LEGENDARY KEYBOARDIST
R I C K
W A K E M A N
(DAVID BOWIE-THE STRAWBS
Y E S -ARW)
NEW RELEASE
THE
'RED PLANET'
A return to Prog
Featuring
The English Rock Ensemble
RICK WAKEMAN INTERVIEW
CLICK BELOW TO LISTEN
Bowie subsequently asked Wakeman to play on his "Hunky Dory" album, which has become one of his most acclaimed works and produced the songs "Life on Mars", "Changes" and "Oh! You Pretty Things", which all featured Wakeman on piano. In the early 1970s, Wakeman was one of the most sought-after keyboardists in Britain. He played on albums by The Strawbs and was receiving offers to join the progressive rock band Yes and David Bowie's band The Spiders from Mars at the same time. He chose to join Yes and during his time with the band they recorded several of the most famous albums of the progressive rock genre, including "Fragile", "Close to the Edge" and "Tales from Topographic Oceans". Wakeman also recorded some hugely successful solo albums during the 1970s, principally "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".
THE
'RED PLANET'
A return to Prog
Featuring
The English Rock Ensemble
CLICK BELOW TO LISTEN
Rick Wakeman's work on the classic albums of the progressive rock band Yes, his hugely successful solo albums, as well as his contributions to classic David Bowie songs, has earned him a reputation as one of rock's greatest ever keyboardists.. Classically trained on the piano, he later attended the Royal College of Music. He first made his name as a session musician at Trident Studios. Among his notable early work was playing Mellotron on David Bowie's breakthrough single "Space Oddity".
Bowie subsequently asked Wakeman to play on his "Hunky Dory" album, which has become one of his most acclaimed works and produced the songs "Life on Mars", "Changes" and "Oh! You Pretty Things", which all featured Wakeman on piano. In the early 1970s, Wakeman was one of the most sought-after keyboardists in Britain. He played on albums by The Strawbs and was receiving offers to join the progressive rock band Yes and David Bowie's band The Spiders from Mars at the same time. He chose to join Yes and during his time with the band they recorded several of the most famous albums of the progressive rock genre, including "Fragile", "Close to the Edge" and "Tales from Topographic Oceans". Wakeman also recorded some hugely successful solo albums during the 1970s, principally "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".
Keyboard Legend Rick Wakeman & The English Rock Ensemble recently released “The Red Planet.” The album features 8 newly composed pieces, especially for this project, and harks back to Wakeman’s critically acclaimed debut album “The Six Wives of Henry VIII” where there were 6 heavy keyboard pieces based around a central subject matter.
RICK WAKEMAN
THE
'RED PLANET'
Purchase
THE
'RED PLANET'
Purchase
Keyboard Legend Rick Wakeman
& The English Rock Ensemble
Return To Prog
On New Album
"The Red Planet"
Order today at
or
at amazon.com
Limited CD + DVD edition in deluxe "pop-up" packaging. The Red Planet is Rick Wakeman's 2020 studio album. The album harks back to Wakeman's critically acclaimed 1973 solo debut album The Six Wives of Henry VIII and No Earthly Connection. These releases showcased heavy keyboards and focused on a central theme. Rick recorded The Red Planet with a collective of musicians dubbed The English Rock Ensemble, featuring guitarist Dave Colquhoun, bassist Lee Pomeroy and drummer Ash Soan. Pomeroy has also been a touring member of Yes Featuring Anderson, Rabin and Wakeman and Jeff Lynne's ELO, while Soan has played drums with Squeeze, Del Amitri and many other artists.
BOOKS
BY
RICK WAKEMAN
SAY YES!
BY
RICK WAKEMAN
An Autobiography
Publication Date:4 May 1995
Synopsis've been in and out of Yes more times than Barbera Cartland has put pen to paper. The band still has a massive following around the world with an annual Yes convention and more fanzines than I can keep up with. Yet our highs and lows have never been documented, especially by someone from the inside.'
With the Strawbs, Yes and through his solo career, Rick Wakeman is known to millions for his keyboard wizardry and brilliant compositions. From his earliest days as a concert pianist, Say Yes! is a humourous celebration of 25 years devoted to the best in music. After many classic albums like Fragile, Close to the Edge and Listzomania, he now plays with Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe.
