced by Robin Trower and B. J. Wilson. "Homburg" followed in September 1967. The line-up on the debut was Brooker (vocals and piano), Trower (guitar), Matthew Fisher (Hammond organ), David Knights (bass), Wilson (drums) and Reid.

The debut album came out in the US in September 1967 on Deram and in the UK in December 1967 on Regal Zonophone, in mono only. Denny Cordell produced it at Olympic Studios in London, where it was recorded between April and June 1967 by Wikipedia's account; Ron Cooper wrote in Zabadak that the whole album was knocked up in a couple of days on 4-track tape, and Clyde Johnson said about three days. It runs 35:05 over ten tracks and, because the band had moved labels, the UK edition left out the hit, which opens the US edition. It reached 47 on the Billboard 200 and 30 in Germany, went gold in France, and did not chart in the UK. The multitrack tapes were never found, so there is no true stereo mix.

Later years

Fisher and Knights left in 1969, Trower in 1971, and Chris Copping, Alan Cartwright, Dave Ball, Mick Grabham and Peter Solley followed. The albums include A Salty Dog (1969), Home (1970), Broken Barricades (1971), Grand Hotel (1973, number 21 in the US), Exotic Birds and Fruit (1974) and Procol's Ninth (1975), and the live album with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, recorded on November 18, 1971, reached 5 in the US in 1972. They played their final show of the first era in October 1977. B. J. Wilson died in 1990. The band reunited in 1991 for The Prodigal Stranger, and later records are The Well's on Fire (2003) and Novum (2017). Gary Brooker died on February 19, 2022, and the band ended; Keith Reid died on March 23, 2023.

Rolling Stone's 2007 list of 40 essential albums of 1967 includes the debut, and Classic Rock put it in 50 Albums That Built Prog Rock. The independent fan site Beyond the Pale has been running since October 1997 with over 7,500 pages.

Albums

Procol Harum 1967 · Deram (US), Regal Zonophone (UK)
Their debut: ten songs by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid, closing on Matthew Fisher's instrumental.
Shine On Brightly 1968
A 1968 album.
A Salty Dog 1969
A 1969 album.
Home 1970
A 1970 album.
Broken Barricades 1971
A 1971 album.
The Elusive Procol Harum 1971
A 1971 album.
Grand Hotel 1973
A 1973 album.
Stereo Pop Special-66 1974
A 1974 album.
Exotic Birds And Fruit 1974
A 1974 album.
Procol's Ninth 1975
A 1975 album.
Five And Dime 1976
A 1976 album.
Something Magic 1977
A 1977 album.
The Prodigal Stranger 1991
A 1991 album.
The Well's On Fire 2003
A 2003 album.
A Robe Of Silk - Rare Tracks From Early Days 2013
A 2013 album.
Novum 2017
A 2017 album.

Songs

Repent Walpurgis Procol Harum · 1967
Matthew Fisher's instrumental, the closing track of the UK debut, with a Bach section and Robin Trower's guitar.
A Whiter Shade of Pale Procol Harum · 1967
The debut single, number 1 in the UK for six weeks in 1967; our upload is the 2007 remaster.

Sources

Procol Harum, Wikipedia
Procol Harum (album), Wikipedia
Procol Harum discography, Beyond the Pale
List of Procol Harum members, Wikipedia