The famous organ tune from
A Whiter Shade of Pale, which
Gary Brooker
admitted under oath was written by
Matthew Fisher
| After having not been a co-writer of A Whiter Shade of Pale for 39 years, I think it's going to take a week or two for the reality to sink in. |
| Obviously I'd like to thank my legal team: Mike, Charlotte, Jens, Hugo and Iain for the wonderful job they did and Mr Justice Blackburne for reaffirming my faith in British Justice. Also my family and friends for their support and encouragement, especially my wife Carol, who didn't ask to be dragged through two years of acrimonious litigation. |
| I think I can assume that from now on I'm going to be crossed off Gary and Keith's Christmas card lists, but I think that's a small price to pay for finally securing my rightful place in Rock 'n' Roll History. |
| Finally, I'd just like to say that it's a great pity this matter could not have been resolved amicably. Unfortunately, all attempts at negotiation were unsuccessful, and I was left with no alternative but to seek redress through the courts. |
| Matthew Fisher - 20th December 2006 |
| As the claimant in the recent "A Whiter Shade of Pale" lawsuit, I was in court every day (including the day of the judgement when neither Gary nor Franky appeared). I soon became aware that Mr Justice Blackburne was not only musically educated but that he possessed one of the most amazingly sharp minds I have ever encountered. |
| After observing him listening carefully to everything that was said in court over the seven days, making careful notes and the occasional dry comment, I find it highly amusing that we are now treated to a succession of what I can only describe as intellectual midgets complaining that he 'got it wrong'. |
| To the authors of these assorted rants, blogs and postings I have but one thing to say: |
 |
| Read The Fine Judgement! (see link below) |
| Pay particular attention to paragraphs 4, 10, 11, 21, 37, 38, 42 and 63 - I shall be asking questions later. |
| The judgement can be found on this page at www.bailii.org. |
| Recommended links regarding the lawsuit: |
| NB. Some of these links are no longer current and I have substituted local copies. If any of the owners of these pages have any objections to this, please contact me via the contact link on my home page and I shall remove the relevant link. |
| The other day I found a dusty old cassette tape I'd been looking for for 20 years. It was a collection of very rough demos and sketches of musical ideas I'd put together in the late 1980s. Obviously, the recording quality is not that good, especially since I'd recorded the cassette without properly checking the record-level and it's a bit distorted. |
| However, I was rather pleased with one track - a dance instrumental I'd forgotten all about. Just in case anyone else might like it, I've decided to make it a free download. It's called Salsa Celebration. |
| Just click here. |
| Please note: no permission is granted for the copying or
redistribution of this soundfile via other websites. I reserve sole distribution rights for this recording. |
 www.tonydangerfield.com |
