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Procol Harum
Procol Harum () were an English rock music, rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold more than List of best-selling singles, 10 million copies. Although noted for their baroque music, baroque and classical music, classical influence, Procol Harum's music is described as psychedelic rock and proto-prog with hints of the blues, Rhythm and Blues, R&B, and Soul music, soul. In 2018, the band was honoured by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was inducted into the new Singles category. They were previously nominated as performers in 2012. History Formation In 1966, after Southend-on-Sea-based group The Paramounts were unable to generate any follow-up success with their UK top 40 single "Poison Ivy (song), Poison Ivy", the group disbanded. Their frontman Gary Brooker decided to retire from performing and focus on songwriting, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered to the north by Rochford (district), Rochford and to the west by Castle Point. The city is one of the most densely populated places in the country outside of London. It is home to the longest pleasure pier in the world, Southend Pier, while London Southend Airport is located to the north of the city centre. Southend-on-Sea originally consisted of a few fishermen's huts and farm at the southern end of the village of Prittlewell. In the 1790s, the first buildings around what was to become the High Street of Southend were completed. In the 19th century, Southend's status as a seaside resort grew after a visit from the Princess of Wales, Caroline of Brunswick, and the const ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gary Brooker
Gary Brooker (29 May 1945 – 19 February 2022) was an English singer and pianist, and the founder and lead singer of the rock band Procol Harum. Early life Born in Hackney Hospital, East London, on 29 May 1945, Brooker grew up in Hackney before the family moved out to Middlesex ( Bush Hill Park and then to nearby Edmonton). His father Harry Brooker was a professional musician, playing steel guitar with Felix Mendelssohn's Hawaiian Serenaders, and as a child Brooker learned to play piano, cornet, and trombone. In 1954 the family moved to the seaside resort of Southend-on-Sea, Essex, where Brooker attended Westcliff High School for Boys. His father died of a heart attack when Gary was 11 years old, forcing his mother to work in order to make ends meet, while Brooker himself took on a paper-round. When he left school, he went on to Southend Municipal College to study zoology and botany but dropped out to become a professional musician. Career Brooker founded the Paramo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geoff Whitehorn
Geoffrey Charles Whitehorn (born 29 August 1951) is a guitarist and singer-songwriter, who has played as a member of If, Crawler and Procol Harum. History In August 1973, Whitehorn joined the pioneering British jazz-rock band, If, in what was their third and final line-up, appearing on their last two albums, '' Not Just Another Bunch of Pretty Faces'' (1974) and '' Tea Break Over, Back on Your 'Eads'' (1975). During that period, he recorded his first solo album, ''Whitehorn'' (1974, Stateside), featuring fellow If members Dick Morrissey and Cliff Davies. This was followed by two largely instrumental solo albums, ''Big in Gravesend'' and ''Geoff Who?'' which he also re-recorded and expanded as ''Geoff Who? 2002''. In 1976–1979, Whitehorn played in the band Crawler (formerly known as Back Street Crawler), replacing the band's founder Paul Kossoff after the latter's death. Geoff also played as lead guitarist with Chuck Farley besides Steve Simpson, Boz Burrell, Poli Pal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tim Renwick
Timothy John Pearson Renwick (born 7 August 1949) is an English guitarist. He is best known for his association with Al Stewart in his early career and for his long-standing role as lead guitarist for the Sutherland Brothers & Quiver. His single "Dark Island" peaked at number 80 in Australia in 1980. He also performed with Pink Floyd on their 1987-89 and 1994 tours, as well as accompanying the band during their Live 8 performance in 2005. Career Renwick was born and grew up in Cambridge. He passed his 11 plus and consequently attended Cambridgeshire High School for Boys, as had future Floyd members Syd Barrett and Roger Waters. After dabbling in other instruments, he started to play guitar when he was 14, and progressed to playing in local bands in 1963. Throughout that decade he performed with Little Women, Wages of Sin, Junior's Eyes, The Hype, Quiver (later Sutherland Brothers & Quiver) and Lazy Racer. He also worked for the Alan Parsons' rhythm section at Abbey Road St ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerry Stevenson (musician)
Jerry Stevenson, (born in Kent, England) is an English guitar and mandolin player who has worked with Barbara Dickson, Procol Harum and is currently a member of Be Sharp. Career In 1991, Procol Harum re-formed and began recording a new album called '' The Prodigal Stranger''. Bass player Dave Bronze had already been recruited by the band, and when they were looking for an extra guitarist, Bronze recruited Stevenson. At this stage it was known that Robin Trower, a founding member of the band for their first five albums, would be rejoining the band for The Prodigal Stranger, and Stevenson said at procolharum.com that he made sure that he was always 'leaving space for Robin'. Stevenson was mentioned as a session player in the liner notes of ''The Prodigal Stranger'', but there is no audible evidence that his work on that album was ever actually released, nor did he ever tour with the band. After Trower declined to play on ''The Prodigal Stranger'' promotional tour, Tim Renwick play ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark Brzezicki
Mark Michael Brzezicki ( , ; born 21 June 1957) is an English musician, best known as the former drummer of the Scottish rock band Big Country. He has also played with Procol Harum, Casbah Club, The Cult, and From the Jam. Biography Brzezicki first played on two singles with the band On the Air featuring bass player Tony Butler and Simon Townshend in 1980. Brzezicki quickly developed to become a session drummer and he played on the track " A Little Is Enough" on Pete Townshend's '' Empty Glass'' album from 1980. Brzezicki and Butler, who had formed a session based company 'Rhythm for Hire' shortly joined Big Country and they released their debut album '' The Crossing'' in 1983. His session work continued and Brzezicki was also the sole drummer on '' Shine'', the second (and final, to date) English-language studio album by Swedish singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad of ABBA, released in 1984. ''Smash Hits'' magazine had a running gag in the 1980s wherein they referred to the drummer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dee Murray
