Procol Harum - Classically Rock

Gary Brooker and Keith Reid are the only people we could really compare ourselves to. 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale' and 'Homburg' are both like a painting by Dalí or a work by Jean Cocteau!

(Elton John & Bernie Taupin)

'Shine On Brightly' really had a huge influence on me while I was writing Tommy"

(Pete Townshend)

'A Salty Dog' is their masterpiece"

(Jimmy Page)

Intro – Heedless of the frivolous fandango

Between the Apollo 1 crew's first training sessions and the eighth album in the Beatles' discography, the Summer of Love in 1967 is a concentration of new perceptions, flamboyant clothes and revolutionary sounds. Aside from the Liverpool quartet and the lonely hearts band of Sgt. Pepper, on both shores of the Atlantic plenty of others are producing music of the very highest order. Otis, Aretha, Bob Dylan, the Who and the Kinks, the Doors and Cream. Everything that happens in that brief but intense Summer of Love is destined to become popular legend, like Jimi Hendrix's burning guitar at Finsbury Park or Pink Floyd's experiments with quadraphonic sound. The UK can't believe its eyes when Sandie Shaw wins the Eurovision contest. A magical summer, in which something equally phenomenal happens when, on June 8th, a strangely titled track climbs the British charts, released as a single by a virtually unknown band. Who are Procol Harum? What does "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" mean, with that groove so sensual it recalls Percy Sledge? Number one for a full six weeks, with over ten million copies sold, "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" is the song that stuns the teenagers of Albion, the chance result of Decca Records' attempt to merge classical music and rock, entrusting Matthew Fisher's organ with the task of reworking the "Air on the G String" together with "BWV 140 Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme", two works by Johann Sebastian Bach. The singer's warm, intense voice, Gary Brooker's, captivates millions of listeners with that "frivolous fandango" dreamed up by the band's lyricist, Keith Reid. A band with a lyricist somewhere between Lewis Carroll and Geoffrey Chaucer, a Hammond organ quoting Bach, and a singer with the power of an American soul singer? As mentioned, 1967 is a magical year. And Procol Harum take centre stage as if by magic.

Chapter One – The Paramounts

Procol Harum would go on to sing of the sea, having been born as The Paramounts right on the English coast, in the lively town of Southend-On-Sea, a destination that has been popular with East Londoners since the Victorian era. Less than an hour by train from the capital, Southend-On-Sea draws thousands of visitors during the summer season, its sprawling seafront home to dozens of venues where people dance to rock'n'roll. Like an Atlantic City that meets Memphis, so much so that over the years it earns the nickname "The Essex Delta". In the mid-1950s, amid roller coasters and street food, the music of Elvis and Little Richard takes over the area, continuing into the early Sixties with a boom in nightspots – Panda, Zanzibar, Panorama – drawing teenagers from half of England in search of drinks, fun and rhythm'n'blues.

Countless young people team up to form their own bands and ride the beat wave, but the strongest outfit on the scene is The Paramounts, an unusual four-piece with an equally atypical singer who also plays piano. Born in Hackney, East London, on May 29, 1945, Gary Brooker grows up to the rhythm of the guitar played by his father, Harry, in Felix Mendelssohn's Hawaiian Serenaders. He takes up the piano around the age of five, making his stage debut just two years later. The family moves to Southend-On-Sea in 1954, where his lessons continue with Ronald Meachen, whose teaching methods are rather unorthodox, encouraging him to experiment with boogie woogie rhythms and scales. Enrolled at the strict Westcliff High School, young Brooker comes into contact with Chris Copping, known among the students for his skill at playing Gene Vincent's repertoire. Copping gives guitar lessons to Robin "Trot" Trower, born on March 9, 1945 in Catford, southeast London. A huge fan of Elvis Presley, Trower is nurturing his natural instrumental talent while working for his father Len's business, which has managed to secure an exclusive contract to wash the shop windows of almost every store on Southend-On-Sea's High Street.

In 1957 Gary Brooker joins his first skiffle group, The Electrics, with friends Graham "Diz" Derrick and Dave Lewis, playing parties and weddings for the modest sum of £1 a night. Having settled permanently on piano, Brooker goes on to form The Coasters, devoted to American-style rock'n'roll. The goal is to win the local "Best band in town" contest, held annually at the Palace Hotel to pit the best of the English coastal scene against each other live. The Coasters' main rivals are The Raiders, featuring Robin Trower alongside his teacher, Chris Copping. Both bands are ultimately beaten by Micky Law & The Outlaws, who are later accused of rigging the already rudimentary pencil-and-paper voting system. The good news is that local entrepreneur Peter Martin is in the audience that night, keen to put together a supergroup drawing on the best of the various bands in the contest. The name is already decided: The Paramounts, with Trower and Copping from the Raiders, Mick Brownlee from the Outlaws, and Bob Scott on vocals. Trower – reportedly the true driving force behind the Paramounts – wants to bring in Brooker on piano and invites him to rehearsals every Sunday. Gary thus leaves The Coasters to join The Paramounts, who are ready for their live debut on November 5, 1960 at the Palace Dance Studio. After failing to show up for several gigs, Bob Scott is replaced on vocals by Gary himself, who proves to have a far more compelling gift for interpreting the greats of rock'n'roll, from Chuck Berry to Fats Domino.

Now sixteen, Brooker enrols at college to study botany and zoology, while Trower's father buys the Penguin Cafe venue (later renamed The Shades), allowing the group to perform as resident band every Sunday night. At The Shades the Paramounts' fame grows, drawing an ever-larger crowd, including mod audiences who arrive on Italian scooters to hear the wide selection of R&B numbers imported straight from the United States thanks to collector Tony Wilkinson.

In 1962 the Paramounts leave their native Southend-On-Sea for a first tour of the eastern UK, before Chris Copping's departure at the end of the year, as he wants to enrol at university to study chemistry. It's Chris himself who suggests the group hire the already well-known Graham "Diz" Derrick, who owns a brand-new bass and, more importantly, has the money to buy a van on which the words Paramounts R'n'B will be painted. When summer 1963 arrives, Gary Brooker wants to take the big leap and turn the group professional, clashing with Brownlee, who wants to marry and start a family. The band thus needs a new drummer and places an advert in Melody Maker magazine. Trower picks out Barrie James "BJ" Wilson, born in Edmonton on 18 March 1947, who has fled the clutches of parents keen to see him married with a steady job.

With Derrick and BJ on board, the Paramounts change their repertoire and embrace an R&B sound in the style of Ray Charles, opening a Rolling Stones show at the Strand Palais Theatre in Walmer, Kent. The Stones have just released the single "Come On", a cover of Chuck Berry, on its way into the UK singles Top 30 and already the subject of several TV appearances. The evening in Kent turns into a disaster due to violent clashes between some audience members and a group of marines in attendance, but Jagger and Richards notice the band's live skill and a fantastic repertoire of genuine American R&B. In an interview with Melody Maker, Keith Richards names the Paramounts among the "only two groups currently worth paying attention to".

Another crucial encounter for the Paramounts is with the influential Crawdaddy disc-jockey Guy Stevens. A London native, Stevens is a true R&B expert, an advisor to Sue Records and a scout for new trends coming from the American market. Thanks to his airplay, the group manages to play up to five nights a week, earning around 30 pounds per show. What's still missing, though, is a proper record deal, so Peter Martin arranges a recording session at Ibc Studios in London with sound engineer Glyn Johns. It's 18 October 1963, and the Paramounts throw themselves into the soul-beat of "Poison Ivy" (Leiber-Stoller) and the electric blues of "Further On Up The Road" (Bobby Blue). Martin brings the tapes to the attention of Ron Richards (Parlophone), who arranges a new session at Emi's Abbey Road studios on 1 November to re-record "Poison Ivy" with a new B-side, a cover of the Drifters' "I Feel Good All Over" in classic doo-wop style. Emi Parlophone releases the single on 6 December 1963, earning fresh praise from Keith Richards and a full five out of five stars from the well-known Cavern Club dj in Liverpool, Bob Wooler.

On 3 January 1964 the Paramounts appear on Itv's "Five O'Clock Club", then on "Ready, Steady Go!", which sends "Poison Ivy" shooting to number 35 in the UK charts. Later that month their wild version of "Little Bitty Pretty One" (Thurston Harris) is released, a commercial flop since it isn't backed by any TV appearance. The third single is a cover of Curtis Mayfield's "I'm The One Who Loves You", which has a decidedly more soul-leaning sound, while the B-side "It Won't Be Long" is the group's first original song, following in the footsteps of their idol Ray Charles.

While chart success proves slow to arrive, the band's live reputation grows enormously thanks to further shows supporting the Stones. The group loses BJ Wilson, however, after the October release of the beat number "Bad Blood" (Leiber-Stoller), banned by the Bbc over supposed references to venereal disease. Frustrated by the group's clear difficulty climbing the charts, Wilson accepts an offer from Jimmy Powell & The Dimensions and (as legend has it) immediately takes up gambling on the French Riviera. The Paramounts set off in search of a new drummer around the 2I's Coffee Bar in Soho, first considering Mitch Mitchell before settling on Phil Wainman, who makes his debut on 12 November 1964 on the Bbc programme "The Beat Room". The band's fifth single comes out in January 1965, a pop-soul version of "Blue Ribbons", recorded two years earlier by Jackie DeShannon, backed with the bluesy ballad "Cuttin' In" (Johnny Guitar Watson). A short English tour follows in spring with Eurovision star Sandie Shaw, while autumn brings BJ Wilson's return, with Wainman going on to pursue his career as a record producer.

In September the band's sixth and final single is released, another cover drawn from the P.F. Sloan songbook – the French-style Dylanesque ballad "You Never Had It So Good" – paired with the first composition credited to the Brooker-Trower partnership, the pop-beat number "Don't Ya Like My Love". The latter track in particular catches the ear and earns the approval of the Beatles' management, who add the group to the bill for the Fab Four's final two shows, at the Astoria Finsbury Park and the Capitol Theatre in Cardiff, at the end of 1965.

