This page last updated: 5 Apr 2013
 

YES and projects with several Yesmen	Jon Anderson	Chris Squire	Steve Howe	Alan White
Geoff Downes	Trevor Horn	Tony Kaye	Peter Banks	Patrick Moraz
Bill Bruford	Rick Wakeman	Trevor Rabin	Billy Sherwood	Igor Khoroshev Oliver Wakeman
Benoît David	Asia	CIRCA:	Anderson & Wakeman	Others associated with the band

On this page: Solo projects - Collaborations - Re-releases/archival releases - Media appearances, charity work etc.

On other pages: The Anderson Wakeman Project

Rick Wakeman's official site: Rick Wakeman's Communication Centre; Official Twitter (Note that Wakeman does not have a MySpace site); Internet TV channel

New solo releases
In his Apr 2011 GORR, Wakeman said:

I am finishing off writing the music for a double CD of piano which we will be recording at The Granary on my favourite piano. 70% of the music has been recorded so we’re on the last stages now. Hopefully this will see the light of day around summertime.

He continued in his May 2011 GORR: "Quite a bit of recording going on as well in May with Erik Jordan engineering for me as always, whilst we finish off two piano albums that we have been working on, (off and on), for nearly two years now. These will be recorded at The Granary on my all time favourite Steinway concert grand piano." In the Jun 2011 GORR, describing activity for that month: "Jordan and myself will be finishing off the piano recordings we have been doing at The Granary with my favourite piano." And in the Aug GORR, Wakeman described finishing recording on what is now three piano albums, saying, "It’s possible they will be released in time for Xmas."

Another piano album of Yes music performed in a classical manner was also announced as forthcoming but has yet to appear.

Released in Argentina only in May 2012 was Live with Symphony Orchestra (Mundo Records, MRCD 99122), a live album from Wakeman's 2011 Latin America tour. Tracks: "King Arthur Suite", "Part1: Catherine Howard; Part 2: The Mystery of Youth", "Help/Eleanor Rigby", "Journey to the Centre of the Earth", "Merlin the Magician", "The Jig".

Live shows (guest appearances are further down)
Billed as his "only MAJOR concerts of 2013", there will be a series of shows in Gloucestershire 15-17 Jun 2013, with profits going to the Cathedral of Gloucester. 15 Jun sees two sets by "Wakeman with Wakeman with Wakeman and Wakeman" in Blackfriars Abbey in Gloucester (250 seat capacity; both sold out). Further shows may be added on 14 Jun. This will be a performance by Rick (keys) with his children Adam (keys, guitar, vocals), Oliver (keys) and Jemma (keys, vocals). The set will have no overlap with the 16/17 Jun shows, and will be recorded (possibly filmed)

The next two days, billed as "The Rick Wakeman Ultimate Experience", sees Wakeman with his English Rock Ensemble, the Cheltenham Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Guy Protheroe) and Gloucester Cathedral Choirs performing in Cheltenham (2200 seat capacity), with a 2-hour set based around selections from The Myths and Legends of King Arthur..., Journey to the Centre of the Earth and The Six Wives of Henry VIII. Some "extra surprises" are also promised. In his Apr 2013 GORR, Wakeman describes performing "a large chunk of Journey, large chunks of Arthur, at least 2 of the 6 Wives plus at least 5 other pieces." An additional show may be added on 18 Jun. These shows are part of the Medieval Mystery Play Festival. Earlier plans mooted TV broadcast and later DVD release.

On 28 Apr, Wakeman is doing a piano performance at the Gouveia Art Festival.

On 25 Mar, Wakeman took part in a concert celebrating the late Vivian Stanshall (ex-Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band).

Wakeman with the English Rock Ensemble (Oliver Wakeman—keys, Dave Colquhoun—guitars, Lee Pomeroy (Headspace, Steve Hackett, Diamond Jubilee Concert)—bass, Ashley Holt—vocals, Tony Fernandez—drums) were to headline the Crystal Palace Garden Party in the Bowl in Jun 2012 (capacity: 5000), but the show was cancelled due to problems with the venue. However, the band did play Norwich and an "unplugged" show (both Wakemans—grand piano, Colquhon—acoustic guitars, Holt—vocals, Fernandez—percussion) in Norfolk that month. In a late May 2012 interview, Wakeman said:

I rarely do shows with the English Rock Ensemble in the UK so when we do get together we pretty much know what we all want to play which is a mix of the Classics such as 'Journey To The Centre Of The Earth', '...King Arthur...' and 'The Six Wives Of Henry VIII', plus we throw in a few surprises that perhaps people won't be expecting.

