The Six Wives of Henry VIII and Journey to the Centre
of the Earth re-visited
For 2009, Wakeman has done or is planning live performances/releases of
The Six Wives of Henry VIII and
Journey to the Centre of the Earth,
both
with
additional
new
music.
On
1-2
May
2009,
Wakeman
performed
The Six
Wives of
Henry VIII at Hampton Court Palace,
Surrey,
UK,
as
part
of
a
celebration
of
the
500th
anniversary
of
Henry
VIII's
ascension
to
the
throne.
The
audience
was
limited
to
5,000
for
each
show.
Wakeman
played
with an expanded English Rock Ensemble
(Tony
Fernandez—drums,
Ray Cooper (played on the original album)—percussion;
Jonathan Noyce—bass, son
Adam Wakeman—keys, Dave Colquhoun—guitars, Pete Rinaldi—acoustic
guitars), the English
Chamber Choir (variously reported
as being 30 or 40-piece), the 72-piece
Orchestra Europa,
conductor Guy Protheroe and a narrator
(Brian
Blessed). There were also
dancers
and film screens/projections. Support
was from the English Chamber
Choir (performing pieces written by Henry VIII) and the Acoustic
Strawbs
(Dave Cousins, Chas Cronk
and Dave Lambert, all three
of whom played on The Six Wives of
Henry VIII).
Set (1.5 hours): "Tudorture" (new piece, one of
three additional pieces composed by Wakeman), "Catherine of Aragon",
"Kathryn Howard", "Jane Seymour", "Defender of the Faith" (new piece:
this is the piece also known as "Henry VIII" that was planned
for the original album,
but omitted due to the running time), "Katherine Parr", "Anne of
Cleves", "Anne Boleyn", "Tudorock" (new piece). Rick performed on Korg,
Roland and Memotron keyboards, two MiniMoogs, a massive church organ
(wheeled on stage for one piece) and a grand piano; there was also a
keytar duel with Adam at one point. Rick came on stage dressed in Tudor
gear and accompanied by Henry VIII's six wives. He wore an array of
capes through the show. (Son Oliver was
in the audience.)
An instant
CD package of
each night's
performance is available from Concert
Live. This a
double CD of
music (including linking narration from Blessed) plus a third disc of
exclusive content and photos from that
night's show. The
event was filmed by Classic
Pictures
(Classic Media Group),
who
advertised
a
DVD
on
pre-order.
However,
rights
have
been
acquired
instead
by
Eagle
Rock, who released a
DVD, Blu-Ray DVD (with audio options of PCM stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1
or DTS HD Master) and CD entitled "The Six Wives of Henry VIII: Live at
Hampton Court Palace".
(Classic Pictures pre-orders will
be
fulfilled by Eagle.) These are all single disc recordings of the 2 May
(Saturday) show, although bonus behind-the-scenes DVD material comes
from Thursday's set-up and Friday. The 79 min. CD has the narration
removed. DVD track listing: "Tudorture/Henry's Fanfare",
"Tudorture/1485", "Catherine of Aragon", "Kathryn Howard", "Jane's
Prelude", "Jane Seymour", "Defender of the Faith", "Katherine Parr",
"Anne of Cleves", "Anne Boleyn", "Tudorock".
The
Acoustic
Strawbs
have
released
their set (Saturday's performance) of 7 songs as
a DVD. The release also includes 4 bonus, audio-only tracks
recorded with R.
Wakeman when the band appeared on his radio show in 2007: "Witchwood",
"We'll Meet Again Sometime", "A Glimpse of
Heaven", "Oh Howe She Changed". There is also a video preview of
Wakeman's Henry VIII
performance.
A new
studio recording of the album was planned, but has been dropped
because of how, as Rick explains in his Easter RWCC newsletter, "The
recording industry has been hit extremely hard". He does go on to say
that he would like to record a new studio version with the band, but
without
the orchestra and choir.
It was announced at the time that the concert
would
not be repeated
anywhere else in the world. The Classic
Media
Group
page
for
the
DVD
release said, "These will be the only
performances of The Six Wives in their entirety [...] these shows will
never take place again anywhere in the world". However, Wakeman said in Jan 2010 that
he's negotiating to bring the show to the Quebec Summer Festival.
Along similar lines, Wakeman, with
the
English Rock Ensemble, orchestra and choir, have wanted to
perform an
expanded
version of Journey to the
Centre of the Earth, what would be its first full performance
since
1975.
Various plans have been mooted but
not realised; the latest was when the RWCC Summer Newsletter 2009
reported "it is
looking very likely that Journey [...] will be performed in South
America during the last two weeks of October with full band, orchestra
and choir." Earlier reports suggested this would be in Brazil or
Chile. A re-recording of the
album with additional
music was also planned, although this seems less likely given a similar
plan for The Six Wives of Henry VIII
was dropped (see above). The
original score for Journey...
