Gary Brooker, the frontman for Procol Harum, the long-running band most well-known for 1967’s A Whiter Shade Of Pale, died Saturday at age 76. The trigger of dying was most cancers.
The surviving members introduced Brooker’s dying in an obituary on the group’s official web site, writing that the brightly shining, irreplaceable mild within the music trade… had been receiving therapy for most cancers, however died peacefully at house.
Brooker had been appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire by the Queen in 2003.
Prior to Procol Harum, Brooker had based the Paramounts in 1962 with future British blues-rock legend Robin Trower. He and Keith Reid shaped Procol Harum in 1966, with Trower and organist Matthew Fisher as mainstays within the early days earlier than they dropped out and left Brooker as the important thing driving power of the band.
Procol Harum in 1967 (from L) Robin Trower, David Knights, Gary Brooker, Matthew Fisher and B.J. Wilson. – Photo: Filepic
Procol Harum broke up in 1977, however after turning into a solo artist and session man, Brooker led reunion excursions in later a long time.
He appeared on George Harrison’s lately reissued basic All Things Must Pass album, and continued to work with the previous Beatle on Gone Troppo and Somewhere in England. After Harrison’s dying, he appeared at the Concert for George and sang the honoree’s Old Brown Shoe.
In 1979, Brooker joined Eric Clapton’s touring band and appeared on the album Another Ticket, persevering with to take a seat in with Clapton on particular events by the years. Other credit embrace singing the lead vocal on a 1985 Alan Parsons mission track, Limelight, from the Stereotomy album, and enjoying on two Kate Bush albums, 1993’s The Red Shoes and 2005’s Aerial.
He appeared on display as an actor in Alan Parker’s movie adaptation of the stage musical Evita, enjoying the function of Juan Atilo Bramuglia.
“He lit up any room he entered, and his kindness to a multilingual household of followers was legendary,” the band wrote in its obituary. “He was notable for his individuality, integrity, and infrequently cussed eccentricity. His mordant wit, and urge for food for the ridiculous, made him a priceless raconteur (and his surreal inter-song banter made an enchanting distinction with the gravitas of Procol Harum’s performances).”
Procol Harum was by no means nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, to the consternation of many, however A Whiter Shade of Pale itself grew to become half of the Hall as half of a Singles class in 2018.
He is survived by his spouse, Franky Brooker, whom he met in 1965 and wed in 1968. The couple had no kids.
The announcement of Brooker’s dying on the band’s web site stated a personal funeral can be adopted later by a extra public memorial celebration later, and requested followers to “please respect the privateness of Franky Brooker”. It requested for donations in Brooker’s identify to be made to Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice (*76*). – Reuters