Yet Rick Wakeman's life has not been laughter all the way and Say Yes! reveals the darker side of three marriages, a heart attack at twenty-five and a long struggle with stardom. Through it all runs the thread of his belief in God, an outrageous sense of humour and a passion for golf. Here is a candid and highly entertaining journey to the centre of rock.
Available at amazon.com
Grumpy Old Rock Star and other Wondrous Stories
Publication Date: 21st August 2008
Book Description
Grumpy Old Rockstar is a collection of never-before-told stories from Rick Wakeman's amazing life, from ordering a curry on-stage to how he ended up with the earth from around Che Guevara's body in his shed.
Grumpy Old Rockstar is a collection of never-before-told stories from Rick Wakeman's amazing life, from ordering a curry on-stage to how he ended up with the earth from around Che Guevara's body in his shed.
Synopsis
Around about September 1948, Mr and Mrs Cyril Wakeman had an early night and some time later, at Perivale in Middlesex, Mrs Wakeman produced a bonny baby son. They named him Richard, but he quickly became known as Rick. Rick was a likable little fellow who had a talent for the piano and for making trouble, and music became Rick's life. Later he joined a popular music group called YES and became a legend. Much later he became a Grumpy Old Man who appears on Countdown, hosts a hugely popular radio show on Planet Rock and performs a one-man show telling stories about his rather extraordinary life. Which is where this book you are holding comes in. Mr Wakeman is simply one of the great storytellers of our age - let's face it, he has some fabulous material. It seemed a shame that some of the funniest yarns should not be more widely known. So he accepted some cash and here we are. Curl up by the fire with a Grumpy Old Rockstar and your nearest and dearest. We defy you not to want to read it aloud and laugh.
Around about September 1948, Mr and Mrs Cyril Wakeman had an early night and some time later, at Perivale in Middlesex, Mrs Wakeman produced a bonny baby son. They named him Richard, but he quickly became known as Rick. Rick was a likable little fellow who had a talent for the piano and for making trouble, and music became Rick's life. Later he joined a popular music group called YES and became a legend. Much later he became a Grumpy Old Man who appears on Countdown, hosts a hugely popular radio show on Planet Rock and performs a one-man show telling stories about his rather extraordinary life. Which is where this book you are holding comes in. Mr Wakeman is simply one of the great storytellers of our age - let's face it, he has some fabulous material. It seemed a shame that some of the funniest yarns should not be more widely known. So he accepted some cash and here we are. Curl up by the fire with a Grumpy Old Rockstar and your nearest and dearest. We defy you not to want to read it aloud and laugh.
Further Adventures of a Grumpy Old Rock Star
Publication Date: 17th September 2009
Synopsis
What do Postman Pat, Tommy Cooper, Norman Wisdom and George Best have in common with being abandoned in a Costa Rican jungle after a severe bout of flatulence? Indeed how are they connected to trying to buy an Australian brewery just to get a beer, owning twenty-two cars, an American soccer team and Swiss mail-order pornography? I suppose we have to come clean and volunteer the name of a certain keyboard genius called Mr Richard Wakeman (Rick to his thousands of chums). That said, you'll then not be surprised that this second volume of wondrous stories elaborates on violinists falling out of trees, being mauled on live TV by a German Shepherd, playing golf with kangaroos, amputations sound-tracked by prog rock classics, a concert played to a solitary canine and signing autographs on the toilet...And don't forget severe leg injuries on the set of Mastermind, extreme profanity live on radio at Wimbledon and berating Pike from "Dad's Army"..." The Further Adventures of a Grumpy Old Rock Star" takes you, the privileged reader, on a trip of absurd excess, a cultural car crash of side-splitting hilarity and an unforgettable glimpse (again) into the life of one of Britain's most legendary showmen, rock stars and all-time great raconteurs.
