Baroque Pop
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Feb 10, 2021
- 3 min read
FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. STUDY - DAY
Coming in, PETER turns on a mini HiFi system. We hear a well-known organ solo.
PETER (V.O.): The instrumental melody, soulful vocals and unusual lyrics are all the song's success factors. Who wrote this song: A Whiter Shade of Pale?
Peter surfs the web with his phone.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The music was by Gary Brooker and Matthew Fisher, and the lyrics by Keith Reid. The song was a no. 1 in the UK Chart in June 1967...
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Then, I was about to sit my Form 1 exams. I just found the lengthy song's organ solo and title appealing. And that's all.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The chordal element has got a spark from Bach's Air on a G String. That's why its genre is categorized as Baroque Pop ie a fusion genre that combines rock with elements of classical music.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As to the title, the lyricist overheard someone saying to a woman, "You've turned a whiter shade of pale"...
Act 2
INT. STUDY - CONTINUOUS
Reading.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Oh, in 2005, a law suit on the song's music authorship began...Ah, that's how Fisher got 40% of the music copyright...
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): The year 2005 is interesting as the song was first published in 1967.
Another song is playing.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): And the music copyright dispute went from the High Court to the Court of Appeal in 2008, and then to the House of Lords in 2009.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): During that time period, I was busy lobbying support to amend Hong Kong's Copyright Ordinance.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): It's high time I investigated this case.
Peter types and taps on the phone screen a few times.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): I've found it. It's Fisher v Brooker & Others [2009] UKHL 41.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Lord Hope says, at para 3, that there's no statutory limitation that applies in English law to claims to copyright.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): He states the crucial difference between the exercise of property right and the seeking of the court's discretion to protect property right.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As to the latter, unconscionable delay would be a relevant factor as to whether the court's discretionary remedy should be granted.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As to the former, in the absence of proprietary estoppel, an author's copyright won't be denied.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Baroness Hale remarks, at para 20, that: "As one of those people who remember the sixties, I am glad that the author of that memorable organ part has at last achieved the recognition he deserves."
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Matthew Fisher was aged 21 when Procol Harum recorded "A Whiter Shade of Pale" in April 1967.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): He owned and played a Hammond organ...
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I was aged 21 in 1975, I had already worked full-time for two years. I bought a used electric organ to play.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Sharon, my wife-to-be, was a piano teacher. She taught me keyboard basics.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Although I wasn't in a band anymore, playing the instrumental Telstar and imagining the sounds of the space age was great fun.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Then, I was quite lost. I thought I was doomed not to get university education.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And I should be content if I could retire as an Assistant Housing Manager.
Act 3
INT. STUDY - CONTINUOUS
After taping the YouTube icon on his phone screen, Peter types A Whiter Shade of Pale.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Let me re-watch a video clip of the band's performance in 1968.
Peter taps a black-and-white clip. We see on phone screen a band is getting prepared and then we hear the song's intro organ solo.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): They weren't young anymore. As copyright owners, they and their heirs are entitled to copyright royalties.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): People like patterns, and would listen to songs repeatedly. And good songs can create a recurrent revenue stream.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): I'd better create more songs. Even a one-hit wonder would make a difference for years!
Peter opens the CD disk tray, we see a CD with stylised Rock N Roll...
FADE OUT.
THE END
留言