10 - PROCOL HARUM KEYBOARDIST WINS COMPOSITION CASE

PROCOL HARUM KEYBOARDIST WINS COMPOSITION CASE

Former PROCOL HARUM keyboardist MATTHEW FISHER has won his legal battle to prove he wrote the organ solo for the band's 1967 hit A WHITER SHADE OF PALE. The British group's biggest chart success, which has sold over 10 million copies, had always been credited to lead singer GARY BROOKER and lyricist KEITH REID. However, London's High Court today (20DEC06) ruled Fisher composed the introductory organ solo. The 60-year-old, who is now a computer programmer, is seeking GBP1 million ($1.95 million) in backdated royalties for A Whiter Shade Of Pale. During the hearings, Brooker took the stand to defend his claim he was the sole musical writer of the song. However, Fisher played an organ in the High Court to prove "the process of his composition" by breaking down the solo bar by bar.