We continue with my conversation with Dan Wooding, author of the recently updated biography of Rick Wakeman. I particularly enjoyed working on this new edition, and so it was good to be able to talk to Dan for the first time..JON: So are you still in touch with Rick these days?
DAN: Oh yeah, yeah, we’ll come on to that.
Yes we are still in regular contact. I moved over to the United States in 1982 and eventually I started a non-profit over here, I run a news service and have a radio programme over here and a TV programme, but I have a non-profit that helps Christians who have been persecuted around the world.
On several occasions Rick has come over and done concerts for us and tours together. I’ll never forget the very first one we did, we started off in Virginia Beach at a place called The Founders’ Inn and that was the very first time he’d ever done one of these concerts where he told stories and then played the music.
I was MC for the concert, and the following day we were on a TV programme there in Virginia Beach and Rick said, ”Before you invite Dan Wooding on to the set, I’d like to make a statement and that is that he is the MC for my tour and he’s so long-winded that we have to have an intermission in the middle of his introduction.” And so that goes on national TV, so thank you Rick for that.
Jon: You can he’s got the most ridiculous sense of humour. A very naughty sense of humour.
Dan: Oh very naughty, and I’ve often been worried because some of his concerts here in the States have been in churches, and I’ve had to warn him to calm it down, and I remember the very first concert he did here in Southern California.
His very first story was at a place called Calvary Chapel - his very first appearance in the story he said, "I live on the Isle of Man – (this is when he lived there) – and I go to a medieval church there and they have like a stove in the middle of the church, and every Sunday night we come to have the service and we bring our buns with us, and we put all our buns on the stove, and then at the end of the service we eat our own buns." And of course in America, buns means backsides. There were gasps from the audience – are these cannibals or what?
Jon: ...And he knew perfectly well what he was doing
Dan: Yeah. And he used to always sail that close to the wind when we did these concerts, but – you know – our friendship has gone back a long, long way and that’s why I want more people to learn about this amazing guy that really – you wouldn’t imagine that he – he was from not exactly the most sophisticated of areas, Northolt, and yet the guy was so brilliant and he just continues – how on earth he scores the music.
I was with him once when they were doing `King Arthur` and the ‘cellists couldn’t keep up with the music and they said, “Look, Rick why don’t you just squeeze up the tape” and Rick said, “No, you’re getting paid to do this, you play it as fast as I ask you to play it.” And he could get away with that because he could play so many instruments and score the music as well.
Jon: One of the things I find both touching and interesting about Rick, is the way that right from the beginning he has done his best to keep his band being the same people he used to play in the dance halls with.
Dan: Yes, and I think that is absolutely wonderful and they have fun. You know, it isn’t like `well we’re this superb band`, and Rick has always been this guy who doesn’t take himself seriously and I think that is the most endearing side of Rick. And now when you see his sons following in his footsteps and also being so brilliant, you know Oliver and Adam, but yeah Rick, that is one of his great qualities and although he is a big showman he’s still – you know, when he does his concerts he waits right until the end, chats to people, gives autographs when a lot of the people who feel they’re superstars, they leave the place as quickly as possible and don‘t want to even meet the fans.
Jon: He is humble. Do you think his humility comes from his faith?
Dan: Yes I think so, because he once told me “I believe that my talent is on loan from God,” and I think that he realises that it could go at any time. You know there was a time when I was with him when he was still drinking very heavily and he was getting arthritis in his arms and his hands and he was having more and more trouble playing the keyboards properly. And I was so thrilled when he gave up the drinking and started living again. But definitely his faith plays a big role there, but - you know – he’s just one of these guys who is ..... if you were in the pub with Rick and just chatted with him, you wouldn’t realise what a genius he is.
Jon: No, that’s nice. It is difficult being a Christian in the music business.
Dan: Well, it is – more in England I think. In the US there’s an awful lot of people in the business. You know, even Alice Cooper now is a preacher and you wouldn’t imagine someone like Alice Cooper. One of my best friends over here is Pat Boone and of course Pat’s getting on a bit now, but there are a lot of Christians in America who are in the entertainment industry, but in Britain it is quite unusual and I admire Rick the way that he doesn’t make any ... you know, he doesn’t try to hide his faith at all, that he’s still Rick and, you know, even when he goes to these church concerts and plays the piano – the people love him because he tells stories just against himself, and I think that’s brave.
Jon: Have you done any other rock biographies?
Dan: I’m in the middle of one at the moment with Barry McGuire, if you remember Barry McGuire?
Jon: Oh yeah - Eve of Destruction
Dan: We’re doing a book called Barry McGuire: Back from the Eve of Destruction, but that’s quite a way away. But the other one which maybe many people won’t remember is Terry Dene. The book was called I Thought Terry Dene was Dead, and Terry Dene was the very first 'wild man' of British rock. He didn’t want to be a wild man but he was going to be the new Elvis – he looked like Elvis, he was discovered at the Two Is coffee bar in London by Paul Lincoln who was Dr. Death the wrestler and Dr. Death decided that he wanted to make a bit of money. A lot of people like Cliff Richard, Tommy Steele were all discovered at the Two Is, and so he took on Terry and didn’t quite realise what a problem he would have. And Terry eventually, because Elvis went into the Army, Terry was also taken into the Army but he couldn’t handle it and finished up in a padded cell, and spent really the rest of his life trying to recover from that time of fame. His big hit was called White Sportcoat and Terry’s still alive today, and we’re hoping to re-release that book as well.
And so our conversation ended. I will be talking to Dan again in the next month or so, and getting more insights into the life and work of Rick Wakeman.
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