Richard Christopher Wakeman (born May 18, 1949 in
Perivale, London) is an English keyboard player best known as the keyboardist for progressive rock group Yes. Originally a classically trained
pianist, he was a pioneer in the use of electronic keyboards and in the use of a rock band in combination with orchestra and choir.[citation needed] He is now a popular member of the Planet Rock family and is regularly on air.
History
Wakeman was born in the suburb of Perivale, West London, and attended Drayton Manor Grammar School. He initially studied piano,
clarinet, orchestration and modern music at the
Royal College of Music, but he left of his own accord after a year and a half in
favour of work as a session musician.
In 1970, Wakeman played with Strawbs and was an active studio musician, playing with such
artists as David Bowie, Cat Stevens and
Al Stewart.He joined Yes in 1971, following keyboardist
Tony Kaye's departure. His first album with the band was Fragile released 1971 in the UK and 1972 in the US, and very nearly his last was
Tales from Topographic Oceans, released in 1973. He also played on
the studio album Close to the Edge (his favourite Yes album) and his live
performances with the group were released as Yessongs. He left the band following the
Tales from Topographic Oceans tour.
During his time with Yes, he released his first solo album, The Six
Wives Of Henry VIII, which showcases his skills with various electronic and acoustic keyboard instruments. Some
members of Yes played their respective instruments on certain tracks.
Of all the members of the band, Wakeman is the only non-vegetarian, a difference which contributed to his first departure from
the band[citation needed]. The primary reason for that
initial departure, however, was musical differences. Wakeman felt Tales from Topographic Oceans was thin on substance and
did not connect with its themes. Further, he did not enjoy the experience of reproducing the entire work on stage each night.
Following the tour, as the band began work on what would become Relayer, Wakeman felt
further alienated from the group. Disenchanted with the direction Yes were going, and already into a successful solo career,
Wakeman jumped ship.
Rick Wakeman performing on stage with
Yes in the 1970s
He rejoined Yes for their 1977 album Going for the
One. He remained until their next album, Tormato, a year later. He is reputed
to have given the album its name by throwing a tomato at a showing of the art used for the
album's cover.[citation needed] He rejoined the band in 1991 but left a year later. He then returned in
1996 for the Keys to Ascension albums but left before the band could tour. In 2002, he rejoined Yes and has been with the group ever since, but also enjoys a successful solo career.
He has also performed as a guest or session musician for artists as disparate as John Williams, Brotherhood of Man,
Elton John, Lou Reed, David
Bowie (notably mellotron on 'Space Oddity', piano on 'Life On Mars' and 'Changes'), Cat
Stevens (including piano on Stevens' hit cover of the hymn "Morning Has
Broken"), T. Rex, Ozzy Osbourne,
Black Sabbath (under the nickname Spock Wall), Brian
May and played piano on "There's no one quite like Grandma"[citation needed] by St. Winifred's School
Choir.
Wakeman played the Mellotron – an electronic musical instrument that used a bank of prerecorded tape strips, activated by
each key on its keyboard. He worked with David Biro to develop the Birotron. The Birotron was
not a commercial or technical success.
He has written the soundtracks for two films by Ken Russell: Lisztomania (1975), which
features vocals from Roger Daltrey and which takes as its starting point the music of
Liszt and Wagner; and Crimes of Passion
(1985), much of which is built around themes taken from Dvorak's New World Symphony.
Personal life
A self-confessed former alcoholic[citation needed], he allegedly had several heart
attacks in his twenties[citation needed]. The first of them occurred just after he left Yes in early 1974, during
the release of Journey To The Centre Of The Earth. He
married former Page Three model Nina Carter,
although they have since divorced. He has had a renewal of his Christian faith[1], which began around the time of their
marriage[citation needed].
Children include Adam Wakeman, Oliver Wakeman,
Oscar Wakeman, Jemma Wakeman, Ben Wakeman, and Manda Wakeman, who have inherited their father's interest in music.
A passionate football fan, Wakeman has supported Brentford F.C. since he was a child,
and later on he also became a director of the West London club. After a disagreement with the board, he moved on to
Manchester City F.C. but never stopped loving the Bees. He was also involved in the
ownership of the American soccer club Philadelphia
Fury in the late '70s, along with other rock celebrities such as Peter Frampton and Paul Simon.
He is a strong supporter of the UK's Conservative Party[citation needed], and performed a concert in
September 2004 for the benefit of the party. The Arthur section of his King Arthur and the Knights of the Round
Table suite is used as the theme tune to the BBC's Election Night Coverage since 1979 (with the exception of 2001).
Wakeman's album Fields of Green '97 featured the track Election '97/Arthur, which was used by the BBC for their
coverage of the 1997 General Election. The music was further
revamped for the BBC's 2005 Election Night Coverage.
Rick can currently be seen as a contributor on BBC Two's series, Grumpy Old
Men. He has also appeared in a number of episodes of Countdown; about
twenty per year, according to Wakeman. He currently (2007) presents a weekly programme on Planet Rock. He has also appeared on the satirical panel show Have I Got News For You as a guest.