At the start of 1966 the Paramounts set off on an English tour as "Sandie Shaw's support act", lacking a record deal after the flop of their last singles on Emi Parlophone. The group is caught in a vicious circle: with no hit single there's no TV exposure, and with no TV exposure there's no hit single, and so on. With no prospects and, above all, no income in sight, Robin Trower considers leaving, while the band returns to Abbey Road studios to record a spoken-word, jazz-inflected version of "Freedom" (Charles Mingus). It's an interesting change of direction, but hardly the one needed for the hoped-for breakthrough, so Trower announces to the group that he wants to devote himself to the blues of his idols Otis Rush and Albert King, forming a trio called The Jam. Martin Shaw is brought in to replace him on guitar, with the addition of saxophonist Jimmy Jewell, to complete a mini-tour of Germany organised purely for financial reasons. The group is clearly struggling when bassist Diz Derrick also leaves, while Brooker seriously considers permanently disbanding the Paramounts, by now stripped down to the bare minimum. The adventure of the Southend-On-Sea band reaches its sad end in the summer of 1966, when Gary meets lyricist Keith Reid at Guy Stevens' house, finding the decisive chemistry to begin a new story: that of Procol Harum.

Chapter Two – Conquistador

Keith Stuart Brian Reid is born on 19 October 1946 in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, the son of a doctor of law who had moved to England from Vienna to start a new life and become a tailor. Of Jewish descent, Keith is an avid reader but doesn't fit in at school, disappointing his family after failing his exams at the age of 11. Reid thus retreats into a world made up mainly of books, borrowed by the ton from the local library, alongside a steady diet of blues and rock'n'roll records. Having left school for good at 15, he becomes captivated by Bob Dylan's early work, hanging around with his friend Mark Feld, later known as Marc Bolan. The natural fusion of these two great passions leads Keith to want to become a songwriter, starting to write his first songs and shopping them around various record labels in the hope of working as a writer for other artists. In doing so, he runs into Chris Blackwell, soon to be the boss of Island Records, who puts him in touch with Guy Stevens. Stevens admires Reid's work and introduces him to Steve Winwood – who is about to form Traffic – but Jim Capaldi's resistance scuppers any possible collaboration. First with Pete Townshend, then with Cream, several other introductions arranged by Stevens come to nothing, until the fateful meeting with Gary Brooker. Reid sends the former Paramounts man his new work, including "Something Following Me" and "Conquistador", ahead of meeting up to discuss it at a party held at Stevens' house. At the end of the evening, Guy turns to his wife, remarking on her sudden paleness and suggesting she go to bed. "You've turned a whiter shade of pale" is the curious phrase Stevens utters, one that lodges itself in Reid's mind like a nagging thought in June 1966.

With an embryonic version of the lyrics, "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" is rehearsed at the Marquee Studios in London in November, with Tony Ollard on bass, Gary Brooker on piano and BJ Wilson on drums. Brooker and Reid want to form a group, having already found an intriguing name via the cat of a friend of Guy Stevens, called Procol Harum. It's a misspelling of the Arabic-Latin phrase Procul Harun, roughly translatable as "the bearer of light who comes from afar", a particularly sensual notion amid the coming psychedelic wave. The second step concerns the sonic direction to take, one that will be radically different from that of the Paramounts. The group will need a solid blues foundation, drawing on gospel through the presence of a Hammond organ, and following the path of Bob Dylan's socially engaged songwriting in order to make the most of Reid's visionary words.

The very first Procol Harum line-up features Gary Brooker on piano, Alan Morris on organ, BJ Wilson on drums and Dave Knights on bass, crammed into the basement Guy Stevens makes available for rehearsals. After recording again at the Marquee, Stevens takes the tapes of "Conquistador" and "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" to his friend Chris Blackwell, who refuses to produce and release them on his Island Records. On 28 January 1967, Brooker and Reid, by now left alone at the helm of the group, place an advert in the pages of Melody Maker: "Guitarist, organist and bassist wanted to record original material with a Young Rascals/Dylan-type sound". Bassist David Knights (London, 1945) and guitarist Ray Royer (Essex, 1945) are the ones who convince them, brought into the group while Reid is visiting the offices of music publisher David Platz, head of the Essex Music publishing house. In fact, Keith already has a contract in place with Platz, having received an advance of around 100 pounds, and is now in contact, through Essex Music, with producer Denny Cordell, already working with the Moody Blues and The Move.

Unlike Blackwell, Cordell is fully aware that "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" could become a hit and is willing to produce the group, which, however, still lacks an organist. At the end of February, another advert is spotted in Melody Maker, placed by a keyboardist from Croydon, Surrey, named Matthew Fisher. Born on 7 March 1946, Fisher left school to devote himself to music, taking his first piano lessons at the age of six. Struck by The Shadows, he began studying organ at the London Guildhall School of Music, making his professional debut in 1964 with The Tornadoes. After moving on to the Jaywalkers, he ran into Ian McLagan (Small Faces) live and asked to try out his Hammond M102. "Why don't you buy your own?" McLagan replied, prompting him to save up the necessary money and, as a result, place the advert to find a group of professionals. When he turns up at Brooker's house, Fisher is handed a demo version of "Salad Days" along with the promise that "Procol Harum will be as big as the Beatles". But their mentor and earliest supporter Guy Stevens has just struck a deal with Chris Blackwell to work at Island, shortly before being arrested for hashish possession and thrown in a cell for six months in the summer of 1967. Having rid themselves of Stevens, Platz and Cordell form New Breed Productions – later Straight Ahead Productions – together with businessman Jonathan Weston, who is appointed manager of Procol Harum.

In March, Brooker and Reid set about placing another advert to find a drummer, provisionally settling on Bill Eyden of Georgie Fame's Blue Flames. Eyden is a trusted associate of Cordell, living near the Olympic Studios in the Barnes area, booked for the upcoming recording sessions. The single "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" will be released on the Deram label, licensed by Decca Records to give vent to its boldest experiments and, above all, attempt to fuse classical music and rock. Founded in autumn 1966 by Tony Hall, Deram is eager to test the single's market potential, blending Bob Dylan's dreamlike lyricism with Bach-like melodies on the Hammond organ and the sensuality of Percy Sledge's singing, entrusted here to Brooker's warm voice. Once recording wraps up at Olympic Studios, Tony Hall contacts the pirate station Radio London with an intriguing offer: exclusive airplay for the track in exchange for a specific time slot – 13 minutes and 20 seconds before 4 in the afternoon – during the famous programme "The Roman Empire", hosted by Mark Roman from his post aboard a ship out at sea. On 17 April 1967, Roman tells his listeners he has "this new record, which I think is going to sound really good", available by calling or writing to number 17 Curzon Street, where Radio London has its land-based office above the Mayfair market. Hall's move pays off, as thousands of requests pour in within a very short time, prompting Decca to press just as many copies ahead of the planned release on 12 May. That same day, Procol Harum make their live debut at the famous psychedelic club Ufo on Tottenham Court Road, before moving on to the exclusive Speakeasy Club, where they're joined onstage by an enthusiastic Jimi Hendrix.

As "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" climbs dizzyingly up the UK charts, every record shop orders at least one copy, while compliments pour in from fellow artists such as Paul McCartney, Keith Moon and Eric Burdon. Procol Harum are suddenly the group of the moment, reaching number one in France without ever having set foot there. The band plays its first major concert at the Saville Theatre, supporting the Jimi Hendrix Experience on 4 June, showered with praise by the trade press, while the single also reaches number one in the UK, where it holds firm for six weeks. The moment has come to capitalise on this extraordinary success with a string of TV appearances, from "Top of The Pops" to "Billy Cotton's Music Hall" across spring and summer. In the United States, Procol Harum are complete unknowns, yet "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" reaches number five on the Billboard Hot 100, an unthinkable feat without so much as a single American TV appearance. The single even manages to beat the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" in the Nme poll for "Best Single of 1967".

Despite the colossal success of a single track, Procol Harum is a band in disarray, forced by Weston to play non-stop in every kind of venue across England. Caught up in endless interviews and TV appearances, the band never gets a moment to stop and think about its next moves, swallowed whole by "A Whiter Shade Of Pale," which threatens to become a gilded curse. Cordell is furious with Weston's management, who books the group into tiny venues for paltry fees despite having a worldwide hit, and orders Procol Harum to stop immediately and think seriously about recording a debut album.

Before work on the debut album begins, Cordell wants to get rid of both Royer and Harrison – who had replaced Eyden on drums – judging them "out of step" with the band's future direction. The two are informed they're no longer part of Procol Harum, despite having contributed to a worldwide hit, which triggers a legal dispute from the pair, who seek damages and also want to block the use of the name Procol Harum. Cordell's cuts also claim the greedy manager Jonathan Weston, who is replaced by Tony Secunda, already working with the Moody Blues. Brooker then contacts former Paramounts man Robin Trower, and plans BJ Wilson's return to complete the line-up alongside Fisher and Knights.

The long-awaited green light finally arrives to record the first album at Olympic Studios in the spring of 1967, before the band performs in France at the Châtelet Music Festival in front of 20,000 people and then in Belgium at the Bilzen Jazz festival in late August. Right after, Tony Secunda publicly declares that the second single, titled "Homburg," will be even bigger than "A Whiter Shade Of Pale." Released that autumn on the revitalised Regal Zonophone label, distributed by EMI, "Homburg" has a very similar structure, with Brooker's stately piano replacing Fisher's classical organ. With its Beckett-esque lyrics and psychedelic tones worthy of a Dalí painting, "Homburg" captivates critics but comes nowhere close to repeating the previous success, peaking at number 6 in the UK and 34 in the US.

With two singles behind them, Procol Harum head to the United States for the first time, performing first at the Village Theatre in New York and then at the Whisky A Go-Go in Los Angeles. The band then moves to the Fillmore in San Francisco to support Pink Floyd and then the Doors, shortly before the early US release on Deram of their self-titled debut album. Released in the UK in December on Regal Zonophone, Procol Harum is a record that – as the disclaimer on the back cover states – "should be listened to in the same spirit in which it was made," meaning with a sense of urgency and immediacy captured in just two exhausting 12-hour sessions, from 7pm to 7am the following morning. The band wants to re-record several parts originally cut with Harrison and Royer, making full use of Trower's immense talent on electric guitar and BJ Wilson's on drums. The album opens with the pounding "Conquistador," inspired by the sound of the Beach Boys and by Miguel de Cervantes' "Don Quixote," perfectly blending Brooker's piano with Fisher's manic organ. The following "She Wandered Through The Garden Fence" apes a Beatles-style psychedelic march, with the organ's baroque flair riding over driving drums.

