Eric Clapton, Queen’s Roger Taylor and More to Perform at Procol Harum Tribute

Queen’s Roger Taylor, Eric Clapton, Genesis’ Mike Rutherford, and more are set to perform at a tribute concert for late Procol Harum singer and pianist Gary Brooker on Monday (December 4) at the G Live Arts Center in Guildford, England.

The Remembering Gary Brooker tribute will also feature Brooker’s Procol Harum bandmates, including guitarist Geoff Whitehorn keyboardist Josh Phillips, and drummer Geoff Dunn, who will perform with the house band. Proceeds from the concert will go to te Royal Marsden Cancer Charity and Cure Parkinson’s.

Brooker, who died on February 19, 2022 at the age of 76, founded Procol Harum in 1967 with late bandmate Keith Reid. That same year, the pair also wrote the band’s biggest hit “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” along with Procol bandmate Matthew Fisher. Reid said he found the title of the song after overhearing someone use the phrase at a party. 

[RELATED: 5 Captivating Songs by Procol Harum Apart from “A Whiter Shade of Pale”]

“With the deepest regret we must announce the death of Gary Brooker MBE, singer, pianist, and composer of Procol Harum, and a brightly-shining, irreplaceable light in the music industry,” read a statement by the band following Brooker’s death. In 2003, Brooker was also made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his charitable work.

The statement continued, “From his earliest onstage duets with his musician father, through his youthful recording career with Southend’s The Paramounts, Gary exhibited and developed a highly-individual talent. His first single with Procol Harum, 1967’s ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale,’ is widely regarded as defining ‘The Summer of Love,’ yet it could scarcely have been more different from the characteristic records of that era.”

Throughout his career, Brooker also released three solo albums, including his 1979 debut No More Fear of Flying, Lead Me to the Water in 1982, and 1985 release Echoes in the Night. Brooker also collaborated with other artists, including Kate Bush, Alan Parsons Project, Paul McCartney ,and George Harrison, in addition to playing, writing, and singing for Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, Eric Clapton’s band, and Ringo Starr’s All Starr Band.

More than a year after Brooker’s death, Reid died on March 26, 2023 at the same age, 76, after battling cancer for several years. 

Photo: Frank Hoensch/Redferns