Queen’s Roger Taylor, Eric Clapton and Genesis’ Mike Rutherford are among a star-studded line-up set to perform a charity concert in memory of the late Gary Brooker.
The Procol Harum frontman sadly lost his battle with cancer last February, aged 76, and the special concert honouring the composer will take place on December 4 at G Live in Guildford, Surrey,
His chosen charities to benefit from ticket sales are The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity and Cure Parkinsons.
Paul Carrack, John Illsley, Andy Fairweather Low and Mike Sanchez are also set to perform alongside a house band of session musicians, including drummer Geoff Dunn, guitarist Geoff Whitehorn and keyboard player Josh Phillips, who all played for Procol Harum, and many more.
Andy Locke, Venue Director at G Live said: “We are honoured to host this very special tribute to Gary Brooker MBE at G Live. Through his charity work, Gary was such a respected member of the Guildford community, and his invaluable contribution to the music industry is demonstrated by the calibre of artists who are joining us at G Live in celebration of his life.”
As well as his career with the ‘Whiter Shade of Pale’ rockers, Gary played, wrote and sang for Clapton’s band and also contributed to Beatles legends Sir Paul McCartney and the late George Harrison’s solo projects.
Procol Harum were initially active between 1967 and 1977.
Despite various line-up changes, they reunited in 1991 and released their latest EP in 2019.
In a statement released upon his passing, the band – which currently comprises Geoff Whitehorn, Matt Pegg, Josh Phillips and Geoff Dunn – said that Gary was the “defining constant” of their history.
The statement read: “Gary’s voice and piano were the single defining constant of Procol’s 50-year international concert career.
“Without any stage antics or other gimmicks he was invariably the most watchable musician in the show. But for all his other interests and skills – prize-winning angler, pub-owner, lyricist, painter, inventor – he was above all a devoted and loyal husband to Franky, whom he met in 1965 and married in 1968.
Our thoughts must be with her, their families and friends at this extremely sad time.”
Tickets are priced at £100 + booking fees. Pre-sales start on Tuesday September 26 at 10am, with general on-sale on Thursday September 28 at 10am via glive.co.uk.