Procol Harum is first and foremost a Dylan-esque record, as in "Something Following Me" – the first song co-written by Reid and Brooker – which sounds as if it could have come straight off "Highway 61 Revisited," yet feels fresh thanks to the aching vocal performance and the first electric tears falling from Trower's guitar. While "Mabel" shows a taste for playful diversion somewhere between the Beatles and the Lovin' Spoonful, on "Cerdes (Outside The Gates Of)" the band starts to get serious. Introduced by a smooth, mellow bass, the track opens up on piano and above all on blues guitar, starting out laid-back before expanding into infinite horizons during Trower's stunning central solo. The Dylan-esque reworking continues on "A Christmas Camel," not too subtly inspired by "Ballad Of A Thin Man," which showcases the full power of Brooker's voice and once again Trower's sublime technique in the intense middle section that lifts the whole track to a higher, almost mystical plane.

"Kaleidoscope" is a furious uptempo number that sounds like the soundtrack to a journey through outer space, while "Salad Days (Are Here Again)" revisits the Dylan style in the form of a cinematic, baroque-pop-flavoured ballad. "Good Captain Clack" sounds like it could have come from the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, with its demented carousel feel, a fun prelude to the funereal instrumental finale, "Repent Walpurgis." True to Procol Harum form, the track once again draws on Bach, elevated by Trower's tour de force, as he cranks up the amps and machine-guns blues licks over the docile, classical-leaning organ. Long used to close live shows, "Repent Walpurgis" is the wonderfully original conclusion to an album that's perhaps too derivative, but one with moments of truly outstanding musicianship.

Chapter Three – An Old Sea Dog

Recorded in mono at Cordell's insistence, Procol Harum fails to set the UK charts alight, inevitably hampered by the (correct) decision to leave "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" off the tracklist. On 16 January 1968 Procol Harum play the Saville Theatre supported by Fairport Convention, then share a bill with the Moody Blues at the Midem Festival in Cannes. The shows keep coming until March, when the band heads to Germany for a mini-tour with the Bee Gees, then moves on to the United States in the spring to begin work straight away on their second LP.

Thanks to a deal struck by Secunda with America's A&M for a total of five albums, the band now has a bigger budget at its disposal, with several appearances on American TV lined up but never finalised due to the manager's own excessive demands. Brooker and Reid don't take this well at all and decide to fire him as summer approaches, turning instead to Frank Zappa's former associate Bennett Glotzer, working alongside American promoter Ronnie Lyons. Live activity in the States intensifies, particularly at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit and the Fillmore West in San Francisco. Procol Harum follow Santana's summer tour coast to coast, and in the autumn take part in the Pop Festival alongside Deep Purple, Canned Heat and Creedence Clearwater Revival. The dates keep coming non-stop, right up to the Miami Pop Festival in Florida in front of more than 100,000 people alongside Chuck Berry and Fleetwood Mac. The year closes with a break over the Christmas period, when Regal Zonophone releases the band's second album, Shine On Brightly, at home.

Shine On Brightly raises the band's ambitions, still under the guidance of Denny Cordell, who is meanwhile turning most of his attention to his new discovery, Joe Cocker. To work on the Procol Harum's second album, Cordell brings in sound engineer Glyn Johns – who had already worked on the Rolling Stones' "Beggar's Banquet" – alongside his assistant, Tony Visconti. Regarded by critics as one of the earliest examples of progressive rock, Shine On Brightly does indeed shed the derivative, Dylan-indebted sound of the debut, sharpening the band's compositional skills and proving that Procol Harum are no mere one-hit wonder. The liturgical introduction of "Quiet Rightly So" kickstarts the record amid baroque organ flourishes and blazing guitar runs, almost led by the hand through Brooker's melodramatic vocal in a track that leans more firmly towards rock. The hallucinated opening of the title track – a lyrical journey through the vortexes of madness – is balanced out by an almost vaudevillian flavour, a perfect example of psychedelia recorded in stereo thanks to Glyn Johns' involvement. The Beatles-esque style continues in the skipping, unsettling rubberiness of "Skip Softly (My Moonbeams)," closed out by Trower's distorted coda over cascades of organ and drums before the equestrian-circus carousel kicks in. Procol Harum return to their love of gospel and blues on the handclapping "Wish Me Well," which lets the guitar loose over twelve-bar standards in the style of Eric Clapton. From the melancholy lament of "Rambling On," embroidered with electric sobs over Viennese-style piano, the record veers into a Salvation Army-style march, "Magdalene (My Regal Zonophone)."

Shine On Brightly is however anchored by the ambitious, over-17-minute suite "In Held 'Twas in I," introduced by Brooker's spoken-word narration recounting the story of a pilgrim's visit to the Dalai Lama in search of the meaning of life. "Glimpses Of Nirvana" introduces raga rhythms over a metaphysical piano, accompanied by unsettling choral voices that morph into the bells of "'Twas Teatime At The Circus," another dizzying circus-like turn. The unmistakable organ of "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" returns on the Beatles-esque "In The Autumn Of My Madness," probably one of the pieces that most influenced Pete Townshend, who was working on "Tommy" around that time. While the guitar returns in an almost horror-movie guise on "Look To Your Soul," which leads into the cinematic main theme, the "Grand Finale" revisits Haydn and calls on a full choir of children's voices to launch into the grandeur of Trower's solo. The suite is a triumph of imagination and sonic experimentation, one that caused a sensation within the psychedelic and proto-progressive community, especially in California, where the album would go on to sell far more copies than anywhere else.

Peaking at number 24 on the Billboard chart, Procol Harum's second album fails to break through at home, released at the end of the year, several months later than in the States. Among the reasons for the flop was a UK music press still fixated on gossip, while in the United States titles like Rolling Stone and Crawdaddy were flourishing as voices of the American counterculture. Better understood and more appreciated on American soil, Procol Harum decide to record their next album at Wally Heider's studios in Los Angeles, around the autumn of 1968. Fisher has a new piece, "Stoke Poges," an instrumental meant to be the natural successor to "Repent Walpurgis," but it's abandoned mid-development as it's deemed too basic. Brooker is approached by Ron Richards, the Paramounts' former producer, who offers him the chance to work at EMI's legendary Abbey Road, with access to innovative eight-track recording technology.

The band is thrilled at the idea of recording in the same studios as the Beatles, especially Matthew Fisher, who is tired of life on the road and wants to focus solely on studio work. To persuade him to stay in the band, Brooker offers him the chance to produce the next album himself, A Salty Dog. With the help of sound engineer Ken Scott – who had already worked with the Beatles on the "White Album" – Procol Harum set to work on an orchestral piece written by Brooker, drawing on his experience touring with the Bee Gees. On first listen, Trower is left spellbound by the simple beauty of the score, for which Reid already has a poignant lyric about a captain abandoned by his crew, in a lyrical style that updates Coleridge's "The Rhyme Of The Ancient Mariner." The cry of gulls accompanies a mournful piano that begins to soar over Brooker's extraordinary vocal performance, off-the-scale in its intensity and drama. Described by some as "Procol Harum's Citizen Kane," the track is the cornerstone of the whole album, which immediately shifts gear into the irresistibly off-kilter honky-tonk of "The Milk Of Human Kindness," revving up on proto-glam guitar in a style typical of Robbie Robertson's The Band. "Too Much Between Us" is a delicate acoustic interlude, again on the theme of the sea that can keep people apart, a lyrical detail that led many observers at the time to believe that A Salty Dog was in fact a concept album about water.

Written in the States between gigs, "The Devil Came From Kansas" draws its lyrical inspiration from a Randy Newman song about a corrupt senator, with an imposing martial rhythm driven by the drums, over which Trower's Hendrix-esque guitar lays down its lines. Drawn to the vast array of unconventional instruments available at Abbey Road, Procol Harum play around with marimba, tambourines and flute on the Caribbean-flavoured "Boredom." The first composition credited to Robin Trower alone is "Juicy John Pink," an old-school twelve-bar standard that sounds as though it was lifted straight from the Muddy Waters songbook. The following "Wreck Of The Hesperus" is instead the work of Matthew Fisher, his second orchestral composition, combining a Spector-esque wall of sound with Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony.

The collective alchemy achieved by the band reaches lyrical peaks, with regal piano in perfect harmony with blues guitar, as on the dramatic "All This And More," closed out by a horn coda. Procol Harum are quite literally in a state of grace, as Trower channels the vocal style typical of American soul-blues, almost in the manner of Otis Redding, to bring out the extraordinary electric intensity of "Crucifiction Lane."

A Salty Dog closes with the liturgical hymn "Pilgrim's Progress," inspired by the Bee Gees' work and crafted with delicacy by Fisher's organ right up to the choral coda of handclapping, choir voices and bells. Released in the UK in July 1969, A Salty Dog is a masterpiece of intent from a band running like a Swiss watch, praised by critics who highlighted its ability to blend classic rock, blues and progressive experimentation with remarkable ease. Ken Scott was named "best sound engineer of 1969," but the album never climbed higher than No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100. Destined to become a piece of music history, the single "A Salty Dog" failed to capture the tastes of younger music fans, even though its B-side featured the raucous rock-blues of "Long Gone Geek," in the most explosive style of the Small Faces.