What do Postman Pat, Tommy Cooper, Norman Wisdom and George Best have in common with being abandoned in a Costa Rican jungle after a severe bout of flatulence? Indeed how are they connected to trying to buy an Australian brewery just to get a beer, owning twenty-two cars, an American soccer team and Swiss mail-order pornography? I suppose we have to come clean and volunteer the name of a certain keyboard genius called Mr Richard Wakeman (Rick to his thousands of chums). That said, you'll then not be surprised that this second volume of wondrous stories elaborates on violinists falling out of trees, being mauled on live TV by a German Shepherd, playing golf with kangaroos, amputations sound-tracked by prog rock classics, a concert played to a solitary canine and signing autographs on the toilet...And don't forget severe leg injuries on the set of Mastermind, extreme profanity live on radio at Wimbledon and berating Pike from "Dad's Army"..." The Further Adventures of a Grumpy Old Rock Star" takes you, the privileged reader, on a trip of absurd excess, a cultural car crash of side-splitting hilarity and an unforgettable glimpse (again) into the life of one of Britain's most legendary showmen, rock stars and all-time great raconteurs.
available at amazon.com
For more information about
RICK WAKEMAN
Visit
MY NEW BOOK IS FINALLY OUT!
ENTITLED
THE
ROCK STAR CHRONICLES
SERIES ONE
CHRONICLES, TRUTHS, CONFESSIONS AND WISDOM FROM THE MUSIC LEGENDS THAT SET US FREE
…Order yours today on Hardcover or E-book
at bookbaby.com
Featuring over 45 intimate conversations
with some of the greatest rock legends
the world will ever know.
CHRIS SQUIRE... DR. JOHN... GREG LAKE... HENRY MCCULLOUGH... JACK BRUCE … JOE LALA… JOHNNY WINTER... KEITH EMERSON... PAUL KANTNER... RAY THOMAS... RONNIE MONTROSE... TONY JOE WHITE... DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS… MIKE LOVE... TOMMY ROE... BARRY HAY... CHRIS THOMPSON... JESSE COLIN YOUNG... JOHN KAY... JULIAN LENNON... MARK LINDSAY... MICKY DOLENZ… PETER RIVERA ...TOMMY JAMES… TODD RUNDGREN... DAVE MASON... EDGAR WINTER... FRANK MARINO... GREGG ROLIE... IAN ANDERSON... JIM “DANDY” MANGRUM... JON ANDERSON... LOU GRAMM... MICK BOX... RANDY BACHMAN… ROBIN TROWER... ROGER FISHER... STEVE HACKETT... ANNIE HASLAM… ‘MELANIE’ SAFKA... PETULA CLARK... SUZI QUATRO... COLIN BLUNSTONE… DAVE DAVIES... JIM McCARTY...
PETE BEST
THE ROCK STAR CHRONICLES
BOOK TRAILER
BOOK REVIEW
-By Literary Titan (5) STARS
The Rock Star Chronicles, by Ray Shasho, is a splendid book written by a music enthusiast who has poured their heart and soul into it. It’s a story of a boy who loved rock music, and his obsessive passion of it earned himself the name Rock Raymond. He went to school but instead was schooled in all matters of music while his peers were buried chin-deep in coursework. He then became a radio DJ and has now compiled a book on all interviews he held with Rock gods who raided the airwaves back in the 70s and 80s. It’s a compilation of interviews with outstanding vocalists, legendary guitarists and crazy drummers in the rock music scene. Each interview gives a reader an in-depth view into their personal lives and the philosophies that guide their lives which all serve to humanize these great icons. For readers who are old enough to call themselves baby boomers this book will bring old memories back to life. Millennials, on the other hand, may think of this book as a literal work of the Carpool Karaoke show.
The Rock Star Chronicles is a book I didn’t know I was waiting for. To come across a book that will talk me into trying something new. One brave enough to incite me to venture into new frontiers. This book made me a believer- I am now a bona fide Rock and Roll music fan.
Ray Shasho masterfully gets the interviewees talking. He smartly coaxes answers from them with crafty questions designed to get a story rolling out of them. The artists talk about diverse issues ranging from music, politics, and their social engagements. Having been on the music seen all his life, Ray Shasho knows the buttons to press, how to get them comfortable about talking about their lives.
The book’s cover is befitting of its subject matter with the leather look offering a royal background to the golden letter print. It speaks to how high a level rock music holds in the pecking order- arguably, modern music as we know it has originated from blues and rock music. The second noteworthy thing is the use of high definition pictures to reference the musician being interviewed in every sub-chapter. This ensures that the book is for both original rock and roll lovers and aspiring new ones. Together is makes for a refreshing and consistently enjoyable read.
I recommend this book to rock music enthusiasts, aspiring musicians wondering what it takes and all readers curious to learn new things by going back in time.