(and King
Arthur...) was stolen in the 1970s, but a damaged conductor's
score re-emerged in 2007 and Protheroe has been working on transcribing
it.
The Summer Newsletter 2009 goes on:
Negotiations
are
quite
far
advanced
as
to putting on Journey to the Centre of the
Earth and possibly Return to the Centre of the Earth as well at the O2
[London arena; link] next May [2010].
To be
brutally honest, a lot will depend on how well the DVD and CD of
Hampton Court [see above] does as income from this would have to go
straight into the production of the potential O2 show and also would
hopefully help to attract investors and sponsors of which we had none
for Hampton Court which was, to put it mildy, terrifying!
[...]
There
is
also
the
possibility
that
Journey to the Centre of the Earth may be
performed in Australia and New Zealand in 2010, but it is proving
pretty difficult to organise as it seems the only way it can work
financially is if all the musicians and singers as well as the
orchestra, choir , conductor and narrator, are from Australia which
means a phenomenal amount of rehearsal [...] the cost of shipping my
keyboard rig to Australia seems to be prohibitive and so to build a new
rig down under, is another hurdle to overcome. [...] so hope it does
happen, but these does seem to be a bit of a mountain to climb at the
moment.
But in his Xmas
2009 RWCC Newsletter, Wakeman says:
With
the
recession
looking
to
continue
well
into
2010
and
maybe
beyond
[...]
it's
very
hard
to
predict
what
will
happen as promoters are
dropping like flies at the moment and sponsorship has virtually
disappeared, but it is hoped that we can continue to move ahead with
the odd grandiose [plan] here and there.
Journey revisited, as I did with
Henry, is definitely on the cards and at the moment The Royal Albert
Hall seems the best bet. My plans for the O2 sadly had to be put to one
side because of cost which was going to be astronomical.
In Aug 2008, Wakeman said there
were
discussions about re-staging King Arthur on Ice in 2010 and that he
would love to do it. He repeated
his desire to do this in a Feb 2009 article in The Times. In the
Summer 2008 RWCC Newsletter,
Wakeman says, "There have been offers to play a limited number of
performances in Mexico, Russia and other South and Central American
countries, but all of these discussions are in early stages and
certainly are unlikely to happen this year." In an Aug
2007 interview, Wakeman had said, "I am booked for Brazil next
August
to
perform King Arthur with a symphony orchestra and choir." However, this
plan appears to have
fallen through with financing problems.
We’re
going
to
do
Journey next year
[2010] at the Royal Albert Hall. I don’t know whether they’ll let me
turn the Royal Albert Hall into a volcano, but we’re going to do that.
The interesting thing is that since doing Henry, the Quebec Festival wants to
do Henry there next year. The
full works with the orchestra and choir. Obviously, they haven’t got a
palace, so it wouldn’t be quite the same.
[...]
Journey is something that’s
been asked about a lot, so we certainly will be doing that one again.
And perhaps, the year after that, King
Arthur on ice. Who knows?
[...] I’d love to bring all three to America some time. I’d really love
to do it, but it’s just the expense.
As for
2010, well the recession certainly bit the music industry throughout
2009 and I don't see much improvement for at least 18 months but that
doesn't mean to say I don't have plans and dreams. After Hampton Court
no year would seem to be complete for me without another "biggie"
happening somewhere in the world and so that is one of the aims.
I
hope to do more piano and orchestra performances around the world
Further solo
releases
In his Xmas
2009 RWCC Newsletter, Wakeman says "more work with orchestras and
choirs" is "a must". In his Mar GORR!, he said he would be "doing
quite a lot of recording with Erik Jordan" in Mar; Jordan will
presumably be co-producing/engineering.
Now out is Always with You (Voiceprint, MFVP126CD; previously
announced under the name The Sacred
Piano). This solo piano album features variations on "music with
sacred leanings in one way or another"
and was recorded c.
Sep. Tracks: "Ave Maria" (4:23; variations on a theme by Franz Schubert),
"Glory"
(2:48;
variations
on
Handel's "Thine is the Glory"), "The Piano
Messiah" (4:15; variations
on Handel's "Hallelujah
Chorus" from "Messiah"), "The Granary Canon" (5:10; variations on Pachelbel's "Canon in D
major"), "Beautiful
Saviour" (3:48; based on an old folk tune), "Jesu, Joy of Man's
Desiring" (2:51; variations
on the Bachcomposition), "My Redeemer" (4:45; variations on Handel's "I Know My Redeemer Cometh" from "Messiah"), "Moods of Morning" (3:30; variations on Grieg's "Morgenstimmung"
from "Peer
Gynt"), "Always with
You" (5:08; new composition), "Kum-Ba-Ya" (4:08; based on the folk hymn), "Gone But
Not Forgotten" (4:26), "Stairway to Heaven" (6:10; originally by Led
Zeppelin). "Glory" can be heard on Vocieprint's
YouTube channel.
