Matthew Fisher

Matthew Fisher (born Matthew Charles Fisher, 7 March 1947 in Addiscombe, Croydon, England) is a Hammond organist, singer-songwriter, and was the man responsible for the organ sound on the 1967 single "A Whiter Shade of Pale".

Biography

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. He has also played keyboards for Lord Sutch on his 1972 album, the Hands of Jack the Ripper and played piano on David Bowie tour - Jun/Jul 1972, with the Spiders from Mars.

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, London.

A Whiter Shade of Pale Authorship lawsuit

See also

• Prairie Madness (band)
• Procol Harum

References

External links

• MatthewFisher.com Matthew Fisher's homepage
• Matthew Fisher's fan page - at procolharum.com