Chapter Four – Homecoming

A Salty Dog made its live debut at the Palm Springs Festival in California in April 1969. The band then returned, after a year's absence, to the UK for the Camden Fringe Free Festival alongside Yes and Soft Machine, before flying to Canada to play the Toronto Festival with The Band and Steppenwolf in front of 50,000 people. The new album's world rollout continued at New York's Fillmore East alongside idols Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker, ahead of an unusual offer from the Canadian organizers of the Stratford Festival: a live evening backed by an entire orchestra. Given how adaptable songs like "A Salty Dog" and "Wreck Of The Hesperus" were, Procol enthusiastically accepted the proposal, setting to work on a bespoke arrangement of the suite "In Held 'Twas in I." The Stratford Festival Orchestra brought together the best of Canada's classical musicians, including a choir normally busy with musical settings of Shakespearean dramas. Brooker was in seventh heaven, less so Trower, who was used to playing at high volumes and had no liking at all for having his expressive range limited onstage.

Procol were now on the books of booking agents the world over, playing first at the Atlantic City Pop Festival with Janis Joplin and B.B. King, then at the Singer Bowl Music Festival with the Moody Blues and Steppenwolf. The group was invited to play the Woodstock Festival, set for August 15-17, but Trower's wife was about to give birth, forcing them to turn down the offer — obviously a huge regret given the event's eventual worldwide impact. With live commitments temporarily wrapped up, the band had to deal with Fisher's discontent, as he was by now tired of life on the road and wanted to focus solely on studio work. While the organist would stay on as producer, bassist Dave Knights left the group to join Mickey Jupp and form Legend. Trower suggested replacing him with an old acquaintance, Chris Copping, formerly of the Paramounts, who was currently available having finished his chemistry studies. The idea was to return to a four-piece lineup and embrace once more a more American sound, strongly rooted in their beloved R&B, with Copping himself handling organ parts in the style of Ray Manzarek of the Doors.

Now a quartet, Procol Harum called off all live commitments to focus on the next record, holing up in a cottage in the English countryside between autumn 1969 and winter 1970. The first live show with the new lineup took place at London's Lyceum Ballroom in support of the Stones at the "Midnight Court" show, marking Jagger and co.'s homecoming after their American tour, which had included the disastrous night at Altamont. Moving to Trident Studios to record their next album, Home, the group once again relied on Matthew Fisher alongside Ken Scott, but the magic chemistry achieved on A Salty Dog struggled to resurface. Fisher himself was forced to constantly haul around his precious Hammond organ, which was fatefully lost by one of the roadies during a move from the cottage to Trident. Furious, Fisher walked out on Procol with work already underway, swiftly followed by Ken Scott, who went on to join George Harrison for his "All Things Must Pass."

The band had to start from scratch, going back to rehearsing in Essex with morale at rock bottom. Meanwhile, Brooker and Reid signed a management contract with Chrysalis, bringing in new manager Doug D'Arcy and setting up a rights-management company called Blue Beard Music, splitting royalties on their co-written compositions equally. To make up for Fisher's sudden departure, the two followed Ron Richards' advice to bring in Chris Thomas behind the mixing desk, who was already working with George Martin at Abbey Road Studios. The group thus returned to the Beatles' studio in spring 1970, first recording a new Trower composition, "Whisky Train." Built on an irresistible Sabbath-like riff, the track was almost a new manifesto of intent after the lyrical elegance of A Salty Dog, propelled by the killer rhythm of Wilson's drumming, which revved up between cowbells, cymbals and hi-hat in the style of his partner-in-crime Keith Moon.

"The Dead Man's Dream" returns to the elegiac format built on piano and organ, with lyrics worthy of Edgar Allan Poe, while "Still There'll Be More" experiments with new honky-tonk uptempo numbers. "Nothing That I Didn't Know" is the delicate ballad written by Brooker and Reid, marked by evocative use of accordion, while "About To Die" gives the floor to Trower's abrasive guitar for a sturdy slice of soul-blues.

Opened by the funereal minimalism of "Barnyard Story," the second side of Home experiments with the Lennon-esque cut-up of "Piggy Pig Pig," but is above all dominated by the roughly seven minutes of the Wagnerian epic "Whaling Stories," a gothic crescendo weaving through Trower's blues solos and the organ's majesty before settling into a melancholy calm carried by Brooker's cathartic voice and the rising Waters-like choir. It's the track that "saves" an album that is certainly less flawless than A Salty Dog, a work only half mature, mainly due to growing tensions within the band.

Released in February 1970, Home was, for Procol Harum, a metaphorical return to their roots, while the trade press praised Robin Trower's more prominent contribution and Chris Thomas's production skills. The album reached No. 34 in the States and No. 49 in the UK, and was taken on tour through triumphant dates — such as the one in front of 200,000 people at the Atlanta Pop Festival on July 4th — and absurd venues across the southern United States, where the group found itself facing crowds that were none too sophisticated and very drunk. The work of managers Glotzer and Lyons wasn't paying off as hoped, since Procol remained mired in debt despite constant touring. Before a New York date, federal agents raided the venue to seize all the box-office takings, leaving the band devastated after all that coast-to-coast work.

The time had come to make a decision: fire the old management and place their trust in Chrysalis, with Derek Sutton handling American interests and Doug D'Arcy European ones. The first result of this new course was the August 28th performance at the Isle of Wight Pop Festival in front of half a million people, followed by the Love & Peace gathering on the island of Fehmarn, which was however cancelled due to unrest between police and local biker gangs. The band stayed on in Germany to play alongside Jimi Hendrix, a hugely emotional event for Trower, unaware it would be the last time before the Seattle guitarist's tragic death on September 18, 1970.

Having gone back to their roots with the making of Home, Procol Harum had enjoyed themselves playing old rock'n'roll standards, just to warm up before tackling the new record's songs. Since all four had once been in the Paramounts — albeit never all at the same time — they decided it would be fun to record them properly, booking Abbey Road Studios again for a 12-hour session. The producer was once more Chris Thomas, while Blodwyn Pig's Jack Lancaster, a friend of BJ Wilson's, was brought in to play sax. To make things even stranger, the record wouldn't be released under the Procol Harum name, but as Liquorice John Death & The All Stars. At the end of the single session, the group gathered to listen back to everything, deciding to shelve the project indefinitely. They then went back on tour with Jethro Tull across the UK and France, while Keith Reid worked on ending their Regal Zonophone contract early. The problem was that the band still owed the label one more album, which was fortunately resolved with an agreement whereby Procol would hand over a share of the profits from their next two albums to the executives at parent company Straight Ahead Productions. By the end of the year the group had moved under the wing of Chrysalis Records, distributed in the UK by Chris Blackwell's Island.

Chapter Five – Procol Symphony

While rumors of BJ Wilson's possible departure circulated in the press, Procol Harum quickly returned to the studio after a new US tour in February 1971. Using a new 16-track recording system, Broken Barricades was the result of more than thirty sessions at Air Studios in Oxford Circus, with the now-essential input of producer Chris Thomas, regarded by everyone as practically a member of the band. In a musical landscape dominated by hard-hitting bands like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, the album marked a new shift in direction, from the dominance of keyboards to that of electric guitar. And it's Trower's sly riff that opens "Simple Sister," updating traditional rock'n'roll conventions with a powerful, unsettling arrangement driven by piano and sublime orchestral touches. It's no coincidence that the track caught the ear of Bob Ezrin, who would ask Copping and BJ Wilson to play on "How Do You Think It Feels" from Lou Reed's seminal "Berlin." The song stands as a new masterpiece for the band and for Chris Thomas, who pushed to bring in a Moog synthesizer to modernize the swaying dirge of "Broken Barricades."

Trower again takes center stage on the hard-rock-flavored honky-tonk of "Memorial Drive," very much in the vein of Deep Purple's typical repertoire, while Brooker's fragile vocal enriches the Viennese waltz "Luskus Delph," once again drawing inspiration from Bach. The album's second side opens with a drumming tour de force from Wilson, who dictates the lopsided rhythm of "Power Failure," leaving it to Eastern-tinged psychedelia to introduce "Song For A Dreamer," Trower's tribute to his late idol Jimi Hendrix. It's once again the guitar that sets the pace of the theatrical "Playmate Of The Mouth," with New Orleans-style horn phrasing woven in, before taking center stage once more with the irresistible hard-blues riff of "Poor Mohammed."

Particularly well received by the American music press, Broken Barricades is the album that launched Trower into a new creative and performing phase, while still blending well with the rest of the band, particularly with Wilson's drumming. The record proved that the group, rumors notwithstanding, remained solid and tight-knit, yet it still failed to climb higher than No. 42 in the UK and No. 32 in the US. Then, suddenly, came news that upended everything: Robin Trower would be leaving Procol Harum to launch a solo career.

Always devoted to electric blues, Robin Trower felt the time had come to try a new adventure. The guitarist had always seen Procol as a fantastic training ground, playing on record and live, before dedicating himself fully to a different sound. He remained tied to manager Doug D'Arcy and Chrysalis Records, founding Jude with Frankie Miller, Jimmy Dewar and Clive Bunker, formerly of Jethro Tull. The quartet's life was extremely brief, falling apart within a few months and leaving Trower and Dewar alone with new drummer Reggie Isadore. News of Robin's departure shook A&M's American offices, who were deeply worried about the band's future without his talent. In September 1971 Brooker began auditions to find a replacement, settling on twenty-one-year-old Dave Ball, from the West Midlands and a huge fan of B.B. King, who was already working with Cozy Powell. The lineup changes didn't end there: Copping switched to organ, while Alan Cartwright, a native of Edmonton and an old schoolmate of Wilson's, came in on bass.

Procol Harum thus returned to the classic five-piece lineup, ready to accept an interesting offer from the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) to record a live album blending rock and classical music. Brooker convinced A&M to put up the funds, given that the ESO had already had a live encounter with the Canadian rock band Lighthouse. The group thus met with the orchestral collective's management and set the date for November 18, 1971, beginning a series of rehearsals that would prove far from easy, especially given the difficulty of achieving a smooth chemistry with the rhythm section. Further complicating rehearsals was a not always idyllic relationship between the band and Lawrence Leonard, the orchestra's conductor, as well as the decision to record live for the first time using the new 16-track system.

In front of about three thousand people awaiting more than 50 musicians and 24 choir singers, Procol Harum took the stage at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton, Alberta. The evening opened with Chris Copping performing Albinoni's Adagio on organ, before Brooker's sarcastic "ready?" launched "Conquistador" in its new symphonic guise complete with mariachi trumpets.