Rick appeared as himself in "Journey to the Centre of Rick Wakeman", the last episode of season two of Mitch Benn's Crimes Against Music, a BBC Radio
4 comedy programme. The episode detailed a fictional war between England and Wales in 2009 which only Rick could stop. The
majority of the episode was set inside Rick where Mitch and his team are sent to rouse him from a coma and thus stop the war.
In December 2006 Rick was the guest host for an episode of The Personality Test,
a BBC Radio 4 programme where the panel stay the same and the host changes each week. The questions set in the programme are all
about the host. Rick set a challenge for a new concept album idea, and the comedian Will
Smith suggested "Spiders and Other Invertebrates". Rick said he liked that idea so much, he would include a track of his
next album called "Spiders and Other Invertebrates", and would include a sleeve credit to Will. Will responded by saying that
Rick had "...just made my life" [2]
Rick has been President of the show business charity The Heritage Foundation (formerly Comic
Heritage) for the past two years. The charity erects blue plaques on the homes and/or work-places of late entertainers and
sportspeople. He is also Honorary President of the Classic Rock Society, a UK-based
organisation helping to promote classic and progressive rock.
Rick currently lives in the small village of Scole in Norfolk, East Anglia.
Discography
Solo and with his son Adam
Rick Wakeman at Western Springs Auckland New Zealand 1976
- 1971 Piano Vibrations
- 1973 The Six Wives of Henry VIII
- 1974 Journey to the Centre of the Earth
- 1975 The Myths and Legends of
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
- 1975 Lisztomania (soundtrack, he also acted in the film)
- 1976 No Earthly Connection
- 1977 White Rock (soundtrack to winter Olympics)
- 1977 Rick Wakeman's Criminal Record
- 1978 The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Performs the Best Known Works of Rick
Wakeman
- 1979 Rhapsodies
- 1981 THe Burning (soundtrack)
- 1981 1984
- 1982 Rock 'N' Roll Prophet
- 1983 Cost of Living
- 1983 G'ole! (soundtrack to 1982 FIFA World
Cup)
- 1984 Black Nights in the Court of Ferdinand IV
- 1985 Silent Nights
- 1985 Live at Hammersmith
- 1985 Beyond the Planets
- 1986 Country Airs
- 1986 Crimes of Passion (soundtrack)
- 1987 The Gospels
- 1987 Family Album
- 1988 Time Machine
- 1988 Suite of Gods
- 1988 Zodiaque
- 1989 Sea Airs
- 1990 Night Airs
- 1990 Phantom Power (soundtrack)
- 1990 In the Beginning
- 1991 Rock'n'Roll Prophet Plus (reissue of Rock'n'Roll Prophet plus 4 new
tracks)
- 1991 Aspirant Sunset
- 1991 Aspirant Sunrise
- 1991 Aspirant Shadows
- 1991 Suntrilogy
- 1991 The Classical Connection (remakes of earlier works)
- 1991 2000 A.D. Into the Future
- 1991 African Bach
- 1991
- 1993 Heritage Suite
- 1993 Classic Tracks
- 1993 Wakeman with Wakeman
- 1993 No Expense Spared
- 1993 The Classical Connection II
- 1993 Prayers
- 1994 Wakeman with Wakeman: The Official Bootleg (live)
- 1994 Live on the Test (live – recorded in 1976)
- 1994 Rick Wakeman's Greatest Hits (remakes of old works)
- 1995 The Piano Album
- 1995 Seven Wonders of the World
- 1995 Cirque Surreal
- 1995 Romance of the Victorian Age
- 1995 King Biscuit Flower Hour – In Concert (live – recorded in 1975)
Rick Wakeman's Greatest Hits, 1994
- 1995 Visions
- 1995 Simply Acoustic (known as The Piano Album)
- 1995 The Private Collection
- 1995 Almost Live in Europe (live)
- 1996 Fields of Green
- 1996 Voyage (compilation)
- 1996 The New Gospels
- 1996 Tapestries
- 1996 The Word and Music
- 1996 Orisons
- 1996 Can You Hear Me?
- 1996 Vignettes
- 1997 Tribute (Beatles covers)
- 1998 Themes
- 1999 Return to the Centre of the Earth
- 1999 The Natural World Trilogy
- 1999 The Art in Music Trilogy
- 1999 White Rock II
- 1999 Stella Bianca alla corte de Re Ferdinando
- 2000 (compilation)
- 2000 Preludes to a Century
- 2000 Chronicles of Man
- 2000 Christmas Variations
- 2000 Rick Wakeman Live in Concert 2000 (live)
- 2001 Out of the Blue
- 2001 Classical Variations
- 2001 Two Sides of Yes
- 2002 The Wizard and the Forest of All Dreams
- 2002 Wakeman & Cousins – Hummingbird with Dave
Cousins
- 2002 The Yes Piano Variations
- 2002 Two Sides of Yes – Volume 2
- 2003 Out There
- 2005 Rick Wakeman at Lincoln Cathedral
- 2006 Retro
- 2007 Amazing Grace
- 2007 Retro 2
- 2007 Live at the BBC
With Strawbs
Live album
Studio album
With Yes
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
See also
External links