Released Jan 2010 was a 3CD
set of
solo piano
music called Past, Present and
Future (Voiceprint,
MFVP125CD), available at a budget price with cover by Mark Wilkinson
(worked
with Marillion, Judas Priest, Geoff Downes). Tracks: disc 1—"A
Voyage of Discovery", "Once Upon a Time", "The First Dawn", "The Ice Age", "Distant Dreams", "Melodrama", "Sepia Moments", "To Those We Loved", "Victoriana", "Eden", "Perchance to Dream", "One Journey", "Mystical Tales"; disc 2—"White Light", "Heaven Alone", "Parallel Worlds", "To Capture the Moment", "A View from Above", "In an Instant", "A Test of Time", "Circle of Time", "In a Perfect World", "Living the
Dream", "This Moment in Time", "With Open
Arms", "As Nature Intended"; disc 3—"A Galaxy of Light", "Fear of the
Unknown", "A Second Chance", "Into the Unknown", "The Visionary", "No
Turning Back", "Maybe One Day", "The Secret Path", "The Final Journey",
"Beyond the Rainbow". Also due soon is
another piano album of Yes music performed in a
classical manner. Currently
only available through Voiceprint, general
release follows 1 Mar.
Buy from Amazon (US):
Buy from Amazon (UK):
Wakeman has done a number of concerts with piano, choir and
orchestra. The first was in Dec 2008 in Chile, with the 60-piece
National
Symphony Orchestra
and the Chorus of St James. Set (90 min.s): "Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot
& the
Black Knight/The
Last Battle", "Gone But Not Forgotten", "Catherine Howard", "After the
Ball", "Help/Eleanor Rigby", "Journey to the Centre of the Earth";
encore: "Merlin the Magician",
"The Jig", "Catherine of Aragon" (piano solo). The set was conducted
and (mostly)
orchestrated by Guy Protheroe (leader
of the English Chamber Choir). Three similar concerts followed
in 2009. These
included a
free concert with the Płock
Symphonic Orchestra (worked with Jon Lord) and Vox
Juventutis Choir in Poland in Jul; set (approx. order):
extract from Henry VIII, "Gone
But Not Forgotten", "After the Ball", "Catherine Howard", "Help/Eleanor
Rigby", "Merlin the Magician", extract from Journey to the Centre of the Earth;
encore: "The Jig"; second encore: Yes medley (without the orchestra).
The other shows the same month were in London, UK and in Lugano,
Switzerland. The Lugano show was broadcast on Swiss TV and a live DVD
of it is planned for Xmas 2010
(with a special collector's edition also planned).
"Amazing Grace" (Studio
T (Classic Media Group))
is
a
2-disc
DVD
and
CD
set;
also
available
as
audio
and
video
downloads.
The
instrumental
set
consists
of
traditional
Christian
hymns
arranged
and
performed
on
grand
piano
by
Wakeman.
The DVD shows Wakeman performing live in the studio
compined
with graphics and imagery by Robert
Garofalo
(worked with Yes). CD tracks:
"Amazing
Grace" (featuring Jemma
Wakeman and The
English
Chamber Choir), "Now Thank We All Our God", "There is a Green Hill Far
Away", "Morning has Broken", "Glad That I Live am I", "All Things
Bright
& Beautiful", "Jesu, Lover of My Soul", "Nearer, My God, to Thee",
"Jerusalem", "Come, O Come, Emmanuel", "All People That on Earth Do
Dwell",
"I Vow to Thee, My Country", "When We Walk with the Lord (Trust &
Obey)",
"Hills of the North, Rejoice", "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross",
"Abide
with Me", "Ode to Joy", "The Day Thou Gavest", "Amazing Grace"
(alternative
version). The DVD omits "Now Thank We All Our God", "Jesu, Lover Of My
Soul", "Come, O Come, Emmanuel" and "Hills of the North, Rejoice" and
presents
the other tracks in a different order to the CD. "Amazing
Grace" was released as a download-only single exclusive to iTunes.
A nummber of announced plans have not come to fruition. Wakeman previously announced a DVD of
1930s-style
swing music, probably for Classic Pictures, to be filmed at Shepperton
Studios and to be released in 2006, although it has yet to appear. It
was
planned to include both material from the '30s and new compositions.