Procol Harum Live: In Concert With The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra is the album that established the band among both rock devotees and classical music fans, managing to find a not-so-simple but magical alchemy on the Canadian stage. The fusion achieved on the following "Whaling Stories" is extraordinary indeed, carried by Brooker's intense vocals over Pink Floyd-esque atmospheres right up to the dramatic, explosive finale between the apocalyptic orchestra and Ball's blues solo, before the aching piano coda and the renewed explosion into the operatic choir. The set continues with the flight of seagulls in the poignant "A Salty Dog", naturally included live for its extreme adaptability, in a version that's even more airy and cinematic. While Bell's guitar converses perfectly with the ESO on the ending of "All This And More", the climax of the entire set is reached in the nearly twenty minutes of the suite "In Held 'Twas In I". The band's ambitions are at their peak, over the sweet strings of "Glimpses Of Nirvana" that morph into a circus saraband ("'Twas Teatime At The Circus") before the unsettling march "Look To Your Soul" and the symphonic triumph of "Grand Finale".

The album achieved huge chart success, reaching number 7 in Canada and number 5 on the Billboard Top 200 in the United States, going gold with over 500,000 copies sold. The live version of "Conquistador" took off on radio stations specializing in pop and progressive rock, reaching number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. The experiment thus succeeded not only artistically but, surprisingly, commercially too, after years of lean times for the band.

The success of In Concert did not, however, solve the band's debt problems, which had in the meantime worsened precisely because of the high production costs of the show. Procol's future was more uncertain than ever, especially in early 1972 when the rock landscape was packed with successful bands, from the Stones to Led Zeppelin. That's why it was necessary to immediately go back on tour to the four corners of the planet, to ride the new wave of popularity following the live album and the new version of "Conquistador". With the debt issue quickly resolved, Procol booked Air Studios to go back to work with Chris Thomas in the spring of 1972.

Deeply tied to the band, the producer was in the meantime busy with Pink Floyd on the masterpiece "The Dark Side Of The Moon", while Brooker announced to the press that Grand Hotel would be a record "very European in style". The recording sessions, however, did not go smoothly, undermined by an increasingly tense relationship between Wilson and Ball, who even came to blows over a Ray Charles impression Brooker did at the piano. The singer himself took Ball aside and told him it wasn't possible to keep working like this, effectively excluding him from the group. It was then announced to the press that the guitarist "wants to go back to playing blues": he was promptly replaced by Mick Grabham (Sunderland, 1948), who had already worked with Plastic Penny, then Cochise, and finally as a solo artist with the album "Mick The Lad". His live debut with Procol came at the Rainbow Theatre in London with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, before setting off for Germany on a mini-tour with other local orchestras.

The shows served as a test to try out some new songs live, ahead of the new album's release in autumn 1972, later postponed to spring 1973 to allow more time to re-record all the guitar parts already played by Ball. A real tour de force for Procol, starting with the magnificence of the title track, which opens with a Van Dyke Parks-style arrangement before developing into a kind of foxtrot over a rock backbone, recounting the refinement of European courts through Reid's lyrics, which dance among profiteroles, vintage wine and fine meats. The grand life comes alive again in a symphonic celebration amid Franco-Viennese atmospheres, brushing up against megalomania with as many as 22 mandolins played by BJ Wilson. Rewritten to introduce Grabham's new guitar, "Toujours L'amour" pushes forward on a vibrant honky-tonk groove, enriched by several layers of guitar overlapping Gary Brooker's Ian Anderson-style vocals. While "A Rum Tale" plays on a waltz with Copping's organ woven in, the following "T.V. Ceasar" is perhaps among the boldest experiments of the band's new symphonic direction, a dramatic operatic-progressive crescendo building to the wah-wah solo and the children's choir.

The second side opens with the acoustic divertissement "A Souvenir Of London", inspired by the buskers on London's streets and played with banjo, accordion and small spoons. Conceived as a critique of the obesity phenomenon in the United States, "Bringing Home The Bacon" is another gem on the album, driven by the almost funky rhythm of guitar and keyboards, suddenly torn open by horror-film-style accelerations. On "For Liquorice John" a detuned piano sets the pace of a funereal melody, followed by the French noir-cinema atmospheres of "Fires (Which Burnt Brightly)", featuring vocal contributions from Christiane Legrand, singer of the Parisian group Swingle Singers. Closing the album is "Robert's Box", its lyrics inspired by the Beatles' "Doctor Robert" and carried along by Brooker's dazed doo-wop refrain, before a finale reminiscent of the suite "In Held 'Twas In I".

Chapter Six – Exotic Birds and Fruit

Music journalism appreciated the fin-de-siecle taste of Grand Hotel, its tracks brimming with nostalgia, desolation and lost loves. Released in March 1973, Procol Harum's sixth studio album didn't fare particularly well commercially, overshadowed by "The Dark Side Of The Moon" and "Houses Of The Holy". To make up for the album's poor earnings, the band went back on tour around the world, from the Edinburgh Rock Festival to their first trip to Australia and New Zealand. Riding the wave of success achieved with the ESO, Brooker and co. accepted a new offer put forward by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, to play at the Hollywood Bowl in front of almost 20,000 people. The radio program "The King Biscuit Flower Hour" offered to broadcast the concert live, hard-won triumphant hours culminating in a standing ovation as the band took their bow dressed as on the cover of their latest album, in tailcoat and top hat.

Back home at the end of the long tour, the five reunited to think over their next steps, accepting Brooker's suggestion to return to rock'n'roll after their recent symphonic experiments. This was the genesis of Exotic Birds And Fruit, whose production began amid a thousand difficulties due to the economic crisis that broke out in the United Kingdom in the winter of 1973/74, with coal miners on strike and an energy situation stretched to breaking point. With thousands of families left in the dark, Procol Harum considered relocating to the United States, a plan scrapped thanks to Chris Thomas's intervention, which secured the band a generator to finish the sessions at Air Studios in time for spring 1974.

Marking Procol's new direction is the uptempo rocker "Butterfly Boys", built around a fierce lyric written by Reid to criticize the recent contractual handling by Chrysalis Records' management. The single chosen to launch the new record was the pounding "Nothing But The Truth", a return to the Paramounts' R&B roots, which was featured by renowned DJ John Peel in his "Single of the Week" column in Sounds magazine. Though still present, the orchestral additions now serve a more direct sound, just as the band's recent European grandeur is leaner on the waltz "Beyond The Pale", halfway between a drinking song and certain Nordic folk songs. This return to the band's sonic origins translates into the Dylan-esque "As Strong As Samson", which could easily have come out of the "Blood On The Tracks" sessions.

From the intense choral ballad "The Idol" to the multiple overdubbed guitar parts on the dark "The Thin End Of The Wedge", the new album is perhaps among the "hardest" the band ever recorded. "Monsieur R. Monde" veers towards honky-tonk-paced rock'n'roll, while the Caribbean beat of "Fresh Fruit" returns to those carefree interludes like "Mabel". The finale is entrusted to the Beatles-esque soul-pop of "New Lamps For Old", another dazzling showcase for Brooker's warm voice, over subtle organ lines amid old-fashioned gospel atmospheres.

Released in April 1974, Exotic Birds And Fruit received mixed reviews, with some praising Chris Thomas's production once again and others judging it excessive by now, almost bloated. With its unusual cover literally depicting exotic birds and fruit – a painting by the Hungarian artist Jakob Bogdani – the album was a commercial flop, stalling at number 86 on the US chart. Relations with Chrysalis became extremely tense, following Reid's frontal attack in "Butterfly Boys" and the one aimed at Thomas, who was accused of failing to make the record appealing. The producer himself would later admit to having suffered a creative void, while Brooker and co. experienced fresh difficulties staying together as a band.

But there's no time to reflect, as a new tour kicks off in the United States, swinging through Europe in the autumn to capitalize on the band's popularity in countries like Germany, Denmark and Sweden. While praise pours in for Procol's extraordinary live chops, Chrysalis, in agreement with Brooker, is mulling an even more drastic return to basics, sidelining Chris Thomas to hire two legends of popular music, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The pair started out in the mid-50s writing fundamental songs for Elvis like "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock", before moving on to Fats Domino, the Drifters and the Coasters, dragging dozens of singles up the charts, from "Charlie Brown" to "Poison Ivy". The duo recently steered Stealers Wheel's "Stuck In The Middle With You" to success, prompting Chrysalis to bet on them to revitalize Procol Harum's career after the commercial disaster of Exotic Birds And Fruit.

Ramport Studios, run by the Who, are booked to begin recording sessions for Procol's Ninth, with a batch of songs written by the producers themselves. Brooker, however, is against the idea of using leftovers the duo had kept from Peggy Lee's "Mirrors" album, preferring instead to focus on remixing "Pandora's Box", shelved back in 1967 during the sessions for the debut album. Leiber and Stoller opt for a Latin-tinged arrangement, introducing marimba over a film-noir rhythm. The experiment works, and the two producers pull off their magic again, as the single climbs the charts, reaching the UK Top 20. The second cornerstone track on the album is "I Keep Forgetting", a funky soul number written by the duo for Chuck Jackson. Perfectly in line with the old Paramounts' live shows, the song should have come out as the second single, but Chrysalis instead chooses the limp "The Final Thrust", a forgettable pop ditty that predictably sinks without a trace in the charts.

It's a warning sign for the band's creativity, which again retreats into R&B territory on the unassuming "Fool's Gold" and reaches back even further, into the 1920s, with the jazzy arrangement of "Taking The Time". More interesting is the funky "The Unquiet Zone", as is "Without A Doubt", though the latter reveals a sound uncomfortably close to bands like Little Feat.

The main concern about the direction chosen by Leiber and Stoller lies in a general flattening of Procol's sound, in particular a suppression of the organ and guitar textures. "The Piper's Tune" veers into Scottish-tinged folk with the use of bagpipes, while the decision to tack on a cover of "Eight Days A Week", recorded just for fun during the sessions, as the closing track leaves one rather puzzled.

