Procol Harum Beyond the Pale
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The bitter £1 million legal battle over A Whiter Shade of Pale, an anthem of the 1967 Summer of Love, has reached the Court of Appeal.

The rock star Gary Brooker is trying to reverse a High Court ruling that the organist who played the haunting theme on the worldwide hit is entitled to part of the copyright.

Matthew Fisher, 60, sued the leader of the group Procul [sic] Harum nearly 40 years after he recorded the song that sold 10 million copies.

John Baldwin, QC, representing Mr Brooker, told three judges at the Court of Appeal that Mr Fisher had failed to take the case to court earlier because he knew it would be the end of his career with the group.

He said that Mr Fisher had claimed the copyright without alerting Mr Brooker or the record company, which meant they could not prepare themselves adequately.

This had resulted in an unfair trial with Mr Brooker unable to show that it was his idea to use the Bach theme on the record. The High Court ruling gave Mr Fisher a 40 per cent share of the musical copyright.