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| The Procol
Harum story starts in Southend-on-Sea, UK, where
several schoolfriends came together as The Paramounts. By the
middle of 1963 they were ready to turn pro ...
and their reputations spread nationally after the
Rolling Stones dubbed them the best R&B group
in the country. None of their singles took off,
though the Leiber-Stoller cover Poison Ivy
had some success. Claes Johansen's Procol biography suggests that the
Paramounts had many more incarnations, making
them a fit subject for a pedigree of their own at
some later date!
Brooker's
transition from blues disciple to psychedelic seer was symptomatic of the times. It
was a fascinating and fertile period which saw the
creation of Traffic, Pink Floyd, Soft Machine,
The Move...
In 1966,
Brooker met lyricist Keith Reid. They intended to
be songwriters but could find noone willing to
record their work ... a group, then, was formed out
of necessity. Brooker and Reid advertised for
players for a "project with Young Rascals /
Dylan-type sound"...
|
Paramounts 1
|
1961
to 1963 |
|
|
|
Gary
Brooker
piano/voc
|
|
Bob
Scott
vocals
quit music
|
|
Mick
Brownlee
drums
bricklaying
|
|
Robin
Trower
guitar
|
|
Chris
Copping
bass
university
|
 |
|
| Paramounts 2
|
Aug 1963
to Oct 1966 |
|
|
|
Gary
Brooker
keybd/voc
|
|
Diz
Derrick
bass
reverted to studies |
|
BJ
Wilson
drums
|
|
Robin
Trower
guitar
|
| |
 |
|
| Reid and Brooker
held auditions for the new band, probably already
called Procol Harum ... |
Proto-Harum
|
Very early
1967 |
Claes
Johansen's research names the players he considers
the first generation assembled by Brooker and
Reid, but exact details are debatable. Whoever they were, they probably rehearsed material that would end up on
the first album, plus Alpha, Homburg, and In the Wee Small Hours ... ,
but seems to have left no recorded traces. It
was managed by the legendary Guy
Stevens |
|
|
?
guitar
|
|
?
organ
|
|
?
bass |
|
Gary
Brooker
piano/voc |
|
Keith
Reid
words |
|
?
drums |
|
|
| Procol Harum 1 |
April to
July 1967 |
Procol Harum 1 was
only the start - but what a start! Hammond player
Matthew Fisher replaced Alan Morris and made his
definitive mark on the first
single: A Whiter
Shade of Pale went to No 1
in Britain, staying there six weeks.
PH1 managed only a dozen gigs - then
Royer and Harrison left to form Freedom. (It transpired that jazzer Bill Eyden drummed
on the hit 'A'-side anyway.) Brooker called up his
old mates ... Wilson was drummer of choice anyway, and now he was willing! |
|
|
Ray
Royer
guitar |
|
Bobby
Harrison
drums |
|
Matthew
Fisher
organ |
|
David
Knights
bass |
|
Gary
Brooker
piano/voc |
|
Keith
Reid
words |
| formed own
groups: Freedom, then SNAFU |
 |
|
| Did good
business in America, where there was a circuit of
rock theatres suitable for the sort of concerts
they were doing. Not so in Britain. Consequently,
their UK following dwindled. |
Procol Harum 2 |
Jul 1967
to Sep 1969 |
Line-up 2 cut three
albums: Procol
Harum, Shine On
Brightly and A Salty Dog. Single Homburg
was their only hit for years. However, their
influence was seen in new rock'n'art groups like
King Crimson, Nice, Yes, Genesis ...
|
|
|
Matthew
Fisher
organ
into producing |
|
David
Knights
bass
into management |
|
Gary
Brooker
piano/voc |
|
Keith
Reid
words |
|
BJ
Wilson
drums |
|
Robin
Trower
guitar |
| |
|
|
| With the
exception of Keith Reid, line-up #3 were all ex-Paramounts.