After the release of Procol's Ninth, critical opinion leans negative, highlighting the lack of creative spark and the inclusion of lackluster songs like "The Final Thrust", which Brooker himself would disown a few years later. The collaboration with Leiber and Stoller, beyond the success of "Pandora's Box", failed to deliver the hoped-for results, leaving the band in a genuine limbo. Live activity fares better, relentless as ever, when the Mexican government invites the band to play in Guadalajara and Mexico City at the end of August. Broadcast live on TV, Procol's performance is marred by serious security problems, with local police intervening and firing water cannons into the crowd.

Chapter Seven – Something Terrible

Thus begins 1976, with the unstoppable rise of the punk and new wave movements, which will consign the dinosaurs of rock straddling the Sixties and Seventies to the scrapheap. Sensing the danger, Reid and Brooker bring in a new partner, Nick Blackburn, for their Strongman Productions, whose first task is to organize an unusual tour of Eastern European countries. It starts in Vienna, then continues through Poland and Yugoslavia, before a 12-date sold-out tour of France, where they perform live a new version of the Adagio by Venetian composer Tomaso Albinoni, released on the French market alongside "The Blue Danube" from Johann Strauss II's repertoire.

Shows follow one another at a frantic pace for much of the year, leading to ever-worsening personal and artistic friction between Cartwright and Grabham. One of the two has to leave the group, and in July Chrysalis announces to the press that it will be the former, replaced internally by Copping, with the consequent addition of a new keyboardist, Londoner Pete Solley. Active in various bands since the mid-60s and recruited to modernize Procol's sound, Solley is skilled on the Farfisa organ in the style of Sly Stone and owns a Multiman synthesizer. The band's idea is to shelve the organ, their true trademark, and to terminate early their collaboration with Leiber and Stoller, who are contractually due to work on another album. Manager Nick Blackburn manages to part ways with the two producers without any legal fallout, leaving Brooker and co. free to produce themselves in the United States with the help of sound engineers Ron and Howie Albert. The band flies to Miami to work at Criteria Studios, where the Bee Gees, Eric Clapton and the Eagles have already recorded, but there are only a few finished songs on hand, as life on the road has drained the creative spark of all five members. Brooker and Reid thus shut themselves away in a genuine compositional tour de force, finishing about fifteen tracks that are then played for the Albert brothers. Their verdict is merciless: "You know, you can hide dog shit inside a piece of chocolate, but when you bite into it, what do you find? That it's dog shit!"

Staying humble, the band shelves several tracks, focusing instead on an old fairy story Reid had written for a possible sequel to the suite "In Held 'Twas In I". It is, however, a huge gamble to release a track of nearly 20 minutes in a musical landscape that has completely changed, where punk is entirely rewriting the rules of the song format. From its metaphysical cover art onward, Something Magic comes across as a thoroughly anachronistic album, the swan song of a band that has had no place in rock's front ranks since the mid-1970s. Released in March 1977, just months after "Never Mind The Bollocks", the album is savaged by critics, and later disowned even by Brooker himself for a sound out of step with the new musical trends on both sides of the Atlantic. From the Hollywood B-movie atmospheres of the title track to the revival of chamber-style arrangements on "Skating On Thin Ice", the new album proves utterly forgettable. While the uptempo rocker "Wizard Man" tries to shake up the listener the way "Pandora's Box" once did, the ethereal soul-blues of "Strangers In Space" only manages to convey a sense of floating in the void.

The best track on the album is without doubt "The Mark Of The Claw", a progressive last gasp written by Grabham amid synthesizer flourishes that immediately showcase Solley's talent. Finally, there's the sprawling suite "The Worm & The Tree", which unfolds in three parts across orchestral flourishes, spoken sections and baroque keyboards. Essentially a lesser version of "In Held 'Twas In I" without a powerful main theme.

Something Magic is savaged by critics, who call it a "horrible" album with a sound like "zen on the cheap". Brooker and Reid are disheartened, regretting having released the suite "The Worm & The Tree" for lack of better ideas after the showdown at Criteria Studios. Part of the blame for the flop also falls on the Albert brothers themselves, who reportedly made no real effort to improve Procol's material, panned even by longtime supporter John Peel, who rewrote "Something Magic" as "Something Awful".

There's nothing left to do but go back on tour and play the older songs, but Chris Copping can't take it anymore, collapsing during a show after one too many beers. The bassist has to stop and rest, before joining Frankie Miller for an American tour, temporarily replaced by Dee Murray, already a member of Elton John's band since 1970. The American leg of the Something Magic tour sees the band relegated, across six dates, to opening for Supertramp, who had recently relocated permanently to the States to record "Even In The Quietest Moments…". The new stateside run wraps up in mid-May at New York's Palladium, where the band still draws a strong following. In fact, it's their last-ever concert in the United States, before an announcement in NME in mid-June reveals that Mick Grabham is leaving the group, eager to pursue his career with other musicians. The news goes largely unnoticed – other genres are grabbing the public's attention by then – but it's just the spark, because Brooker is by now exhausted, having carried the band forward for ten long years, and now feels completely drained.

Procol Harum's final performance is dated 18 October 1977, at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, celebrating the naming of "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" – alongside "Bohemian Rhapsody" – as Best British Pop Single of the last 25 years. What would later become the Brit Award is the final accolade for the most famous song by a band that managed to prove it was no mere one-hit wonder.

Chapter Eight – Solo Artists

After leaving Procol Harum, Robin Trower joins Scottish musicians Frankie Miller (vocals) and James Dewar (bass), both coming from the rock-blues outfit Stone The Crows. The idea is to form a quartet called Jude with ex-Jethro Tull drummer Clive Bunker, but the project collapses after just a few rehearsals. The personal and professional chemistry between Trower and Dewar, however, leads them to seek out a new drummer, Aruba native Reg Isidore, to carry on as a trio under the name Robin Trower Band. The English guitarist stays with Chrysalis, enlisting former bandmate Matthew Fisher to produce his debut album Twice Removed From Yesterday, released in March 1973. Having left Procol Harum to give himself over to the sacred fire of blues, Trower picks up his Fender Stratocaster to show the world that Jimi Hendrix's mystical energy can be reinterpreted. From the solemnity of "I Can't Wait Much Longer" to the melodicism of "Daydream", Trower updates Hendrix-style feedback and distortion with a cleaner, more technical touch. Drawing on Dewar's warm, powerful voice, the debut proves to be a precious trove of slow, controlled solos, with structures less fiery than Hendrix's but precise, intense and creative. That the Robin Trower Band might really have a future beyond mere Hendrix imitation becomes clear on the title track, a psychedelic-blues gem that packs all of the new trio's potential into just under four minutes.

Recorded between Olympic and AIR Studios in London, the following Bridge Of Sighs propels the Robin Trower Band to stunning commercial success. With Fisher once again contributing alongside the Beatles' legendary sound engineer Geoff Emerick, the album climbs to number seven on the US Billboard chart, in the same year that Procol Harum struggle with Exotic Birds And Fruit. The hard-blues riff of "Day Of The Eagle" opens the door to greater experimentation with the classic Hendrix-style sound, finding a perfect balance between intense wah-wah guitar and whisky-soaked soul vocals on tracks like "In This Place". In blistering form, the trio veers into unbridled funk rhythms ("Too Rolling Stoned"), reels off superb reverb-drenched blues litanies ("Bridge Of Sighs") and, of course, makes full use of the Stratocaster's immense solos ("Little Bit Of Sympathy").

The winning formula is refined further on the following For Earth Below, which fittingly opens with the same wah-wah lines ("Shame the Devil"), picking up the Hendrix-style approach again on the viscous "Gonna Be More Suspicious". With Isidore replaced by American drummer Bill Lordan, "A Tale Untold" is another clear showcase of Trower's distinctive style, never excessive and always perfectly paced, on an album that is nonetheless less explosive in creative terms. Commercial success takes the trio around the world, in front of ever-larger crowds. The show of February 3, 1975 is recorded - without the other two bandmates' knowledge - for the magnificent Robin Trower Live, which gathers the best of the first two albums at the Concert Hall in Stockholm, reaching number ten on the US Billboard 200.

With autopilot switched on, the Robin Trower Band churns out album after album. Long Misty Days alternates dirty blues ("Same Rain Falls") with more ethereal ballads ("I Can't Live Without You"), including a cover from the repertoire of Scottish duo The Sutherland Brothers, the mellow soul number "Sailing". In City Dreams, on the other hand, sees a shift in sonic direction, with the introduction of Rustee Allen's funky bass, leaving Dewar free to focus solely on vocals.

The band seeks greater accessibility in the album's songs, from the danceable "Somebody Calling" - perfectly suited to the disco music trends of the late '70s - to better-known 12-bar standards like "Farther On Up the Road". There are, however, some tracks that are too weak, such as "Bluebird", which recalls "Little Wing" with far too much sugar added.

The new funky direction pays off, with the album going gold with the RIAA in November 1977, followed by Caravan To Midnight, which even contains stadium-AOR touches on the opening "My Love (Burning Love)". The last album by the Robin Trower Band in its classic lineup is Victims Of The Fury, on which Trower returns to working with Keith Reid on the writing of several tracks. It opens with a fairy tale set to the granite riff of "Jack And Jill" and continues down the familiar Hendrix-style road on "Roads To Freedom".

The two tracks that prove most successful on American FM radio are "The Shout" and "Mad House", both under three minutes long yet unleashing all their hard-blues power in the style of Cream.

It's from that very legendary hard-blues trio that a collaboration emerges between Trower and bassist Jack Bruce, with Lordan and Isidore both featuring across two consecutive albums at the start of the new decade. The first of these produces B.L.T., with vocal duties handed to Bruce, while the collaboration with Keith Reid on lyrics continues. The blend of different talents works well on new melodic tracks like "Won't Let You Down", just as the hard-blues structures find unusual progressive outlets on "Into Money", "What It Is" and "No Island Lost", which borrows the riff from "Voodoo Chile". Hideous hamburger-themed cover art aside, the experiment works, delivering a tight, never-excessive sound on intense tracks like "Carmen" and "Life On Earth".

