Procol Harum

The story of Procol Harum begins with the group that lead singer and keyboardist Gary Brooker first found success in, The Paramounts. The band found mild chart success with their version of Leiber and Stoller's “Poison Ivy”, and as a result, signed a record deal with EMI UK. However, the band were unable to generate any follow-up success, so the band came to an end in 1966. Brooker was far from done, however, and and put together a new band called The Pinewoods before his contract with EMI expired. The new band were ready by April 1967, but at the last minute, changed their name to Procol Harum before going into the studio to record their debut single. What happened next couldn't have been predicted by even the most optimistic of fans, as their debut single “A White Shade Of Pale”, went on to become one of the biggest hit singles of all time, and is still one of only 30 singles to have sold over 10 million copies worldwide.

As if that wasn't enough, the band made their live debut shortly afterwards as the support act for some no-hoper called Jimi Hendrix and their second single “Homburg”, was another strong hit, setting the band up comfortably as one of the hottest new acts of the age. By the time they released their debut album “Shine On Brightly”, they had already started making the transition from psychedelia to full on prog-rock, and would go on to be a formative influence on the genre along with the similarly up-and-coming Pink Floyd. Ever since then, the band has remained one of the most influential British rock groups of all time, with the outcry from their split in 1977 making their reformation in 1991 one of the most biggest rock stories of the year in the U.K. The band went on to release two further studio albums after getting back together, and are playing some of the best live shows of their whole career together to this very day. For that, they come highly recommended.