Wakeman
was to perform with a band, a brass section and backing singers and
hoped also to have a variety of guest vocalists. The performance was to
be
in period costume. Wakeman was also planning a crossover Christian
album for a US label, which was due to be completed by around Mar
2006
for release in late summer, but has yet to appear. In Sep
2008, Wakeman (on grand piano) performed a concert with
the Plovdiv
Philharmonic Orchestra and their choir in Bulgaria. The 90-minute
concert has had
orchestral arrangements especially done by Protheroe
and Wakeman was also writing
orchestral parts for the event. A DVD release for
2009 was announced, but appears no longer to be forthcoming.
Further live shows
(guest appearances are further down)
For
2010, Wakeman is doing a series of monthly (except for 2 in Apr), one-man
piano shows.
It appears this will just be in
the UK. Jan-Apr, Jun and
Sep
2010 have already been booked: Truro, 21 Jan; Newark, 5
Feb; Buxton, 14 Mar; Llandudno,
23 Apr; Edinburgh,
29
Apr; Barnstable,
18 Jun; Durham, 18 Sep. Wakeman also appears at the Pontypridd Arts
Festival on
8 May, the Grassington Festival on 25 Jun and the Sevenoaks Art
Festival on 14 Jul, although I do not know if they are part of the same
touring series or not. The set list in Truro included [SPOILERS—highlight
to
reveal] "The Nursery Rhyme Concerto", a Yes
medley, "Eleanor Rigby" (in the style of Prokofiev), "Catherine
Howard", "Merlin the Magician" and "Dance of a
Thousand Lights".
Wakeman and the English Rock
Ensemble—Tony Fernandez (drums), Lee Pomeroy (bass), Dave Colquhoun
(guitars), Ashley Holt (vocals)—play the Copredy Festival, UK on 14 Aug.
There is an unconfirmed report that Wakeman will be at the Virada
Cultural 2010 in São Paulo, Brazil (15-6 May).
He is also again taking part in
the Four
Churches Festival this year (26-29 May, Norfolk). In his Xmas 2009 RWCC
Newsletter, Wakeman says,
"There will be more performances of differing sorts throughout the year
and in different countries as well. With the recession looking to
continue well into 2010 and maybe beyond [...] it's very hard to
predict what will happen as promoters are dropping like flies at the
moment and sponsorship has virtually disappeared". Wakeman was at all
four dates. In May
2007, as part of a
prior Four
Churches
Festival, there was a concert by Giltrap, reportedly
including some duets with
Wakeman. The set was
to be filmed for future release on Voiceprint. Wakeman is also
collaborating further with Giltrap—see below.
Wakeman played a scattering of live shows across late
2009. On 3 Oct, he was due to do
a piano
concert with Mario Fasciano in Naples. Further shows with Fasciano followed 23
Jan in Salerno and 1 Mar in Rome, Italy. The line-up included Rob
Townsend (Steve Hackett; woodwind) and Nick Beggs (Kajagoogoo,
Steve Hackett, ex-Steve
Howe,
ex-Iona;
bass).
Retiring from some touring
and
a new focus
Wakeman has retired from more substantial solo
tours and is focusing more on TV and radio work (see
below).
He was doing shorter solo tours, but is now concentrating on one-off
performances. His last UK tour was the Spring 2008 leg
of his
Grumpy Old Picture
Show. Plans for a
Grumpy Old Xmas
Picture Show tour and a summer 2009 leg have been cancelled. Wakeman
explains in the Summer 2008 RWCC Newsletter: "attendances
[for the 2008 leg] were considerably down on what was anticipated and
whilst some towns did do well, too many did not and the end result of
this means that there will be no more Grumpy Old Picture Shows [...] It
will almost certainly bring to an end any such touring in the future as
well, so the plan just to concentrate on specials and one-offs seems to
have arrived slightly earlier than anticipated".
In the the RWCC Winter
Newsletter
2007, Wakeman explained:
I still intend to keep the live
performances to a sensible amount and so long spells of touring are
still not on the agenda and to be honest, won't be again. 2007 proved
to me once again that I had made the correct decision as with fewer
performances each one became special and had a little something unique.
I will have to slow
down
from the pace of the last few years. [...]
I announced two years
ago
that for various reasons I would be winding down my touring activities
with my last major year of touring being 2006. I said after that I
would
be doing special projects, one-offs and the odd one or two week spell
of
performing and that would be it. [...]
I’m entering a new phase in
my life.
Television has been very good to me in the UK with the Grumpy Old Men
series
as well as Countdown and other programs. I want to develop this area
more
if I can. Radio as well. [...]
I have about four special
projects
I’m working on and am hoping they come to fruition. They’re all looking
good at the moment but I’ve been in this business too long to count
chickens.