The collaboration with Bruce continues on Truce, this time with Isidore on drums. The mix of hard rock, progressive and funky soul still works, especially on "Thin Ice" and "Last Train To The Stars". Trower records another distinctly hard-rock album with Dewar, Back It Up, before settling accounts with Chrysalis Records, whom he accuses of not having done enough to promote his recent albums. Robin thus starts over with Dave Bronze (bass and vocals) and Martin Clapson (drums), recording Beyond The Mist for the new Passport Records label, which contains five live recordings and only two new tracks, including the dull, plodding rhythm of "The Last Time".

The following Passion tries in vain to keep up with the times after the MTV explosion, mixing hard-blues with typical '80s pop thanks to the introduction of keyboards and synthesizers.

The Robin Trower Band brings in new vocalist Davey Pattison on Take What You Need, which opens with the uptempo "Tear It Up". Despite the attempt to modernize the sound, tracks like "Over You" are a far cry from the Bridge of Sighs era that established Trower as one of the most famous guitarists of the mid-'70s.

Having moved to Atlantic Records, Trower releases another modest album, In The Line Of Fire, with John Regan on bass. In 1991 he takes part in the European tour of "Night of the Guitars", organized by Sting together with Police manager Miles Copeland, bringing the best of six-string playing to the stage.

In 1994 comes 20th Century Blues, which abandons any commercial ambitions in favor of a robust, direct sound, all fuzz and wah-wah on tracks like "Prisoner Of Love", "Whisper Up A Storm" and the sinuous "Precious Gift".

Trower lends his guitar to Bryan Ferry's solo albums "Taxi" and "Mamouna", before returning to work with Pattison and Bronze on Living Out Of Time. The album broadens his usual sonic horizons, ranging from the soul of "Please Tell Me" to the power ballad "Another Time, Another Place".

Longtime member Reg Isidore returns to the band alongside new organist Nicky Brown, working on Another Days Blues to record new, straight-up blues tracks, with Trower in exceptional form. From the Chicago sound of "Sweet Little Angel" to the psychedelic shades of "This Blue Love", the album is a complete success, the best since the collaboration with Jack Bruce.

After touring the US and Europe in autumn 2006, Robin goes back to working with the former Cream bassist, producing the solid Seven Moons. From the riff-heavy "Lives Of Clay" to more melodic numbers ("Just Another Day"), the duo abandons blues purism to craft a well-executed work that blends their talents and personal leanings. Trower continues his journey in 2009 with bassist and producer Livingston Brown, working on What Lies Beneath, which aims for a more polished sound, from the orchestral soft-blues of "Wish You Were Mine" to the two-part composition "As You Watch Each City Fall", which again revisits Hendrix but with a gentler, more composed approach. Trower embarks with Jack Bruce on a long world tour between 2008 and 2009, recording the live album Seven Moons Live, which contains a bland cover of "White Room".

Album releases follow one another without pause at the start of the new decade, from The Playful Heart to the enjoyable covers album Roots And Branches, which indeed revisits the roots of the devil's music starting with "Hound Dog" and continuing through "The Thrill Is Gone" and the seminal "Born Under A Bad Sign". Between 2014 and 2016 Something's About To Change and Where You Are Going To are released, moving between new funky-reggae rhythms ("Dreams That Shone Like Diamonds") and yet another return to the Hendrix-style approach ("Jigsaw").

Trower continues to enjoy greater success live, following an excellent US tour straddling 2016 and 2017. During a show in Maryland he suffers a health scare that forces him to cancel subsequent dates for an unexpected hospital admission. Meanwhile he moves to the Mascot Label Group, on which he records Coming Closer To The Day, preceded by the single "Diving Bell" and built on softer sounds between pop and blues ("Truth Or Lies" and "Ghosts").

In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic comes the unusual United State Of Mind, featuring a contribution from reggae singer Maxi Priest. The album flirts with funky-soul (the title track), dub ("Are We Just People"), and of course its Jamaican roots ("Sunrise Revolution"). Between 2022 and 2023 two more albums are released, No More Worlds To Conquer and Joyful Sky, the latter with American blues singer Sari Schorr.

Gary Brooker

With Procol Harum disbanded, Gary Brooker starts working with various artists between 1977 and 1978. First he produces Mickey Jupp, under contract to Strongman Productions and now signed to Stiff Records, which is recruiting old rock glories capable of holding their own after the explosion of punk and new wave. He plays piano on Frankie Miller's album "Fullhouse", then lends "Harlequin" to The Hollies and accepts Paul McCartney's invitation to form the "Rockestra" — with members of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and The Who — ahead of a charity event at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. Towards the end of 1978 he receives an offer from Mick Jagger to become the new pianist on the upcoming Rolling Stones tour, which he turns down to focus on other projects and his beloved fishing.

Brooker is writing new songs with Tim Renwick of the Sutherland Brothers, the ever-present Keith Reid, and Pete Sinfield, lyricist for King Crimson and Emerson Lake and Palmer.

"Give Me Something To Remember You By" is the key composition, a soft-rock ballad on which the album No More Fear Of Flying rests, released on Chrysalis in 1979. Produced by George Martin, the album contains two songs written by Mickey Jupp, the romantic "Pilot" and the breezy honky-tonk of "Switchboard Susan". Brooker flirts with danceable funk ("Let Me In") and exotic rhythms ("Angelina"), returning to Procol Harum's symphonic paths on tracks like "Old Manhattan Melodies". The Gary Brooker Band is thus formed, with Tim Renwick on guitar, Bruce Lynch on bass and Dave Mattacks (ex-Fairport Convention) on drums. The album is a commercial flop, while Brooker grows artistically closer to Eric Clapton, who invites him on tour following the release of his latest album, "Backless". He takes his seat at the organ in the band that records "Another Ticket" (1981), co-writing "Catch Me If You Can" with Slowhand himself before being fired by Clapton along with the rest of the band.

In 1982 his second solo album, Lead Me To The Water, is released, preceded by the pop single "The Angler", which for the first time sees Brooker credited as sole writer on every track, with no outside contributions. With big-name guests recruited, from Eric Clapton to George Harrison, the album opens with the synthetic honky-tonk of "Mineral Man", veering towards a plastic-sounding soul ("Another Way"). Despite the effort, the album is flat and only truly hits the mark on "Home Loving", written during his collaboration with Eric Clapton.

Two years later, recording sessions begin for Echoes In The Night, eagerly awaited by Procol Harum fans because rumours are circulating in the press about a possible reunion with Fisher, Reid and BJ Wilson. The album is produced by Fisher himself, contacted by Brooker after also working on some of Robin Trower's solo records. The track where the band's work is most keenly felt is the title track, which features Clapton-esque guitar enriching a classy soul-pop number. The typically ambitious Procol sound truly comes back to life in the progressive flavour of "Ghost Train", while "Mr. Blue Day" returns to art-rock with the addition of orchestral parts.

Despite being his best solo album — and the first to genuinely revive the spirit of the old band — Echoes In The Night is ignored by both audiences and critics, completely snubbed by the record label, which essentially avoids promoting it. Brooker thus finds himself without a record deal, forced to dissolve Strongman Productions along with his partner Keith Reid, who moves back to live in New York. Having retreated to his cottage in Surrey, Brooker devotes himself to competitive fishing, later pushed by his wife to return to music. He decides to sell his pub and fishing tackle shop, forming No Stiletto Shoes, with guitarist Andy Fairweather-Low, drummer Henry Spinetti and bassist Boz Burrell. There is no intention of recording albums, only of playing live at charity events around the UK.

Chapter Nine — The Return of the Foreign Prodigals

Having joined Joe Cocker's band in 1978, BJ Wilson has become uncontrollable due to serious problems with alcohol, forcing the Sheffield singer to let him go five years later. The drummer is invited by Brooker to play on his new solo album, "Echoes In The Night", trying to pull himself back up amid talk of a possible Procol Harum reunion. Wilson is thus pressed by his closest friends, who try to help him escape the tunnel of alcohol and the ever-worsening depression that has driven his wife away from him. BJ attempts suicide in 1987, with a more than ample dose of drugs that sends him into a coma. Brooker rushes to the hospital, trying to revive him by playing old Procol songs on the piano, to no avail. "You'll be fine and we'll re-form Procol," he tells him, in vain. The vegetative state drags on at length, lasting until October 1990, when he draws his last breath after contracting a severe form of pneumonia.

Shaken by the tragedy, Gary Brooker asks himself about Procol's future: does it really make sense to re-form the band despite the promise made to Wilson on his deathbed? The doubt is also of an artistic nature: while bands like Genesis and Jethro Tull continue to satisfy their fans, the rise of so-called AOR has brought success to new artists like Bon Jovi, while from Seattle the grunge scream is rising with Nirvana. And yet several musicians continue to cite Procol Harum among their greatest influences, and this leads Brooker to lean towards an unexpected reunion.

The spark is lit during some live recordings broadcast on radio from Bill Wyman's club, Sticky Fingers. Gary notices that American radio stations still hold fond memories of songs like "Conquistador", and not just the classic "A Whiter Shade Of Pale". The first step is to call Keith Reid, who now lives in New York, proposing that he write new lyrics for a possible Procol return to the studio. Reid invites Brooker to the Big Apple to sit down together in a recording studio; Matthew Fisher joins them to finalise a small set of new songs, which are later played for Robin Trower to gauge his possible involvement. Enthusiastic about the sound, Trower agrees to work again with his former bandmates, who in the meantime have managed to secure a record deal with Zoo Records, founded by Lou Maglia, formerly a senior executive at Island.

Preceded by a triumphant press release about the return of the Summer of Love's magic, The Prodigal Stranger came out in the summer of 1991, produced with New York sound engineer Matt Noble and dedicated entirely to the memory of BJ Wilson. With Dave Bronze brought in on bass and Mark Brzezicki on drums, the new record was naturally hugely anticipated by fans, opening with the power-ballad "The Truth Won't Fade Away", which immediately showcases Brooker in fine vocal form within a new sonic context heavily geared toward chart-friendly AOR. Evident from the very first listen is the absence of a drummer as electric and inspired as Wilson, while the keyboards are decidedly more commercial and far removed from the sinuous, psychedelic tones of the band's early period. The following "Holding On", romantic and exotic, betrays a far more conventional lyrical style for Reid, while "Man With A Mission" plays with an artificial martial rhythm typical of the 1980s. Traces of rediscovered liturgical symphonies surface on "(You Can't) Turn Back the Page", as well as in the keyboards of "One More Time".

