The Gonzo Daily: In Conversation With

Monday, 17 March 2014

In Conversation With - Rick Wakeman

A very warm welcome to my first guest in my occasional series of music specials, Rick Wakeman.

Rick describes himself as a 'Musician, Perpetual Weight Loss Failure, Senior Railcard Holder and Grumpy Old Man'. Born in West London, Rick bought his first electronic keyboard at the age of 12 years. He studied the piano, clarinet, orchestration and modern music at the Royal College of Music. Rick joined the band Strawbs in 1969. In 1972 he joined the band Yes for the first time. He left the band in 1974 to go solo. He rejoined Yes in 1976 and stayed with the band until 1980. In 1989 Rick joined a new band, 'Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe'. He left this band in 1992. Rick rejoined Yes on two further occasions, in 1995-97 and 2002-09.
As well as working with bands, Rick also produced many solo albums, with his works including 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII', 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth' and 'The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table'.

Here is progressive Rick...

In 2010 Rick was awarded the Spirit of Prog at the Marshall Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards and in 2012 he received a Fellowship at the Royal College of Music. As well as performing and producing, Rick also had a radio show, 'Rick's Place', on Planet Rock and he is now familiar to many as a regular on the BBC television series 'Grumpy Old Men'.

When I asked Rick to be my guest today, he did warn me that I would "undoubtedly get completely different answers tomorrow...and different the next day too".

Read on...

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