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Rick Wakeman

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Richard Christopher Wakeman (born May 18, 1949 in Perivale, London, England) is a British progressive rock keyboard player, and is considered by many to be the most influential keyboardist of all time. He is currently the keyboardist for legendary progressive rock group Yes. He is a classically trained pianist and has been highly acclaimed for his virtuosity. In his early years he was a pioneer in the use of electronic keyboards, and his name has become a byword for a keyboard player surrounded by a vast array of equipment.

He is also a raconteur and stand up comedian.

Contents

History

He was born in the suburb of Perivale, West London, and attended Drayton Manor Grammar School.

Wakeman initially studied piano, clarinet, orchestration and modern music at the Royal College of Music, but was expelled because he preferred playing in local clubs to his lessons.

Wakeman came to fame in 1970 playing with The Strawbs and David Bowie, he joined Yes for the first time 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 his last was Tales From Topographic Oceans, released in 1973. He also played on Close to the Edge (his favourite Yes album) and Yessongs.

Many fans consider Anderson-Bruford-Howe-Squire-Wakeman the classic Yes lineup.

In addition to his skills, Wakeman is also known for wearing long silvery capes on stage. This tradition began early on after he joined Yes and a review in a Connecticut newspaper referred to his movements while playing more than one keyboard as resembling those of a spider (though the review did compliment his performance). Their next show was in Hartford and the local DJ that introduced the band was wearing a silver cape. After he introduced the band, Wakeman, backstage, offered him $200 US for his cape. After some haggling, Wakeman went onstage with the cape, which he still owns to this day.

He left the band following the Tales from Topographic Oceans tour, and reportedly was unhappy with their selection of which material to use for the final cut of the album.

Shortly before his first departure from Yes, during a live performance of a song from the album, Rick Wakeman was telling his technical assistant that they'd go for curry after the concert. the assistant misheard him and came back a while later with curry, notoriously giving it to Rick on stage. Rick took it to his keyboards and consumed the food in a well-known protest against the music.

Of all the members of the band, Wakeman is the only non-vegetarian, a difference which contributed to his first departure from the band. An 1973 article in Rolling Stone magazine summed up the differences by quoting both Anderson and Wakeman; the former, upon entering a new city or town, would often ask for health foods and vegetables, while Wakeman would simply inquire "Where's the bar?"

Rick Wakeman performing on stage with Yes in the 1970s
Enlarge
Rick Wakeman performing on stage with Yes in the 1970s

He discussed his culinary differences in the same article, saying

"I find health food pretty tasteless. I've tried quite a few things out, and . . . I find it very boring. It's not particularly exciting sitting there with a knife and fork over a lettuce leaf."

During this time, he released his second 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.

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. He took action on a sentiment felt by the rest of the band, that the artist, who was used to replace Roger Dean, had ripped them off.

Wakeman has had a turbulent long-term relationship with Yes. 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.

Wakeman has enjoyed a long, extremely prolific, but only occasionally 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, Cat Stevens, and Black Sabbath.

Wakeman became highly skilled at playing the temperamental and notoriously intractable Mellotron – an electronic musical instrument that used a bank of prerecorded tape strips, activated by each key on its keyboard. He went on to invent the Birotron, developed with David Biro, and designed to overcome the quirks and challenges on the Mellotron. The Birotron was not a commercial or technical success.

Once known as one of the hardest-partying rock musicians, and a self-confessed former alcoholic, he has been calmed down somewhat by several heart attacks in his 20s, marriage (to former Page 3 model Nina Carter, although they have since divorced), children and renewal of his Christian faith. Children include Adam Wakeman, Oliver Wakeman, Oscar Wakeman, Jemma Wakeman, who are all musicians too.

A passionate football fan, Wakeman has supported Brentford F.C. since he was a kid, and later on he also became a director of the West London club. After a disagreement with the board, he now supports Manchester City F.C.

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, and performed a concert in September 2004 for the benefit of the party. His 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). Furthermore Wakeman released Fields of Green '97, which 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.

Despite his former partying lifestyle, Wakeman abstained from all narcotics (he refers to himself as having been more of a "beer-and-chips-guy"), and he believes, among other things, that drug pushers should receive the death penalty.

Rick can currently be seen as a contributor on BBC2's series, Grumpy Old Men. He has also appeared in a number of episodes of Countdown; about twenty per year, according to Wakeman.

Rick appeared as himself in the last episode of season 2 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 prevent. 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.

Discography (solo and with his son Adam)

Rick Wakeman at Western Springs Auckland New Zealand 1976
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Rick Wakeman at Western Springs Auckland New Zealand 1976

See also

External links

Yes
Jon Anderson | Chris Squire | Steve Howe | Rick Wakeman | Alan White
Peter Banks | Tony Kaye| Bill Bruford | Patrick Moraz | Geoff Downes | Trevor Horn | Trevor Rabin | Billy Sherwood | Igor Khoroshev
Discography
Studio albums: Yes | Time and a Word | The Yes Album | Fragile | Close to the Edge | Tales from Topographic Oceans | Relayer | Going for the One | Tormato | Drama | 90125 | Big Generator | Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe | Union | Talk | Open Your Eyes | The Ladder | Magnification
Live albums: Yessongs | Yesshows | [[9012Live: The Solos]] | Keys to Ascension | Keys to Ascension 2 | [[House of Yes: Live from House of Blues]]
Compilations: Yesterdays | Classic Yes | Yesstory | [[The Ultimate Yes: 35th Anniversary Collection]]
Remix albums: Yes Remixes
Box sets: Yesyears | [[In a Word: Yes (1969 - )]] | The Word is Live

 

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