I need to do more writing and recording for my own satisfaction. I have
a list of things I have to do, and at the age of 57, (58 next year) ; I
really have to start bringing these dreams to reality. [...]
I am also health conscious
now.
I have had a chequered medical history and have had my wrists slapped
many
times. I have also witnessed the loss of many friends recently over the
last two or three years plus others who have suffered other seriously
rehabilitating
illnesses. I truly feel that God keeps pointing this out to me and I
must
take it as a warning if I am to be able to continue making music which
is the gift he gave me. I have to re-think my life. I can’t go on at
this
pace. My average day for the last two years has started at 5.45am and
has
finished at midnight at very best.
Over the last few
years
[...] I have been going dolally really. [...] I've really enjoyed
working
back with the guys in Yes but [...] [with Yes and solo work] I've been
averaging about 150 shows per year [...] health wise its been up and
down.
I'm 56 going on 57 and I can't do it. [...] I've got a lot of TV shows
[...] I've been offered more and I've turned them down because they
want
you for a three week block and you can't do it because you've got to go
on this tour. [...] I've had to turn down some nice film work. I had to
turn down a chance to be involved in a musical; I had to turn down a
chance
to compose. All these things, [...] I really want to do [...] I had a
clinical
breakdown about 5 years ago or six years ago, I wasn't very well; and
again
it was pressure [...] you have to buy the time and in order to do that
something has to give and I came to the conclusion early this year that
the only way to do that would be to cut out the touring. If one-offs
come
up [...] you are there like a shot but actually to pack a suitcase to
go
away on a tour...
A
May
2006
article had more: Wakeman said, "I
am running out of time and having no home
life and no chance to write and record. I am so happy around here, my
partner
Rachel and I do not like going away." In his Spring Newsletter 2006, he
lamented the lack of interest my agents and promoters in further
farwell
dates, but says:
I still intend to do
one-off
shows wherever and whenever they are offered and are viable, but the
days
of solo touring have come to an end now.
This still leaves the loads
of opportunities
to tour as a duo, or trio with other people
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."
There are negotiations around remastered
re-releases
and possibly new recordings of Wakeman's Hope Records releases for the
US. New DVD releases are also involved, including a new version of "The
New Gospels". This would include some new music and be released as a
DVD/2CD
set.
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". 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. 2010 dates are planned and
an
album has been expected
for a while. See
details here. In Feb 2010, Rick Wakeman announced he
was working on an album with Rabin and two other ex-Yesmen; Anderson may also be
involved. Further details are
not known, but you can follow the story on
the
main
page.
Wakeman
has finished recording an album with Hayley Sanderson (vocals), also
with Mitch Dalton (guitar).
From
Brush and Stone (Voiceprint)
is
the
new
album
from
Wakeman
and
Gordon
Giltrap; produced by Wakeman,
Giltrap and Erik Jordan; engineered by Paul White and Jordan;
and mixed by Jordan. The album is
now out in a 1000-copy limited edition
with a bonus
interview DVD (~25 min.s,
conducted by Jon Kirkman) from a dedicated
microsite before a subsequent regular
release in May. Each artist
composed
half the album, which
mostly consists of two "classical"-style suites. The sleeve and
Voiceprint's listing has
Giltrap's half of the album first, followed by Wakeman's, but on the
actual CD, this is the other way round (Wakeman composed 1-7, Giltrap
composted 8-14):
Tracks:
"The
Savannah Bird"
(3:22)—links are to the Wikipedia
pages on the
original sculptures
"The
Discus Thrower"
(3:07)—these first
7 tracks constitute Wakeman's suite
for piano and guitar that was inspired by sculpture
"The Last of England" (5:09)
"Spring" (2:49)
"The Death of
Chatterton"
(5:28)
"The Light of the World"
(3:10)
"Work" (3:50)—these next 5 tracks
constitute Giltrap's "The
Brotherhood" suite, a 1987 composition inspired by the 19th century Pre-Raphaelite
Brotherhood
"By Angle Tarn"
(3:54)—a commissioned work about the Lake District
"Maddie Goes West"
(4:08)—new version of a piece
originally on
Giltrap's album Drifter
In Mar 2010, Wakeman is
recording piano on a new Giltrap piece.
Wakeman was co-hosting
the
first
Voice in a Million
event on 28 Jan
at London's O2 Arena.
Launched by Classic
Media Group, this
will be the first of a series of concerts to raise awareness of
children needing adoption. The evening will
feature about 4000 under-19 year olds, choirs and solo singers, with
the longer-term aim being to record a total of a million children
singing at shows worldwide over the coming year. A single and album are
being released
in National Adoption
Week (9-15 Nov) and will be promoted on GMTV; I don't know if
Wakeman is involved with the album. A share of proceeds
from the event and releases will go to the British
Association for Adoption and Fostering, who are co-sponsoring Voice
in a Million. Wakeman was to perform "A Song for Samuel", a piece
he composed for the adoptive son of Classic Media Group's Jo &
Robert Garofalo.
