Matthew Fisher
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Matthew Fisher (born Matthew Charles Fisher, 7 March 1946 in Addiscombe, Croydon, Surrey, England) is the Hammond organist, singer-songwriter, and the man responsible for the organ sound on the 1967 single "A Whiter Shade of Pale".
He was a member of Procol Harum; producer to Robin Trower, James Dewar and Tir Na Nog (among others); and enjoyed a solo career, being especially popular in Greece [1]. His solo albums include Journey's End (1973), I'll Be There (1974), Matthew Fisher (1980), and Strange Days (1981).
Two of the albums he produced for Trower, Bridge of Sighs (1974) and For Earth Below (1975), have been certified gold by the RIAA[2], whilst "A Whiter Shade of Pale" has enjoyed multi-platinum status. Fisher's Hammond organ playing on pianist David Lanz's instrumental version of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" from his 1988 CD, Cristofori's Dream, helped that album go gold as well.
Fisher co-produced an album by the group Prairie Madness in 1972, on which he also played organ and harpsichord. This was a piano-guitar duo with an accompanying band, but it achieved limited success.
Fisher quit Procol Harum in 1969 after the release of their third album, A Salty Dog, which he also produced. He rejoined the band in 1991 for the album The Prodigal Stranger and released two more albums with them, One More Time - Live in Utrecht 1992 and The Well's on Fire. In addition he appeared on two concert DVDs, Live in Copenhagen and Live at the Union Chapel, but quit the band again in 2004. He is currently a computer programmer in Croydon, Surrey.
In 2005, Fisher filed suit [1] [2] in the Royal Courts of Justice against Procol Harum pianist, lead singer and founder Gary Brooker and his publisher, claiming Fisher co-wrote the music of "A Whiter Shade of Pale". On 20 December, 2006, Fisher won the case.[3] However, in April 2008, the British Court of Appeals overturned part of the lower court's ruling, stating that Fisher was entitled to co-authorship, but awarding full royalty rights to Brooker.[4]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- MatthewFisher.com Matthew Fisher's homepage
- Matthew Fisher's fan page - at procolharum.com
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