Procol Harum

The UK prog-rock band Procol Harum topped the UK charts for six weeks in 1967 with the Bach inspired "A Whiter Shade of Pale".

From the ashes of the Paramounts and the Pinewoods, Procol Harum emerged. Their debut single, a classically-based piece, captured public imagination in a way that few singles do. "A Whiter Shade of Pale" spent over a month at the top of the UK charts and became a million-seller in the States. Meanwhile the band's debut gig was opening for Jimi Hendrix in London.

With a start this good it was going to be hard to follow and even though subsequent releases didn't match the commercial success of their debut, they were considered to be amongst the best of the UK prog-rock movement. Their 1969 A Salty Dog album, and Procol Harum Live: in Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, both became firm favourites with fans and critics alike.

The band split in 1977, the same year that "Whiter…" was named (along with "Bohemian Rhapsody"), by the BRIT Awards as the best British pop single from 1952 to 1977 (the dates relating to Queen Elizabeth's reign).

Apart from occasional gigs, the band didn't get together again until 1990, when they recorded Prodigal Stranger. The album produced the Top 30-placed "All our Dreams are Sold", but neither fans or critics were totally convinced and the reunion was shortlived. A version of the band still tours today.