Next month Rick Wakeman will make his first appearance in New Zealand since 1975. Back then it was to tour one of his audacious concept albums, Journey to the Centre of the Earth (yes, based on the book by Jules Verne). Wakeman remembers it well ("I can honestly say it feels like it was five or six years ago, not 35 years or more!"). He brings his show, An Intimate Evening with Rick Wakeman, to New Zealand for three shows - it will feature Wakeman the pianist, performing songs from across his career as a solo artist, member of Yes and session player to the stars. It will also feature Wakeman the raconteur, stand-up comedian, TV host, interviewer, chat-show personality.
"The show," he explains down the line on a recent Thursday evening, "just sort of evolved really over the last 20 years. Since the 1980s I've been known more for my TV work, I used to host Live at Jongleurs and of course Grumpy Old Men and so it's really all come from there. It's been a funny career really, there are people that know me now as a TV person, a comedian, an interviewer - I've had people genuinely gobsmacked to find out I am a musician. I play a little and they go 'I didn't know you played'." Pause for guffaw.
So how did this TV work all start happening?
"Well it's funny really, a semi-accident really, but you see I was on this talk show and I was booked to play a piece, just music. But they had a last-minute cancellation. So I was asked if I had any funny stories, if I minded being interviewed. I remember I was asked if I'd been to Russia and I said 'not for some time, I was arrested there, you see, for stealing a KGB uniform' and that was it really. It all grew from there. I was told at the time 'you'll have all the chat-shows calling you up, wanting you to tell that story' and they did. It all really just grew from there."
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