[...] This band is the best I've ever had and I do wish we could do more together. We're off to Hungary in July for a festival and then out into Europe for October before South America kicks in, but due to a lack of festivals this year [2012] in England it seems that 99% of everything is abroad.

The Norfolk set was: "The Jig", "Guinevere", Colquhon solo, "The Hymn/Julia", O Wakeman solo, "Sweet Georgia Brown", "Sea Horses", "Make Me a Woman", "Dance of a Thousand Lights" (R Wakeman solo), "Georgia on My Mind", "Norwegian Wood/Help"; encore: "Summertime", "Sweet Georgia Brown". Both shows were to be broadcast through Wakeman's Internet TV channel, but, due to weather conditions, that proved not to be possible for the Norfolk show. Wakeman and the band next play Chile, Brazil and Argentina in Nov 2012 with Nick Beggs (Steve Hackett, ex-Steve Howe, ex-Iona) filling in for Pomeroy (who is busy touring with Gary Barlow) on bass. They are also taking part in a show with orchestra in Buenos Aries, Argentina: see below.

Wakeman appeared with the English Chamber Choir, under Guy Protheroe, at a 27 Oct show in London.

He played 2 piano concerts in Slovakia in Sep 2011 and has also mooted the possibility of his piano show with orchestra and choir in the country in 2012.

In his Feb 2012 GORR, Wakeman said he "will be spending a few days working [in Feb] on a choir arrangement for the choir of St Martin's in the Fields for the David Croft Memorial Service and also an arrangement of Morning Has Broken for them." Wakeman's "Croft Chorus" was performed by a choir at the event on 15 Mar 2012. On 12 Apr, he appeared at the Kids 'n' Cancer charity dinner at Chesterfield Football Ground. On 27 May, he hoted an night of chat with actor Ian Lavender (best known for Dad's Army) to raise money for the Bury St Edmunds Theatre Royal's community and education programme. Wakeman also wrote some music for the event.

Wakeman is appearing in a tribute to Marc Bolan. Other guests at the T .Rextasy 35th Anniversary Show, 15 Sep in London include Steve Harley, Toyah Willcox, Alvin Stardust and Glen Matlock (The Sex Pistols).

DVDs of shows are now also available through the site.

The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Journey to the Centre of the Earth and The Myths & Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table re-visited
Wakeman has been and is re-visiting his classic early solo albums The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Journey to the Centre of the Earth and The Myths & Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table with his English Rock Ensemble band. This includes live performances, in some cases with additional new music, and a new studio recording of Journey to the Centre of the Earth, again with additional material. Recording for the new Journey was completed in Sep 2012; mastering took place in Oct. The album was initially available only as a Classic Rock fanpack (CRP13-11-12), with a 132-page magazine and poster; cover by Roger Dean. A vinyl release followed in Feb 2013. The only performer other than Wakeman (keys) from the original verison of the album is Ashley Holt, who shares vocals with Hayley Sanderson (who does the new songs and the parts by Gary Pickford-Hopkins on the original). The other performers are Dave Colquhoun—guitars, Lee Pomeroy—bass, Tony Fernandez—drums, with The London Symphony Orchestra (original orchestrations: Danny Beckerman, Wil Malone; transcription from original score: Ann Manly, Guy Protheroe; additional orchestrations: Manly, Protheroe) and the English Chamber Choir (conducted by Protheroe; additional choir arrangements by Wakeman). The album was produced by Erik Jordan and Wakeman. Tracks:

In his Feb 2012 GORR, Wakeman said, "On the 13th and 14th [Feb], [engineer] Erik Jordan and myself will be completing the definitive guide back track for the new extended version of Journey to the Centre of the earth before it goes off to Guy Protheroe for orchestration." In Jul 2012, Wakeman tweeted about working on an extended Journey. On 26 Jul, he said, "I'm pretty excited about the new extended version of Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Should be finished by mid September". There is 20 minutes of additional material written for the original album, but not used because of time limitations. Tweets through Aug/Sep 2012 described recording sessions for the project. Narration for the new version is by Peter Egan (known for Ever Decreasing Circles). The album is dedicated to the late Jon Lord.

A Nov 2012 show in Buenos Aries, Argentina featured the band (Dave Colquhoun—guitars, Nick Beggs (Steve Hackett, ex-Steve Howe; filling in for regular Lee Pomeroy)—bass, Ashley Holt—vocals, Tony Fernandez—drums) and an orchestra playing both the expanded Journey (66 minutes long) and Six Wives (Hampton Court version). While Holt was the main vocalist, a female vocalist sang on the 'new' pieces.