David Murray Oates (3 April 1946 – 15 January 1992), known as Dee Murray, was an English bass guitarist. He was best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band. Biography Murray was born in Gillingham, Kent, England on 3 April 1946. Before joining Elton John as his touring sidemen, Murray and drummer Nigel Olsson were members of the Spencer Davis Group in 1969. In Murray's musician bio in the programme book for 1982's "Jump Up!" tour, Murray recalled when he first took up the bass guitar during his high school years: "Someone put this heavy thing over my shoulder and said, 'Here, you play this!'" Murray quickly established a solid reputation on the instrument. In the '' Classic Albums'' documentary on ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'', producer Gus Dudgeon lauded Murray's musical ability and said he "hadn't heard a bassist quite as good as him". Murray and Olsson joined John as his road sidemen in 1970, and first appeared together ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pete Solley
Peter Solley (19 October 1948 – 16 November 2023) was an English musician and record producer. He recorded with Eric Clapton, Al Stewart and Whitesnake, as well as producing records for Ted Nugent, Oingo Boingo, Motörhead, The Romantics, Jo Jo Zep, Peter Frampton, The Sports, Wreckless Eric and many others. Biography At the age of 13, he won a scholarship to Trinity College of Music in London and after graduating became a session musician. In the late 1960s he played in The Thunderbirds, the backing group for vocalist Chris Farlowe, and was also in the backing band of singer Terry Reid, who toured with The Rolling Stones and Cream in the United States in 1968. During 1969 and 1970 he served as touring organist for The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Solley was a founding member of British progressive rock band Paladin, whose second LP ''Paladin Charge!'' featured a cover design by Roger Dean. Following the break-up of Paladin in 1973, Solley joined Fox, which had a series of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mick Grabham
Mick Grabham (born Michael Grabham, 22 January 1948, Sunderland, County Durham, England) is an English rock guitarist. He played lead guitar for Procol Harum after the departure of Dave Ball, beginning with their album, '' Grand Hotel'' (1973) through to '' Something Magic'' (1977). He later played with Procol Harum at their 30 year reunion party at Redhill, Surrey in 1997, and at their Millennium Concert at Guildford, with the New London Symphonia, in 2000. He also played a version of " The Wedding March" on the soundtrack of the movie, ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'', along with his Procol Harum bandmate, drummer B.J. Wilson. In the late 1960s, Grabham (then billed as Mick Graham) was a guitar playing member of Plastic Penny Plastic Penny were a British 1960s pop band, formed in November 1967 before splitting up in August 1969. The group had one hit single early in 1968: "Everything I Am". Most of the members went on to greater fame with other bands or in session w . ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alan Cartwright
Alan George Cartwright (10 October 1945 – 4 March 2021) was an English bass player. He was born in London. Before joining Procol Harum in 1972 he played with the Freddie Mack Show together with fellow Harum band member B.J. Wilson and Roger Warwick. Cartwright's incorporation allowed Chris Copping to concentrate solely on the organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ... parts. The first Procol Harum album he worked on is the group's only official live album, '' Procol Harum Live with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra''. He continued touring and recording with the group until their penultimate album '' Procol's Ninth'', after which Copping once again took over on bass. After retiring from music, Cartwright spent many years in charge of the bar and social even ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dave Ball (guitarist)
David J. Ball (30 March 1950 – 1 April 2015) was an English guitar player. He was a member of Procol Harum from April 1971 to September 1972, playing on the group's highest-selling album '' Procol Harum Live: In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra''. Biography Early life Ball was born on 30 March, 1950 to a musical family in Birmingham, England. Ball was raised in a Catholic household, but became an atheist at age 15, stating in an interview that "when I stopped believing in Christian religion, I started looking for something else to belong to, so at a very young age I started reading things like Marx and Eastern philosophy and theology books that I didn’t understand a lot, and I started reading very widely: Jungian philosophy, Wittgenstein and Kant". Ball joined his first serious band, The Rockin' Perfidias (later renamed The Deadbeats), in 1963, which included his elder brothers Pete and Denny; while initially wanting to be a drummer, Ball ended up as the group's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chris Copping
Chris Copping (born 29 August 1945 in Middleton, Lancashire, England) is a musician and singer-songwriter who was a member of Procol Harum in the 1970s, and has also composed for TV and film. He predominantly plays organ, piano and bass guitar. Career In 1960 he joined a group called The Paramounts as a guitarist but left in December 1962 to go to study chemistry at Leicester University. Diz Derrick replaced him in the group until they split up in October 1966. From 1963 until 1966 he studied at Leicester University, receiving an honours degree in chemistry. From 1966 to 1969, he worked for the government and studied for a PhD. During this time his first marriage had broken up and he had returned to playing music, initially playing the organ in a pub, then playing traditional German music. In 1969, he was invited by Robin Trower to replace Matthew Fisher on organ and David Knights Procol Harum () were an English rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, in 1967. Thei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
