Posted on 04/04/2008 1:43:17 PM PDT by blam
Procol Harum singer wins full royalty rights for A Whiter Shade Of Pale
Last Updated: 8:05pm BST 04/04/2008
The lead singer of Procol Harum has won a court battle to reclaim full royalty rights to the group's worldwide hit A Whiter Shade Of Pale.
Gary Brooker
Gary Brooker, 62, appealed after Matthew Fisher, the musician who contributed the organ music to the song, won a High Court ruling that he was entitled to 40 per cent of the musical copyright.
The song, which sold 10 million copies and became one of the anthems of the 1967 summer of love, still earns substantial royalties for the owners of the copyright - originally Mr Brooker and the lyric writer, Keith Reid.
However, Mr Fisher, 60, claimed a half share from Mr Brooker. He was awarded 40 per cent by Mr Justice Blackburne in the High Court in 2006 because the judge found that although Mr Fisher's contribution was "substantial", it was not as great as that of the singer.
Mr Brooker appealed, and the Court of Appeal ruled by a majority that although Mr Fisher was entitled to co-authorship, he should not receive any royalties from the song.
Matthew Fisher
Mr Fisher's solicitor, Mike Shepherd, said he had applied for permission to appeal against this latest ruling in the House of Lords. He said: "We will apply to the House of Lords on various grounds, including that it is unreasonable for him not to have a future share of royalties.
"The court has accepted the decision that he co-wrote it, which was the primary issue for Matthew.
"But he is disappointed about the future royalties. It seems to us that if someone contributed a significant part to a composition, why shouldn't they get the future income?"
Mr Brooker is still fighting with Mr Fisher over who should pay the estimated £500,000 legal costs of the action.
A darker shade of green...................
One of my all-time fave bands!
Deduct it from the royalties.
Now that’s a name from the past...
And the original composer of the riff now playing in my head (can’t you hear it?!) was J.S. Bach, wasn’t it?!
Wins the whiter shade of grey hair award too.
Upon hearing of the court’s decision, Mr. Fisher promptly skipped the light fandango and proceeded to turn cartwheels across the floor...
They still play that song fairly often on radio. Royalties should be substantial.
One of my favorite songs. I got to hear him play the song
with Ringo’s All-Star Band.
Until a couple of years ago, I’d always thought that was a Skynyrd song........
The truth was plain to see!
Guitar player Robin Trower!
The crowd roared out for more.
I remember hearing a story about John Lennon getting baked (or something) and listening to the single over and over and over in his car.
In 1967, John Lennon spent a whole day tripping on acid in his Bentley while listening to this song over and over and over.
I thought Hillary said she contributed the organ music.
He’s got nothing on the Mooslims with his 16 vestal virgins?
They’ve got almost five times that many!
And Fisher's face at first just ghostly . . .
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.