The lead singer of 1960s British pop group Procol Harum won a court battle on Friday to reclaim royalties for the band's smash hit 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale' from a former bandmate.
Gary Brooker went to London's appeal court last October after Matthew Fisher, the band's former organ player, won a legal claim for 40 percent of copyright to the 1967 song lodged nearly 40 years after it was recorded.
In a ruling Friday, judge John Mummery reversed that decision, saying Fisher, now a computer programmer, was "guilty of excessive and inexcusable delay in asserting his claim".
"A Whiter Shade Of Pale" has sold around 10 million copies worldwide and is particularly famous for its swirling organ solo, performed by Fisher and influenced by JS Bach's "Air On A G String".
Brooker said he wrote it, but Fisher counter-claimed that he penned an organ solo at the start of the song and made changes to Brooker's chord sequence.
Neither Brooker nor Fisher was in court to hear the ruling, but Brooker issued a statement saying the case had put a "great strain" on him and his family and adding: "I would hope that now we can all get on with our lives".
Fisher lodged his royalties claim in 2005. The two men are still fighting over who will pay the legal costs of the action, estimated at around half a million pounds (635,000 euros, 999,000 dollars).