Tracks like "A Dream In Ev'ry Home" come across as overworked in production, closer to Phil Collins's solo output. The airy pop of "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle" would also work, were it not dampened by the stern intensity of "The King Of Hearts", inexplicably not graced by Trower's sublime guitar, which generally finds too little room on the album. The excessive use of synthesizers thus leads to a sound devoid of creative peaks, as on the bland "Perpetual Motion" or on a "Learn To Fly" that seems written more to fill a stadium than to revive the sophisticated, eccentric alchemy of what Procol Harum once were.

Criticized by the trade press for its mainstream approach, The Prodigal Stranger didn't even crack the Billboard Top 100. Robin Trower told the group he had no intention of touring after the album's release, and was replaced by Tim Renwick (who had already worked with Brooker) for several dates across the United States and Europe. The band appeared on the famous Late Night With David Letterman, then on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, before setting off on tour again in early 1992 with Don Snow standing in for Fisher, who had in the meantime enrolled in a computer engineering course. At the end of May the group returned to the Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton for a reunion with the ESO, broadcast live on TV with a replay of the setlist from twenty years earlier. Entirely overlooked back home, Procol Harum accepted an invitation from the Portuguese president to play in Oporto in May 1993, then in Tallinn (Estonia) at the Rock Summer Festival, which guaranteed global coverage thanks to live broadcast on MTV. No longer a headline act, Brooker and co. returned to the United States alongside headliners Jethro Tull, with Ian Anderson joining them onstage during "Pandora's Box". Matt Pegg, son of Dave Pegg of Fairport Convention, was added to the line-up, before a brief pause for Brooker's solo activities, as he toured with Bill Wyman in the first part of 1994.

Thanks to the success of the cover of "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" on Annie Lennox's album "Diva", Procol Harum got back on the road in the summer of 1995 with their 22nd US tour. On drums was Graham Broad (ex-Bandit), who had the honor of taking part in the band's first genuine UK tour since all the way back in 1977, culminating in a show at the Barbican with the London Symphony Orchestra. At the end of 1996 a special concert was organized for the band's 30th anniversary at the Redhill Theatre in Surrey. For the occasion Fisher, Grabham and Cartwright were brought back, joining the stage together for the grand finale "In Held 'Twas In I", with narration by writer Douglas Adams, a huge fan of the band.

It was effectively the last act before a new, temporary breakup, with Brooker joining Ringo Starr's all-star band and once again Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones.

Chapter Ten – An Old English Dream

Year 2000. To mark the arrival of the new millennium, Gary Brooker reunited Procol Harum at the Web Festival in Stoke Park, Guildford, with the participation of the New London Sinfonia. In 2001 a new 14-date European tour kicked off, marking a return to Poland and a first-ever performance in Russia. In mid-2002 studio work began with new producer Rafe McKenna, ahead of the release of the band's twelfth album on the Eagle label.

Recorded between October and November at Cosford Mill Studios, owned by Queen drummer Roger Taylor, The Well's On Fire opens with the ballad "An Old English Dream", driven by a sturdy melodic line and embroidered by new guitarist Geoff Whitehorn. The album abandons the synth-pop of The Prodigal Stranger, veering toward a more direct sound, as on the danceable uptempo "Shadow Boxed" or the pure rock of "The VIP Room". The band seems to have rediscovered its magic touch on tracks like the humorous R&B of "Every Dog Will Have His Day". On "A Robe Of Silk" Brooker's singing sounds like it came straight out of the Shine On Brightly sessions, while "The Blink Of An Eye", written in the aftermath of the events of 11 September 2001, showcases a thoroughly contemporary take on R&B. Procol Harum return to the blues with the riff of "The Wall Street Blues", while "So Far Behind" manages to combine new pop trends with the band's more classic 1970s style. Fisher is in great form, leading the organ on the ideal sequel to "Repent Walpurgis", "Weisselklenzenacht (The Signature)". Even Keith Reid, who had clearly struggled compositionally on the previous album, rediscovers that sense of tragic emotion on the piano ballad "The Emperor's New Clothes". Despite showing renewed strength of purpose, The Well's On Fire was shockingly ignored by Eagle Records, who decided not to promote it in major stores, dooming it on the charts.

To make up for the lack of commercial success, Procol Harum embarked on a long world tour for much of 2003, from which a live album, Live At The Union Chapel, was drawn. Released by Eagle in 2004, the twenty-one songs are taken from the setlist at Union Chapel in Islington, London, on the date of 12 December 2003. From "Shine On Brightly" to the immortal "A Whiter Shade Of Pale", the group lives suspended between present and past, proving they had rediscovered good form with the addition of Whitehorn's more rock-oriented guitar.

The general euphoria was sharply dampened by Matthew Fisher in mid-2005, following the start of a legal case against the band's management over the rights to "A Whiter Shade Of Pale". Increasingly estranged from the rest of the group – the organist felt he wasn't being treated as a founding member – Fisher wanted a declaration naming him co-author of the song, along with a 25% share of royalties. Brooker and Reid were stunned, since in almost 40 years no such claim had ever been made legally. The case was long and thorny, with demos and acetates analyzed, and was in the end incredibly won by Fisher, who obtained 20% of the royalty earnings from sales of the single prior to the start of the lawsuit. While the organist stated to the press that he had done it to gain recognition, not money, Brooker spoke of "a dark day for the music industry". Forced to pay £500,000 in legal costs, the singer severed ties with Fisher for good, baffled by such resentment built up over so many years.

The legal case with Fisher did not halt Procol Harum's live activity, with Josh Phillips brought in on organ to start a new 16-date European tour. 2005 also saw an extraordinary event, the reunion of the Paramounts on 17 December, for a single show at Westcliff's Club Riga, inside the very same pub where it had all begun in 1960. For one night, Gary Brooker, Robin Trower, Mick Brownlee and Chris Copping brought back to life the magic of a group that remained in the memories of countless fans from across Europe.

The following year Procol Harum organized a new 14-date tour, including two major festivals: Isle of Wight after 36 years and Ledreborg Castle in August, where they performed with the Danish National Concert Orchestra and Choir. The evening was recorded live for the release of a subsequent live album, Procol Harum – In Concert With The Danish National Concert Orchestra And Choir, released on the Eagle label in 2009. Opening with the symphonic majesty of "Grand Hotel", the concert is a delight for fans and newcomers alike, moving between the invective of "Butterfly Boys" and an infernal version of "Simple Sister". Brooker's vocal form holds up well under the weight of another symphonic outing, while Whitehorn's guitar truly stands as one of the finest in the band's various incarnations. The album also offers a chance to hear the previously unreleased ballad "Symphathy For The Hard Of Hearing", including a great live version of the gem "Whaling Stories".

In 2007 a new tour limited to 16 dates across six European countries kicked off, celebrating the band's 40th anniversary with two special concerts at Westminster featuring a new drummer, Geoff Dunn. Concerts continued between 2008 and 2010, when a 20-date American tour began featuring various orchestras onstage, including the by-now inseparable ESO at the Jubilee Auditorium.

On 28 May 2012, after being invited to an exclusive party at Buckingham Palace for the Queen's Jubilee celebrations, Gary Brooker boarded a flight that would take him and the band to Cape Town. Two shows had been arranged alongside old progressive rock glories, Moody Blues and King Crimson, coinciding (among other things) with his 67th birthday. But the two shows had to be cancelled, as worrying news broke: the Procol Harum singer was in intensive care in a South African hospital, following an unspecified skull fracture. Brooker was sedated, while his wife flew in from England, and press reports spoke of a local police investigation into an alleged altercation involving a drink and an attempted robbery. He recovered by mid-June, when he returned to London and, though weakened, seemed ready to get back on stage for a major American tour between July and August, alongside Yes. Procol Harum warmed up at the Kløften Festival on 25 June, before flying to the States for a full 27 dates, warmly received by audiences and critics alike.

Having failed to gain enough votes for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in the spring of 2013 it was time for five concerts in Denmark with local orchestras. The various performances of the previous two years were collected on the live album Some Long Road, which also includes a Brooker solo track, "Missing Person".

At the end of 2016, recording sessions began for a new album, Novum, with producer Dennis Weinreich. Released in spring 2017, the album is the first without Keith Reid, replaced by Pete Brown (ex-Cream) and, in part, by the band as a whole. Aside from the baroque ballad "Sunday Morning", Novum sounds like a fresh return to the band's more classic rock sonorities, rekindling a taste for the progressive on the opening "I Told On You", which could easily have come out of the Home or Grand Hotel sessions. The following "Last Chance Motel" echoes the melodic spirit of certain Elton John works, while "Businessman" ploughs blues terrain and "Soldier" that of baroque-pop. The band experiments with accordion on the airy "Neighbour", continues in ballad form with "Don't Get Caught", and launches into the hard-rock riff of "Can't Say That", perhaps owing a bit too much to the Doors' "Roadhouse Blues".

Overall, it's an album that does justice to the memory of Procol Harum, holding a steady line between irony and sophistication.

After the release of Novum, the English band returned to the stage for almost 40 dates across Europe and the United States. A special concert was scheduled for March at London's Royal Festival Hall, unfortunately marred by a bad fall suffered by Brooker as he left the stage between sets. The Procol Harum frontman didn't give up, returning to finish the concert with his head bandaged. Tours continued through 2018 and 2019, before being forced to a halt by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Gary Brooker died on 19 February 2022, worn down by cancer, leaving the music world in mourning. In memory of the singer, the single "A Whiter Shade Of Pale", inevitably etched into the collective imagination, climbed back up the UK charts. A final great tribute to a singer of immense vocal power, whose death naturally brought the final word on the last chapter of Procol Harum.

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