You can see why Procol Harum organist Matthew Fisher would like a slice of the royalties from the song 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale'.
As previously reported, Fisher claims he wrote the most famous bit of the song, the distinctive organ melody, but had never been credited for it because of an informal in-studio agreement with the band's lead singer and main composer Gary Brooker. But Brooker denied Fisher had any songwriting role in relation to 'A Whiter Shade'. Fisher wanted a credit and half the song's royalties.
A court considering the dispute initially sided with Fisher and awarded him of 40% of royalties since 2005, but appeal judges subsequently ruled that, while Fisher probably did write the organ music, he'd left it too late to make his claim to royalties from the 1967 hit. Fisher is currently appealing that ruling through the House Of Lords.
So, why persist with the fight? Well, given that Radio 2 has just announced that 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale' is the most publicly played song in the UK from the last 75 years, those are presumably royalties well worth having a cut of. The chart of songs most played in public was complied by PPL and presented on a Radio 2 show presented by Rob Brydon.
In addition to the Procol Harum track, the other top ten most played songs were as follows...
- Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade Of Pale
- Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
- Everly Brothers - All I Have To Do Is Dream
- Wet Wet Wet - Love Is All Around
- Bryan Adams - (Everything I Do) I Do It For You
- Robbie Williams - Angels
- Elvis Presley - All Shook Up
- Abba - Dancing Queen
- Perry Como - Magic Moments
- Bing Crosby - White Christmas
Commenting on his song topping the most played chart, Brooker told the BBC: "This is a great and unsought honour. It isn't something I could have remotely imagined when I wrote the song and then made that legendary recording with Procol Harum all those years ago. Every musician and singer hopes to reach out and communicate to the audience so it means a great deal that the record has such an indefinable popularity and lasting appeal".
No one seems to have asked Fisher for a quote. Perhaps he was too busy fuming about all those lost royalties to say anything.