'The room was humming harder/and the ceiling flew away./When we called out for another drink/the waiter brought a tray. It also reached No.1 in Australia, eventually becoming one of the 30 best-selling singles of all time with sales of over 10 million. Released in the United Kingdom on May 12 that year, it reached No.1 in the British charts on June 8 – and stayed there for six weeks. So put these seven words – Procol Harum A Whiter Shade of Pale – into your search engine, stand back and admire.īrooker co-wrote (and sang) A Whiter Shade of Pale in 1967. Or know why the band he co-founded half a century ago could play the Royal Albert Hall at the start of their 50th anniversary tour.Įverybody wants the Procol – Procol Harum from left to right: Dave Knights, Barrie James, Mathew Celestial-Smith, Robin Trower, Gary Brooker.

You've probably never heard of Gary Brooker. He reappeared for the second half, to rapturous applause, with his head swathed in bandages beneath a beret, a less than fetching nose plaster (and an even less fetching shirt).īut let's be honest. It was the second time Brooker had fallen off the stage in recent years, so the medics made sure he was fit enough to fulfil his obligations. In the gloom after the lights faded, Brooker, 71, tripped down the stairs on the way to his dressing room.

On March 4 this year, Gary Brooker (singer/pianist/songwriter) was given a standing ovation by a capacity crowd when he returned to the stage of London's legendary Royal Albert Hall after an extended interval.

A whiter shade of pale lyrics meaning