There will be three shows in Gloucestershire 15-17 Jun. A performance of King Arthur in Gloucester including 30 minutes of new music written for the show, plus a possible second show performing Journey, were planned, possibly to be filmed for TV broadcast and later DVD release. However, plans have now shifted to two shows based around selections across King Arthur, Journey and Six Wives: see above for details.

The original scores for King Arthur and Journey were stolen in the 1970s, but a damaged conductor's score for Journey... re-emerged in 2007 and Guy Protheroe has been working on transcribing it. Talking about King Arthur, Wakeman said in an Aug 2012 article:

When we went to get the cases with the music in back in the late 70s [...] the cases were empty.

That was it, the music was gone.

We've been extending the whole thing, re-orchestrating it, keeping the original orchestrations and adding loads more stuff to it.

When we come [to perform it] next year [2013] it will be something incredibly special, a real one off.

It also gives us a chance to change one or two of the little bits that I was never 100 per cent happy with.

After 40 years of concert tours [...] he has called it quits.

Don't panic! Wakeman simply means no more touring, no more traipsing from gig to gig, giving the same concert night after night, sometimes as many as 140 in a year. He is not retiring.

"I wanted to do a lot more (musically). I want to be more (diverse) in the concerts I do," he told Reuters [...]

What that means is cutting back to maybe 40 appearances a year.

His Sep 2011 GORR had this: "Although I have set a date of May 2014 to cut right back and not work 18 hours a day minimum 7 days a week anymore, (It'll be 4/5 days a week instead), the next two years are going to be more manic than ever, especially if most of what's in the pipeline comes to fruition." And the Oct GORR began:

I’m about to head into one of the busiest travelling periods I’ve had for years and it is highly unlikely ever to happen again either! Much as I love performing on stage, my love of hotel rooms and airplanes dissipated about five years ago, but sometimes things happen that means that personal rules have to be broken and the next couple of months are such a period.

Other solo work
In his Sep 2011 GORR, Wakeman says "negotiations are quite far advanced for 2 film scores next year [2012]." One of these appears to be "The Haunting of Harry Payne", the score of which Wakeman was working on during Oct 2012, but the film (due 2013) is now listed on IMDB with music by someone else.

In an Aug 2007 interview, he said, "I'm currently involved in a stage musical, two other films and a stage juggling show!" In a May 2005 report, Wakeman says that after ending live work in 2006, he "will concentrate on recording and writing for films wherever and whenever possible." In recent years, Wakeman has been doing some soundtrack work. He has been director of the music division at Write Good Films. IMDB.com report that Wakeman is doing the music for a UK film currently in production called "Out of Reach". In an Apr 2004 interview, he says, "I've got this soundtrack thing coming up", but no details were given. In his Christmas 2004 Newsletter, he says he hopes to do more film and TV work. In Apr 2005, Wakeman said he was doing music for an animated children's feature about Noah. He had previously said that he would finish recording of his "Noah" project (performed live with the English Chamber Choir in 1997), but I am unclear whether this is connected or not. In the Nov interview, he said he would like "to do more work with orchestras and choirs and also some more film scoring which I really enjoy."

In a Jan 2003 interview, Wakeman said that there is a good chance that his album The Wizard and the Forest of All Dreams will be turned into a ballet. Early in 2001, Wakeman's newsletter said: "[2001-2] will see Rick concentrating hard on getting major projects off of the ground." This may include a new version of his ballet "Killing Grounds", a.k.a. "Triumph of Death". In his 2011 Innerview, he says, "I'm also halfway through a ballet I've been writing the music for off and on for four years." Wakeman has been working on a follow-up to Hopesongs with music for weddings and funerals, presumably again with Howard Prior. He was planning some pieces with vocals from daughter Jemma; and a keyboard concerto. He expressed the hope to record a "major themed work" in conjunction with Italian television. In a Jul 2004 interview in Switzerland, Wakeman said: "I have a dream to have a year off to do solo work and DVDs etc. However people ask me to do TV shows, concerts, so the dream never happens." While touring Cuba in Apr 2005, Wakeman said he hoped to return to Cuba several times to work with local artists. He expanded on these comments in an interview: "There were three or four very unique musicians [in Cuba] that I have to say I would love to collaborate with in a recording. Very unique styles and forms of writing that I think would fuse well with my orchestral rock way of working, but only time will tell if this is likely to happen."

Collaborations & guest appearances
Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman have been working together as a duo: an album (The Living Tree) and tour came in 2010; a live release and more touring came in 2011. See details for further plans. Anderson, Wakeman and Trevor Rabin have also been planning a project together: you can follow the story on the main page.

