Procol Harum Announce 50th Anniversary London Show.

One of the most important bands in the history of British music, to the development of symphonic rock and indeed prog rock, Procol Harum have announced a very special London show in celebration of the 50th anniversary of their seminal song A Whiter Shade of Pale.

2017 will mark a significant milestone in what continues to be one of our most loved musical exports; 50 years after the group formed and released A Whiter Shade Of Pale, the track continues to be one of the best-selling singles of all time, one of the most recognisable and most played songs – ever.

Procol Harum will play London’s prestigious Royal Festival Hall on 3rd March 2017, accompanied by a full orchestra and the English New Chamber Choir conducted by David Firman. As one of the first groups to embrace the use of an orchestra to enhance their music, the band have a long history of symphonic performances, having performed with orchestras across the world. This included their iconic 1971 concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, where it’s recorded version reached Number 5 in the Billboard Top 200 chart.

The concert will see the band dip into their vast catalogue and cannon of worldwide hits accompanied by the orchestra to bring to the stage the magic that they have always retained, taking influences from diverse strands of popular music including Blues, R&B, Soul, Baroque, and Classical. There will also be a few new surprises too.

Over the past 50 years the quality of writing and performance has remained Procol Harum’s gold standard through the gradually-mutating line-ups each participating musician has kept the ideas flowing and prevented Procol from resting on their laurels.

Procol Harum has been an evolving musical force from the first performance in ’67, but always led by founding member, singer, pianist and composer Gary Brooker, most of today’s line-up has been playing together since the early ‘90s and it includes bassist Matt Pegg (Jethro Tull, Ian Brown), drummer Geoff Dunn (Jimmy Page, Dave Stewart, Van Morrison), guitarist Geoff Whitehorn (Roger Chapman, Paul Rodgers, Roger Daltrey) and Hammond organ player Josh Phillips (Pete Townsend and Midge Ure), but to all their fans, they are the real Procol Harum

As one of the 20th century’s most illustrious British rock groups, this 50th anniversary show will allow fans both old and new to hear their iconic songs performed in the beautiful symphonic soundscape their music so richly deserves.