Recorded a final Regal Zonophone album, Home, moved to
Chrysalis and recorded Broken
Barricades. In 1971, four
years after their sensational start, they
embarked on their very first tour of Britain - as
support act to Jethro Tull. Robin Trower then
left to form his own band. Matthew Fisher
produced three very successful albums for him, two of which
made the US top ten during the mid 70s. |
Procol Harum 3 |
Sep 1969
to Jul 1971 |
|
|
|
Gary
Brooker
piano/voc |
|
Keith
Reid
words (organ) |
|
BJ
Wilson
drums |
|
Chris
Copping
bass, organ |
|
Robin
Trower
guitar, bass
went solo |
| |
|
|
| Enter
Brummie guitarist Dave Ball and bass-player Alan
Cartwright, BJ's former school-friend ... Procol
Harum's first major London concert in Sep 1971 -
by which time they'd completed eleven American
tours. |
Procol Harum 4 |
Jul 1971
to Sep 1972 |
Nov 1971 they play
with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. The concert
is released as album Live at
Edmonton (#5 US, #48 UK). Conquistador
became their first hit single for years. However,
Ball left and joined Long John Baldry's band... |
|
|
Dave
Ball
guitar
quit |
|
Alan
Cartwright
bass |
|
Gary
Brooker
piano/voc |
|
Keith
Reid
words |
|
BJ
Wilson
drums |
|
Chris
Copping
organ |
| |
|
|
| With line-up #5,
they achieved unprecedented stability. New
guitarist Mick Grabham (ex-Cochise) was
always a great Procol fan and his style fitted
admirably. Cut Grand
Hotel, Exotic Birds
And Fruit and Procol's
Ninth which yielded an
unexpected Top 20 hit, Pandora's box. |
Procol Harum 5 |
Sep 1972
to Jun 1976 |
|
|
|
Alan
Cartwright
bass |
|
Gary
Brooker
piano/voc |
|
Keith
Reid
words |
|
BJ
Wilson
drums |
|
Chris
Copping
organ |
|
Mick
Grabham
guitar |
| |
|
|
| In 1976
Alan Cartwright left, and Chris Copping reverted
to bass. Enter Pete Solley (ex-SNAFU, inter alia) who added
synthesisers to the Procol sound on Something Magic, and replaced the
Hammond with a Farfisa organ ... |
Procol Harum 6 |
Jun 1976
to March 1977 |
|
|
Gary
Brooker
piano/voc |
|
Keith
Reid
words |
|
B.J.
Wilson
drums |
|
Chris
Copping
bass |
|
Mick
Grabham
guitar |
|
Pete
Solley
organ, synth |
| |
 |
|
| After Something
Magic, they slowly ground to a halt without
telling anyone. Former Elton John bassist Dee
Murray replaced Copping for the last US tour. In
June 1977, Mick Grabham declared that he'd quit
Procol Harum. Yet ... |
Procol Harum 7 |
April to
May 1977 |
|
|
Gary
Brooker
piano/voc |
|
Keith
Reid
words |
|
B.J.
Wilson
drums |
|
Dee
Murray
bass |
|
Mick
Grabham
guitar |
|
Pete
Solley
organ,synth |
| |
|
|
... there
was a single, last gig, restoring Cartwright on bass, and a new guitarist, at London's Wembley Conference Centre, marking the Queen's Silver Jubilee. AWSoP was named joint winner (with
Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody) as Best British
Pop Single 1952-1977 at the British Record
Industry's Britannia Awards. This was
the last
Procol concert for a long time, and BJ's final gig with Procol. Now Brooker made solo albums and
played in Clapton's band. Reid went
into publishing and management. BJ toured with
Joe Cocker. |
Procol Harum 8 |
18 Oct 1977 |
|
|
|
Alan
Cartwright
bass
quit music biz |
|
Gary
Brooker
piano/voc |
|
Keith
Reid
words |
|
BJ
Wilson
drums
Died 8 Oct 1990
|
|
Chris
Copping
organ |
|
Tim
Renwick
guitar |
| |
| >>> "... yet
the tree be not dead; for from the roots of the
elder a new life will spread ..."
>>> |