Chris Copping (born 29 August 1945 in Middleton, Lancashire, England) is a musician and singer-songwriter who was a member of

Procol Harum Procol Harum () were an English rock music, rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold more than List of best-selling si ...

in the 1970s, and has also composed for TV and film. He predominantly plays

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

, piano and bass guitar.

Career

In 1960 he joined a group called The Paramounts as a guitarist but left in December 1962 to go to study

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

Leicester University The University of Leicester ( ) is a public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, University College, Leicester, gained university ...

. Diz Derrick replaced him in the group until they split up in October 1966. From 1963 until 1966 he studied at

, receiving an honours degree in

. From 1966 to 1969, he worked for the government and studied for a PhD. During this time his first marriage had broken up and he had returned to playing music, initially playing the organ in a pub, then playing traditional German music. In 1969, he was invited by

Robin Trower Robin Leonard Trower (born 9 March 1945) is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum throughout 1967–1971 and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio known as the Robin Trower Band. Biography Robin Trower ...

to replace Matthew Fisher on organ and

David Knights Procol Harum () were an English rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single " A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold more than 10 million copies. Although note ...

on bass in Procol Harum (at which point that band consisted entirely of ex-The Paramounts musicians). Between December 1969 and March 1977 Copping recorded seven albums with the group and toured extensively. During this time Copping alternated between bass guitar and Hammond organ as other musicians joined the group. After recording the album, '' Something Magic'', he left the group and was replaced by Dee Murray for the accompanying tour, after which the group broke up. In 1978 he moved to Australia where he continues to play and compose. In recent years Copping has worked with artists such as Mark Hilton, JoJo Leslie and Astrid Munday, as well as composing music for a number of short films (''Miss Fortune'', ''The Web'' and ''Slim Pickings'').

Notes

External links

Procol Harum.com biography of Chris CoppingChris Copping's home page
1945 births Living people Procol Harum members People from Middleton, Greater Manchester English keyboardists English bass guitarists English male guitarists British male bass guitarists Alumni of the University of Leicester Progressive rock bass guitarists The Paramounts members {{England-musician-stub