Denny Cordell talks about
Procol Harum
Beat Instrumental,
July 1967
To
say that the Procol Harum are a phenomenon would be an understatement. It takes
quite a bit of doing to get your first record into the charts, but when you do
that very thing within one week of release, then you’ve really arrived.
Whiter Shade of Pale is the first record by the Procol, and their first hit.
Many people wonder about its success. Why has it smashed the charts wide open ?
One person who can give some clues is their recording manager, a young
moustachioed gentleman called Denny Cordell. That’s right, the same Denny
Cordell who has produced hit records for such artists as the Move, Georgie Fame
and Denny Laine.
A RELIEF
‘You get a lot of records that just sort of leap out of the loudspeaker and hit
you. A really hard sell. Then this record comes along with a sort of cool,
mellow and serene sound. It’s such a relief. It all started about eighteen
months ago when the only group on my books were the Moody Blues. Keith Reid came
to see me with some lyrics written on a scrap of paper. He couldn’t sing a note,
but the lyrics looked good. I suggested he tried to get a tune together. Anyway
I didn’t see Keith again for a while, but David Platz, my partner in the music
company and New Breed Productions, did. By now, Keith had joined forces with
ex-Paramount Gary Brooker, and completed some songs. David flipped over the
combination. They’d recorded some demos and made a beautiful match. The demos
were tremendous. So tremendous that money was found for them to get a group
together – Gary Brooker, vocals and piano; Matthew Fisher, organ; Ray Royer,
lead guitar; Dave Knights, bass; Bobby Harrison, drums – all very competent
musicians.’
ANOTHER REASON
Take Matthew for example, he’s just completed a three-year course at the
Guildhall School of Music studying classical organ. Denny thinks that another
reason for the group’s success is the fact that everything was recorded
spontaneously. They didn’t resort to multi-tracking and consequently achieved a
much closer-knit sound. The actual session for Whiter Shade of Pale took
place at the Olympic studios with engineer Keith Grant. Says Denny: ‘I don’t
like to stick with just one studio. The engineer gets to know too much about
your way of thinking.’ I mentioned that Micky [sic] Most seemed to be all right
at De Lane Lea. ‘Yeah, but Mickie’s on a completely different scene to me. I use
the studio that I think can give the best sound for a particular record. This is
one reason why I’m taking Georgie Fame over to the States to record.’
POETRY
‘On stage, the Procol will be quiet, not loud, and you’ll listen to them. You’re
not going to see the Procol Harum for a raving evening, you’re there to dig some
nice poetry and music. And they definitely won’t be a one-hit team. They’ve got
so much going for them it’s unbelievable. This record proves that nothing is too
way-out for the record buyers. They will accept anything they can understand. I
mean, Denny Laine’s record is a bit way-out musically, what with all those
strings, but the kids can understand it. It’s only when you get down to weird
rhythms that the troubles start. Strawberry Fields was a bit too weird.
Personally I loved it. Really great, but the weirdness might have prevented it
reaching the top of the charts. But who knows?’ As a record producer, this
record by the Procol has really made Denny Cordell into a name to be reckoned
with. What ambitions has he left? ‘Mainly to see Denny Laine become the
superstar that he latently is. To see a New Breed record label. To make the
Procols into a top group, and generally have a ball with life.’
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