In an Aug
2004
interview, asked about plans for a collaboration with Keith
Emerson, Wakeman said: "it's still on the shelf waiting to
perhaps
happen. Keith and I regularly talk about it. But the offers we've had
to
record have been nowhere near what would be necessary to produce the
standard
of end result that we would both want. I suppose if that offer appears,
we would be off and running." Plans existed for both an album, for
which
some music has been written, and tour. In a late 2007
interview, Emerson said:
We
actually spoke about it the first time at the first Moogfest [in 2004].
I think it was Rick’s fiftieth birthday [...] [He] said he had a lot of
financiers who would love to put that (a Wakeman/Emerson tour)
together, and I said, “Yeah, that would be a good idea.” The idea was
that I would play some of Rick’s stuff and Rick would play some of my
stuff. And then we would come up something completely new together. I
presented the idea to my manager Stewart Young and promoters like
Harvey Goldsmith, and for some reason, they didn’t come up with the
sort of money Rick was expecting. I didn’t hear anything more after
that.
Wakeman and Emerson were due to play together for one piece, joined
by Chris Squire, Alan White
and Simon Kirke
(drums)
at the Ahmet Ertegün
memorial show in London, originally in Nov. However, the show
was rescheduled and Wakeman was not available for the new 10 Dec date,
although the others performed—see details
on main page. The RWCC website adds, "Rick would also like to make
it clear that this was a one off event and that
there are no plans whatsoever to appear with Keith in the future."
Wakeman appears on Back Against the Wall,
a tribute album to Pink Floyd's The Wall, and Led Box: The
Ultimate Tribute to Led Zeppelin; all organised by
Sherwood—see
details here.
The Strawbs and related
activities
The Strawbs 40th
anniversary event (12-3 Sep,
Twickenham Stadium, London) included Wakeman and Dave Cousins
playing a set together. Son Oliver was
also present playing with the current Strawbs line-up.
Wakeman joined The
(acoustic) Strawbs live for the first time in over 20 years for a
selected
audience at Shepperton Studios in mid-Apr 2007. Their performance was
broadcast
on Wakeman's radio show, Rick's Place, in
May 2007.
The acoustic line-up of The Strawbs consists of Dave Cousins (guitar,
vocals),
Dave Lambert (guitar, vocals) and Chas Cronk (bass, bass pedals,
vocals). These have now been
released as bonus tracks on The Strawbs' live at Hampton Court DVD: see above.
Witchwood Records have released a 4CD box set,
A
Taste of Strawbs (with a limited edition initial 5CD version).
It includes several tracks with Wakeman: disc 1 Eyes Wide Open
(1966-1971)
includes "Where am I/I'll Show You Where to Sleep" (1970 Strawbs live
track),
and "Canondale", "Sheep" and "RMW" (1971 Strawbs live tracks, probably
from a BBC session—"RMW" is a solo Wakeman instrumental). Disc 3 Inside
Out
(1975-1988) includes "The Hangman and the Papist" (from
Wakeman's
1983 TV talk show "Gas Tank": line-up of Cousins, Ford, Hooper, Hudson
and Wakeman) and "Song of a Sad Little Girl" (1988 Wakeman and Cousins
live recording). Disc 4 Further Down the Road (1990-2006)
includes
"The King" (Wakeman and Cousins
Hummingbird outtake).
Re-releases/archival releases Esoteric
were planning 2010 remasters in the UK 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, some with bonus tracks. They had obtained clearance for these
releases, but decided not to go ahead after contacting Wakeman as he is
reportedly hoping to get the rights to do this himself.
Hux Records
have released the 2CD Live
at the BBC containing two 1976 shows with the English Rock
Ensemble
(Ashley Holt—vocals, Roger Newell—bass, John Dunsterville—guitar, Tony
Fernandez—drums, Reg Brooks—trombone, Martin Shields—trumpet). Disc one
consists of a previously unreleased BBC Radio 1 performance recorded 17
Jun 1976: "Music Reincarnate - Part III, The Spaceman", "Catherine
Howard"
(extended version), "Sir Lancelot and the Black Knight", "Arthur",
"Music
Reincarnate - Part IV, The Realisation", "The Forest", "Catherine
Parr",
"The Prisoner", "Merlin the Magician. Disc two is the complete Old
Grey
Whistle Test recording recorded 27 Apr 1976: "Recollection", "Music
Reincarnate - Part IV, The Realisation", "Sir Lancelot and the Black
Knight",
"Music Reincarnate - Part III, The Spaceman", "Catherine Parr", "The
Prisoner",
"Merlin the Magician". The material on the second disc was previously
released
as Live on the Test. A 16-page booklet includes extensive
notes,
comments from Wakeman and period photos.
