PROCOL HARUM SINGER WINS ROYALTIES BATTLE

The lead singer of Procol Harum had been ordered to pay 40 per cent of future earnings from the classic number to former band member Matthew Fisher, who argued that he helped to write the song.

Mr Fisher, who played the distinctive organ solos on the track, stood to earn hundreds of thousands of pounds after being granted a share of the musical copyright. But the Court of Appeal yesterday ruled that while Mr Fisher was entitled to co-authorship of the song, he should not earn any future royalties.

A Whiter Shade of Pale, one of the most enduring hits from the so-called Summer of Love, has made its writers multi-millionaires thanks to royalties.

But Lord Justice Mummery said musician Mr Fisher, who was classically-trained and now works as a computer programmer in Croydon, South London, should not be entitled to any future earnings because he waited  40 years before bringing the case.

Mr Brooker, 62, had argued he wrote the song along with lyricist Keith Red, based on Johann Sebastian Bach’s Air on a G String – which he had heard on a Hamlet cigar advert. But after a colourful hearing in the High Court, Mr Justice Blackburne said Fisher’s contribution to the song had been “substantial”. The court is yet to decide who should pay the costs of the case, which are estimated at £500,000. 

A Whiter Shade of Pale remains one of the most memorable pop hits of all time with its haunting organ melody and unfathomably surreal lyrics. It sold more than 10 million copies worldwide and some 800 cover versions have been recorded by artists globally.

In 2004, performing rights group Phonographic Performance named it the most-played record in UK broadcasting in the past 70 years.

Mr Fisher said he will appeal against the ruling.