‘Shot’ on the Steps of the Royal College of Music

‘Shot’ on the Steps of the Royal College of Music
Rick Wakeman ‘Success Story’ -- a BBC Documentary 1975

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries
LONDON, ENGLAND (ANS) -- It was back in 1975 when I was approached by Alan Yentob, a BBC producer, to see if I would like to participate in a documentary he was making called “Success Story” about keyboard wizard, Rick Wakeman.

Cover of the re-released book

The documentary was part way through when Rick felt he was not able to continue (at least for a while) and so Yentob asked me if I would step in and help and, of course, I was pleased to do so as I was just completing my biography about my dear friend called “Rick Wakeman: The Caped Crusader” (foreword by Elton John.)
The idea was for me to be filmed talking about Wakeman’s life and doing interviews for the book with some of the people involved in his career up to then. It certainly, I thought, wouldn’t do any harm in promoting this book, which did become a best-seller.
However, I had no idea that I would be filmed in some rather strange situations, which I later discovered was the rather quirky style of Yentob’s films. It began with me standing outside the Musical Bargain Centre on South Ealing Road, in London, where I had first met Wakeman and had written the very first story about him. The camera was set up across the busy road and, as I began speaking, huge vehicles zoomed by and blocked my view for part of the shot.

Dan interviewing Dave Simms and 'Uncle Ernie' for the documentary

Then, inside the store, I interviewed “Uncle Ernie,” the manager of the store, who explained that Rick had borrowed his “wife’s organ” to do a gig and was actually playing it the first time I had met Rick at the store a few years earlier. Fortunately, the interview with Dave Simms, owner of the store, went a little better with no double-entendres this time.
Then it became even more embarrassing for me when the BBC cameraman asked me to stand on the steps of London’s prestigious Royal College of Music, where Rick had been a student, and then set up his camera about 200 yards away. When the scene was broadcast, you can see me in the distance and two men arriving and climbing the steps and giving me a bemused look as if I had lost my senses. They obviously didn’t realize that I was being filmed, and I think that bit of humor was meant to be, as I had done several takes, but they only used the one with the two men in it.

Dan being 'shot' on the steps of the Royal College of Music as the two men look on

I then went inside the college and interrupted a lesson being given by Professor Basil Tchaikov, who had been Rick’s clarinet teacher, who didn’t seem to be too happy with my appearance and expressed his surprise at the rather “exotic image” his former student now had on his record covers.
You can see the above scenes by going to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0piudqR9-0&feature=relmfu
The following morning, after the broadcast, I was in for a lot of ribbing from my colleagues in the news room and I had forgotten about this until I discovered today that the entire documentary had been posted on YouTube by a Wakeman fan.
You can see the other episodes at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKGIzJS4EU0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNd1ebcPysY&feature=fvwrel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0aGZ1IUPlY&feature=relmfu
I had also forgotten my Beatles hairstyle and my horn-rimmed glasses, and my wife Norma got a chuckle as she saw me as I once looked.
Now, the book has been slightly updated and released by Gonzo Media in the UK with the new title of “Caped Crusader – Rick Wakeman in the 1970s” and if you are fan of this incredible artist, you can get a copy at: http://www.amazon.com/CAPED-CRUSADER-Rick-Wakeman-1970s/dp/1908728302/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335466979&sr=8-1

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Dan Wooding, 71, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 49 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and he hosts the weekly “Front Page Radio” show on the KWVE Radio Network in Southern California and which is also carried throughout the United States and around the world. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 192 countries. Dan recently received two top media awards -- the “Passion for the Persecuted” award from Open Doors US, and as one of the top “Newsmakers of 2011” from Plain Truth magazine. He is the author of some 45 books, the latest of which is “Caped Crusader: Rick Wakeman in the 1970s.” To order a copy, go to: Caped Crusader - Amazon Check it out at Gonzo