Homburg (song)

"Homburg"
Single by Procol Harum
B-side	"Good Captain Clack"
Released	22 September 1967
Format	7", 45rpm
Recorded	Summer 1967
Genre	Psychedelic rock
Label	Regal Zonophone
Writer(s)	Gary Brooker, Keith Reid (lyrics)
Procol Harum singles chronology
"A Whiter Shade of Pale" (1967) "Homburg" (1967) "Quite Rightly So" (1968)

"Homburg" was the rock band Procol Harum's follow-up single to their initial 1967 hit "A Whiter Shade of Pale". Written by pianist Gary Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid, "Homburg" reached number 6 in the UK Singles Chart,^[1] number 15 in Canada, and number 34 in the United States. It went to number one in several countries, including Australia, South Africa, and the Netherlands.

Reid's "Homburg" lyrics contains the same surreal, dream-like imagery and feelings of resignation and futility as in the debut single. The music also features Matthew Fisher's rich and deep Hammond organ, but the piano and guitar have bigger places in the overall sound. The theme is not as clearly Bach-like as in "A Whiter Shade of Pale"; nevertheless, the single was, on its release, criticised for being too similar to its predecessor.^[2]

The B-side of the single was "Good Captain Clack", which was taken from the album Procol Harum.

References

1. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 440. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
2. Johansen, Claes. Procol Harum. Beyond the Pale. SAF Publishing, London 2000