Matthew Fisher

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Matthew Charles Fisher (born March 7, 1946 in Addiscombe , Surrey , now London ) is an English musician , best known for his playing in the band Procol Harum .

Life

Matthew Fisher is best known for his Bach's Air from the Orchestral Suite no. 3 modeled on Hammondorgelspiel on the worldwide hit A Whiter Shade of Pale (1967) by Procol Harum . Further Bach quotes are the Prelude in C major in the middle section of the instrumental piece Repent Walpurgis and The Signature on the Procol Harum album The Well's on Fire from 2003. Before that, Fisher u. a. Organist at Screaming Lord Sutch .

In the early days, Fisher shaped the music of Procol Harum alongside Gary Brooker through his playing . In 1969 he left the band and worked as a producer for Robin Trower , Bandit, Tir Na Nog and James Dewar and at times as a computer programmer . He also recorded several solo albums.

The relationship between Matthew Fisher and Gary Brooker seems to have always been problematic. Conflicts arose because Fisher always saw himself as a co-author of A Whiter Shade of Pale , because he saw himself cheated out of the abundant proceeds from the song and Gary Brooker and Keith Reid claimed the rights to the song for themselves. So it happened that Fisher kept coming back to Procol Harum and left the band several times. His last appearance with the band took place on the occasion of the ZDF broadcast 50 Jahre Rock, hosted by Thomas Gottschalk , in April 2004.

In May 2005 Fisher sued Gary Brooker and the publisher Onward Music for his share of the musical authorship. On December 21, 2006, he was awarded a 40 percent stake in A Whiter Shade of Pale by a London court .

In October 2007, another trial took place over the authorship of the song because Brooker had appealed the judgment. The decision confirmed the authorship, but not the entitlement to royalties, since Fisher had let himself be too long with the lawsuit. That ruling, in turn, was overturned unanimously by five Law Lords of the House of Lords serving as the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on July 30, 2009. Fisher were finally granted the author's rights under the December 21, 2006 court ruling.

Solo albums

  • 1973: Journey's End
  • 1974: I'll Be There
  • 1979: Matthew Fisher
  • 1981: Strange Days
  • 1994: A Salty Dog Returns

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Organist wins Procol Harum battle (English)
  2. ↑ Procol Harum ruling is overturned (English)
  3. ↑ Victory for Whiter Shade organist (English)
personal data
SURNAME Fisher, Matthew
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Fisher, Matthew Charles (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English musician
DATE OF BIRTH March 7, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH Addiscombe , Surrey