Singer wins 'Whiter Shade Of Pale' royalties battle

0 Comments | AFP, April, 2008

LONDON (AFP) — The lead singer of 1960s British pop group Procol Harum won a court battle Friday to reclaim royalties for the band's smash hit "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" from a former bandmate.

Gary Brooker went to London's appeal court last October after Matthew Fisher, the band's former organ player, won a legal claim for 40 percent of copyright to the 1967 song lodged nearly 40 years after it was recorded.

In a ruling Friday, judge John Mummery reversed that decision, saying Fisher, now a computer programmer, was "guilty of excessive and inexcusable delay in asserting his claim".

"A Whiter Shade Of Pale" has sold around 10 million copies worldwide and is particularly famous for its swirling organ solo, performed by Fisher and influenced by JS Bach's "Air On...