'Sold on Song' : 31 May 2004

Procol Harum top the lot in BBC Radio 2 poll

Procol Harum's triumph in this poll came within a couple of weeks of the announcement that A Whiter Shade of Pale was the most-played record in the past 70 years.

'Beyond the Pale' had been alerted to listen in by a slightly cryptic note from the Commander.

DJ Richard Allinson (hear his intro) presented a Top 100, voted by many thousands of radio listeners, on Bank-holiday Monday, 31 May, from 2pm until 5pm; all the songs were played in the count-down to Procol Harum, and the show included interviews with songwriters. The BBC website, which consistently mis-spelt 'Procol', invited us to judge which version of AWSoP we liked best ... Procol, Joe Cocker, Jose Feliciano or (!) Michael Bolton. For some reason Helge Schneider and the Firefuckers didn't get a look-in.

There were problems with the BBC site, in addition to the spelling blunder. The interview clip with Gary Brooker could not be found, and the 'comments' board didn't respond, and the Procol quiz returned only error-messages. However the corporation did provide some good text, as follows:

"The song nobody understands – even the writer Keith Reid couldn't explain it. It's topped the 100 poll and is consistently popular since its 1967 release.

"John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix were both fascinated by it. It was the song of the Summer of Love. It has been covered by, among others, James Last, Willie Nelson and the Everly Brothers. It went on to sell untold millions – yet it was recorded while the producer was in the toilet! It is 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale' – and to this day, no one is entirely clear what it's actually about.

"Steeped in mystery and ambiguity, A Whiter Shade Of Pale was perfectly in keeping with the kaleidoscopic year of 1967. Lyricist Keith Reid overheard the title at a party in 1966 and decided to write a song based around it. He sent the finished lyrics to Gary Brooker in Southend. Brooker, formerly pianist with R&B band The Paramounts, half remembered Jacques Loussier's television ad for Hamlet cigars and, within "a few minutes", had fashioned the melody that would haunt the world.

"Brooker and Reid now had the song, but no band. Within weeks Procol Harum had been formed – and, for the remainder of their lives, they would be overshadowed by that song. Like Orson Welles and Citizen Kane, it seemed to many that Procol Harum had started at the top, and worked their way down.

"In truth, the band went on to record a dozen more albums, boasting songs every bit as good as their début (Broken Barricades, A Salty Dog, Grand Hotel ...) But despite their best efforts, it is A Whiter Shade of Pale for which Procol will forever be remembered, as once again, we skip the light fandango..."

The BBC site also quotes Gary Brooker: "We took the demo round to quite a few people ... George Martin, Ron Richards, Andrew Loog Oldham and for whatever reason none of them saw any light in it whatsoever." Gary's whole interview may be heard here (read transcript here).

And it quotes Dominic King: like some extravagant Ben & Jerry recipe, this classic combines three very different tastes. First take oodles of Bach-inspired organ. Then stir in a great dollop of haunting Dylanesque imagery. Third key ingredient is the R&B styling of the lead vocal – "And so it wa-as a bit [sic] later" (peaking on a high soulful sixth), echoing Percy Sledge's "When a ma-an loves a woman", released six months earlier. Irresistible flava.

Here's the listing: