Procol Harum

Procol Harum members, Gary Brooker, Robin Trower, Chris Copping and B.J. Wilson started out as The Paramounts. They temporarily acted as the backup band for British singer/60s starlet, Sandie Shaw.

Procol Harum lyricist, Keith Reid, revealed in our interview how he took on numerous odd jobs before he finally ventured into song writing: "I was a construction worker, over here we call them laborers. I worked in a bakery, worked in a book shop, I worked for a solicitor, I worked in a garment factory packing dresses, can you believe?"

In April 1967, following the disbanding of The Paramounts, Gary Brooker began working with Keith Reid on Procol Harum. The band's original manager, Guy Stevens, got the idea for the name from his friend's Burmese cat. It is Latin for "beyond these things." Stevens would also be responsible for naming Mott the Hoople, and would later go on to produce The Clash's seminal 1979 album, London Calling.