The Caped Crusader Collection is an extensive
beat-the-boots series due on Voiceprint.
Planned
for
2006,
it
remains
delayed.
The
recordings
in
the
series
have
been
sourced
and
catalogued
by
Daniel
Earnshaw (Explore
Multimedia), who previously worked on the Treasure Chest
release and The Lost
Tapes
series for Jon Anderson. Wakeman spoke previously about the
project: in an
Apr
2002 interview, he said, "we know of 111 bootlegs of my stuff out
there
[...] [W]e are going to reproduce, at special bargain prices, every
bootleg.
We will have them all re-done, with additional things, and all nice
packages
and we are just going to fight the bootleggers at their own game." An
early
report said the releases will only be available through Voiceprint's
website.
Managing Director Rob Ayling also had this to say: "It will go well
beyond
what we started with the Treasure Chest. This project is very exciting
and possible the most comprehensive ever under taken by such a well
known
artist such as Rick". In Wakeman's Christmas Newsletter 2004, he
described
"cleaned up bootleg product and other rare artefacts" and said they
plan
to open the series with 20 releases, while in his Spring Newsletter
2006,
he spoke of "over the next few years [...] in excess of 100 recordings
available to buy or in some cases, download" including the Caped
Crusader
Collection, Music Fusion releases and more.
Also from Voiceprint
is the Rick Wakeman Video Vault series, currently only available
through
a dedicated website. (The
RWCC
site says, "The discount code for getting the reduced price on their
site
is "moog"". A limited number of sampler
DVDs are available free on a first-come-first-served basis.) This
begins
with a limited edition (1000 copies) 6-DVD boxset (RICKDVDBOX1)
consisting
of five concert films, described as "official DVD bootlegs", and a
sixth
DVD consisting of a one-hour interview filmed for this project in Jan
2007
plus some rarities. It appears that the concert films will be released
individually at a later date, although the interview disc will remain
exclusive
to the box set. All the DVDs are Region 0 NTSC. Earlier reports
suggested
a series of releases, but it is unclear whether there will be any
beyond
these five. The individual shows are:
"1975 Live at the Empire Pool—King Arthur
on
Ice"
(RICKVV1DVD); tracks: "Free Song", "The Battle", "Catherine Howard",
"Anne
Boleyn", "Lamorak's March", "Rick's Charleston", "Arthur", "Lady of the
Lake" (abbreviated instrumental), "Guinevere", "Sir Lancelot & the
Black Knight", "Sir Galahad", "The Last Battle"; directed by Alan Yentob
"Live 1976—No Earthly Connection" (titled
in
one
graphic as "Live at the Maltings 1976") (RICKVV2DVD); tracks: intro by
Bob Harris (not listed on sleeve),
"Journey
Medley" ("Journey Overture/The Journey/The Hanseach"), "The
Realisation",
"Lancelot & the Black Knight", "The Spaceman", "Catherine Parr",
"The
Prisoner", "Merlin the Magician"
"Live 1980—Swedish Television Special"
(RICKVV3DVD);
tracks: "Introduction", "Track 1", "No Earthly Connection (Medley)",
"Anne
Boleyn", "King Arthur (Medley)", "Journey to the Centre of the Earth"
"1984—Live at the Hammersmith Odeon 1981"
(RICKVV4DVD);
tracks: "The Introduction" (also credited as "The Overture—to 1984",
with
pre-show footage), "King Arthur Medley", "Seahorses", "Julia",
"Catherine
of Aragon/Anne of Cleeves" [sic], "The Proles", "The Journey
Medley"
"Night Music" (RICKVV5DVD); tracks: "Sea
Horses",
"Merlin the Magician", "Elgin Mansions", "Bedtime Stories", "Gone But
Not
Forgotten", "Gole Medley incorporating Black Pearls", "Catherine
Howard",
"Gray's Elegy in a Country Churchyard", "After the Ball"
"Rarities Plus Interview" (RICKVV6DVD)
"Night Music" is a solo show whereas the others
are
with bands, notably the English Rock Ensemble. "1975 Live at the Empire
Pool—King Arthur on Ice" includes footage of the ice show. Initial
orders
arrived with a letter saying, "Please note that the box the DVD's are
housed
in has been printed in error on a thinner card slipcase that what was
originally
ordered by us. [...] a new thicker cardboard case [...] will be sent to
you as soon as possible." This initial batch had various errors: the
"Live
1980" DVD is printed as if it is the disc for Hammersmith concert, and
vice versa. "Night Music" and "Rarities..." are likewise swapped
around.
