British rockers Procol Harum have been forced to cancel the remainder of their dates in South Africa after frontman Gary Brooker injured himself. The fall came on Brooker’s 67th birthday (May 29). The band was part of the British Invasion Tour of South Africa along with the Moody Blues and 10cc.

Details on how or why Brooker fell are scarce, with a promoter only telling Times Live that the singer is healing. “Our thoughts are with Gary and the band during this difficult time,” Attie Van Wyk of Big Concerts said. “We are confident that he is receiving the very best medical attention and we wish him a speedy recovery.”

According to the fan website Beyond the Pale, the ‘Whiter Shade of Pale’ hitmakers were scheduled to play in Cape Town on May 30 and Johannesburg on June 1. They’ll open a string of American dates on July 13 in Atlantic City, N.J. It’s not clear if Brooker’s injury will affect other shows.

Brooker founded Procol Harum pin 1966, and remained the band leader until they broke up in 1977. ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ was by far their biggest hit, reaching No. 5 in America and No. 1 in the U.K., but they also scored a lesser hit with ‘Conquistador’ in 1972. In 1991 the group reformed, and they have toured and recorded off and on since.

This sounds scary. They are being quite careful in what they are saying. They are coming to Florida this summer, I hope he is able to make it. And more importantly I hope he recovers fully.

Rick A.

This is from the Procol Harum site, Beyond the Pale:
"Gary fell in his room this morning and hit his head on the hard floor.He has a small fracture to the lower left side of his head.He also has the usual problems that are associated with such a fall. We are treating this seriously, however on the doctors scale it is at the Serious end of Moderate.
But be assured he will be OK. ...but we do expect business to be back to normal in time for the next shows."

If accurate,that's better news. I certainly hope he does have a full recovery with no lingering effects.

I have tickets for the July 14th show at Westbury where they open for Yes. Sounds like they should be able to make that one of they don't pull the plug early. Hope he feels better soon.

You know what's odd here? If my dad fell at age 67, I'd sit there and say uh-oh he's starting to lose it a bit and maybe he should retire soon or see a doctor.
But Gary Brooker isn't supposed to fall-he's a rock star! Even at 67! I mean, crap, he's really damn old! But he still sounds excellent (at least when I saw Procol 2 years ago) and I truly hope he recovers and Procol stay on the bill with Yes.
Best wishes Gary!

Yep, falling down is a real sign of problems. I see it every day at work, seems like everyone is falling down and needs to be picked up off the floor.

Our heroes are getting old.

uh....67 is NOT "really damn old"!

If you'd told me that a white haired, 70 year old Gary Brooker would still be able to belt out a haunting rendition of Whiter Shade of Pale, I'd have doubted you heavily.

Indeed. Thanks.

I met Gary/Procol Harum in New York in July 2014 and saw the band again at an amazing concert with the BBC Concert Orchestra and choir in London in November 2014. Although Gary has lost a little of that amazing voice, he still rocks on with the current incarnation of Procol Harum and occasionally as a solo artist. I love all of the band's music. It's hard to believe that the 50th anniversary of the release of 'A Whiter Shade of Pale' will be in May 2017! May he rock on for another 50 years!