In his Feb 2012 GORR, Wakeman says he is that, "There is so much other stuff in the pipeline that I will be trying to bring to fruition this month which include a possible trio album with Tony Levin and Ian Paice. Early stages of discussions with all concerned, but looking very promising." Tony Levin, of course, played bass in ABWH and on Yes's Union, among many, many other projects, while drummer Ian Paice is in Deep Purple.

Wakeman guested on Billy Sherwood's tribute album to Supertramp and his Prog Collective and Fusion Syndicate projects. Wakeman guests on forthcoming projects by both Leon Alvarado and Paolo Pigni: see main page for details (Sherwood also guests).

Wakeman is playing on all the tracks of La Bambola di Pezza, the debut full studio album from Italian singer Valentina Blanca. The album is largely written by Bruno Rubino (Fiaba) and arranged by Wakeman. Lead track "La Bambola di Pezza" has Blanca on vocals, piano arranged and performed by Wakeman, and music and lyrics by Rubino. An album sampler is on her website and a video for "La Bambola di Pezza" is on YouTube (filmed & edited by Pierluigi Cavarra; directed by Cavarra & Rubino). Wakeman described working on a track for the project in Jan 2012 with engineer Erik Jordan. Cavarra said in Jan 2013 that a number of tracks had been recorded, but he did not know when the album was due.

Re-releases/archival releases
Wakeman is planning re-releases of The Six Wives of Henry VIII, The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, No Earthly Connection and White Rock on Gonzo/Voiceprint. In his Jan 2011 GORR, Wakeman said: "this year [2011] [...] barring a disaster, all the A&M catalogue should be released with lots of enhancements and additions." And in the Feb GORR, he continued, "sometime this month, the contract will be signed enabling the release of a very special re-mastered set of all of the A&M product that I released in the 1970s. There will also be additional bonus material with this set and it is all completed and just "sitting" waiting to go". And in the Apr 2011 GORR, he said:

TV and radio work
Wakeman continues to do TV work, including for the BBC series Watchdog.

Other news
Rick Wakeman won the Prog God category for the Progressive Music Awards 2012 (beating Jon Anderson among others).

"Grumpy Old Rockstar" (subtitled "And Other Wondrous Stories"; ISBN: 1848090048, Preface Publishing (Random House Group)), by Wakeman in collaboration with Martin Roach, was a collection of stories from his life. Wakeman said in the RWCC Summer Newsletter 2009 (out Sep) that the book "is currently hurtling towards the 50,000 sales mark and it's [n]ot even out in other English speaking countries yet". There is also an audio book version read by Wakeman. A second volume, "Further Adventures of a Grumpy Old Rock Star" (Preface Publishing), followed. He is now working on a third volume, initially tentatively entitled "Even More Adventures from a Grumpy Old Rockstar". In his Jul 2011 GORR, he said he was close to finalising a deal for this third volume; and in the Oct 2011 GORR, this: "Whilst away on all overseas trips [solo shows in Slovakia, Anderson/Wakeman in North America, solo shows in South America] I like to keep myself occupied as I loathe hotel rooms and so the plan is to finish the third book in the Grumpy series which has a working title of "Rick Wakeman's Grumpy Old RockStar Rants". I've been working on it for most of this year, (and some of last year too), and, like the first two, contains ludicrous stories but with added rants along the way!" In Nov 2012, he tweeted about the need to finish writing the book. In the Jul 2005 interview, he said that he is going to write a book about Yes ("Grumpy Old Rockstar" only has a small amount of Yes content)—see details here.

Wakeman is a columnist for Classic Rock Presents... Prog. He continues with various speaking engagements. He also said to Classic Rock that, "thanks to the television exposure, I do a considerable amount of after-dinner speeches". In the RWCC Winter Newsletter 2007, Wakeman said, "I'm very much looking forward to producing various music books with duets for piano as well as music for other instruments accompanied by piano. This is very much a long-term project and hopefully by Easter , the first books will be available."

Wakeman has two record companies, Ambient Records and Hope Records. Fintage Music have announced a publishing and neighbouring rights administration deal with Wakeman covering the administration of his rights outside of North America, among other services.

Wakeman became a member of the Worshipful Company of Glovers in 2011 and performed a private show for them in late 2012.

Wakeman is managed by Roger DeCourcey. Wakeman sits on the executive board of the Bob Moog Memorial Fund, set up in Bob Moog's memory. He is also an honorary director at Melling Sports Cars.

Any news, additions or corrections, please e-mail Henry Potts. Thanks.