There are various problems reported with the DVD of "1975 Live at the
Empire
Pool—King Arthur on Ice", including a repeated section of "Sir
Galahad"/"The Last Battle"
and the menu link for "Lady of the Lake" does not point to the piece.
The inserts say the DVDs all have 16:9 aspect ratio, but they are all
actually 4:3. There are some further minor glitches reported.
Voiceprint's
Rob Ayling e-mailed me to say, "All mistakes on the Video
Vault
set have now been rectified" and "New DVDs and boxes to match the
original
spec have been made and are being exchanged for the faulty ones."
However, the problems with the repeated section on "1975 Live at the
Empire Pool" remain on the new batch and some other glitches have been
reported.
A Japanese re-release of
Wakeman's Classic Tracks using
the Super
High Material
CD format and a 'mini-LP'
replica cardboard
sleeve packaging is due 23 Sep from Happinet Pictures
(HMCX-1034).
Wakeman was investigating the possibility of
releasing
an album with music from his soundtracks for "Bullet to Beijing" and
"Midnight
in Moscow", but rights to the music have yet to be sorted.
Black Sabbath have
re-issued
five of their 1970s album in deluxe editions, including
1973's Sabbath,
Bloody
Sabbath, on which
Wakeman plays.
TV and radio work
Wakeman is focusing more on TV and radio work
now, having retired from solo touring (see above).
In the RWCC Summer Newsletter
2009, Wakeman talks of "quite a few radio appearances" in the coming
months, but says "TV is scarce these days since being bumped off of
Countdown and no more Grumpy Old Men being filmed".
Classic
Media
Group are producing a new television series called Face to Face, presented by
Wakeman.
Each 52-minute episode consists of a one-on-one interview with a
notable musician. Episodes are released on DVD (first three at least
available), broadcast on the Rock on TV channel in the UK (SKY channel
378) and available on the web
through Classic Media's RockOnDigital.com
(episode
with
Ian
Anderson
available
free for part of Mar).
Rick's son, Oscar, is credited as a
camera operator.
Wakeman hosts his own live
radio
show, Rick's Place, on DAB digital radio station Planet
Rock (UK and webcast) every Saturday from 10am to 1pm (repeated
Fridays). The show has a guest
each week, sometimes including a performance. Guests have included
Chris Squire (archived at Squire's
site), Geoff
Downes and John Wetton. Wakeman does other work for the channel
too.
The show is contracted through to
the end of 2009, and Wakeman has indicated he would like to go on
beyond then. However, in 2009,
the show is moving from a live broadcast from Norwich to a show
pre-recorded in London, with new producer Mark Jeeves. Wakeman is also presenting "The
Planet Rock Years" for the station, Sundays 6pm. The show is described:
"In this brand new series we look at the major musical and non-musical
events of the past four decades, starting with the years 1971 and
1984."
Wakeman has also done
some work for Classic FM and he
has been asked to present a series of further shows over the next
couple of years, maybe as many as 40. He appeared on BBC East's segment
within
The Politics Show on 28 Feb.
Chameleon TV are making a documentary about
Wakeman
and are seeking photographs or amateur footage—see
RWCC for details. A Wakeman solo tour programme in 2002 mentioned
his
desire to do more TV work, commenting that, "He still has huge
aspirations
to host his own chat/music show and negotiations are much further down
the line as regards this than people might imagine..." Wakeman has also
done filming for a documentary on old instruments. Wakeman was due to
present
a documentary about the Crompton
cinema
organ in Plymouth for
Channel
4 (UK TV); broadcast details are unknown.
Wakeman is among the backers for the Isle
of Man International Broadcasting plc (IMIB) company, which has
been licenced to start a new UK national radio station, initially on
long
wave.
The station has yet to start broadcasting. Wakeman has planned to be a
DJ for the station, which is aimed at the 25-55 year old age group and
will target female listeners.
Other news
Now out in hard- and paperback is "Grumpy Old
Rockstar" (subtitled "And Other
Wondrous Stories"; ISBN: 1848090048, Preface
Publishing (Random House Group)),
a
new
book
by
Wakeman
in
collaboration
with
Martin
Roach,
a
collection
of
stories
from
his
life.
Wakeman
says
in
the
RWCC
Summer
Newsletter
2009
(out
Sep)
that
the
book "is currently
hurtling towards the 50,000 sales mark and it's 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), is out. He
also says in the
Newsletter that the publishers have asked for a third volume, but that
"I am not sure I have enough good stories [...] we'll have to wait and
see". Wakeman has done and
is continuing to do
various promotional work for these. 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. He has also
done a foreword for Roger Dean's new book
"Dragon's Dream".
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.
