A Quick One on The Side Music Special - 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".
So here we go. Here are today's answers...

Who is your favourite band/group/artist?
"The Who."

What would be your favourite album?
" 'Living in the Plastic Age' by Buggles."

What would be the best gig/concert that you have ever attended?
"It would be Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden, sometime in the Seventies. I can't remember exactly when."

Where is your favourite gig venue?
"Hollywood Bowl."

"What is your favourite food?
"Sunday lunch."

Where would be your favourite holiday destination?
"Somewhere different."

Which is your favourite airport?
"Heathrow."

...and your least favourite?
"Heathrow."

What is the most autographs that you have signed in one session?
"Three and a half thousand in Buenos Aires after a show. I finished signing at 4.30 in the morning."

Have you ever been mistaken for someone else?
"Pete Waterman mostly."

Spot the difference. It's not difficult...



How often do you actually get recognised?
"A lot nowadays since I started doing a lot of mainstream television."

My thanks to Rick for being my first music special guest today.
As ever, thanks for reading...