5 minute read
Rick Wakeman Interview by Martin Hutchinson.
Rick Wakeman
Rick’s Not So Grumpy These Days!
Advertisement
Interview by Martin Hutchinson.
Rick Wakeman has announced that he will finally be able to undertake the follow-up to his 2019’s ‘Grumpy Old Christmas’ sell-out tour in November / December 2021. Postponed from December 2020 due to lockdown, it is appropriately called ‘The Not Quite As Grumpy As Last Xmas Tour’ and will see Rick performing in some of the cities he didn’t manage to visit in 2019.
Audiences can expect two hours of glorious music spanning not only his own solo compositions and work he recorded with Yes, but also classics from David Bowie and The Beatles and festive songs, all interspersed with hilarious anecdotes from his lengthy career. However, in a departure from his last tour, as well as playing a grand piano, Rick will also be bringing along a couple of electronic keyboards to add variety and texture to his set.
Both as a member of Yes and as a solo artist, Rick Wakeman is known across the world for his virtuosity, creative flair and wicked sense of humour. A true rock legend, with over fifty-million albums sold in five decades, his music his music continues to reach new generations of fans.
Catching up with Rick at his Norfolk home, he tells me his plans for the tour and how he coped with lockdown.
“I’ve tried for the last two years to be positive, but it’s not easy for someone
like me”, he begins. “I look at targets,
like having music ready for a tour; when that’s taken away I find it hard to keep motivated. I’ve actually had seven tours cancelled due to the pandemic and even my recent US tour has had to be cut into two halves. It’s all been very frustrating as you can’t get those years back when you get older. If I was thirty-something, I could say, ‘Oh, I’ll do that in a couple of years’, but now I’m in my seventies, it’s more difficult. I’ve also been working on a new album and we’re about halfway through doing that.”
Speaking about this October / November’s US tour, Rick says, “It
was brilliant. I can’t tell you how great it was to walk out in front of
an audience again.” There were still restrictions in place though, as he explains: “Yes, it was very well
organized and there were very strict
rules. We only stayed in four hotels the whole time we were there, this meant that contact with others was lessened but there was a lot more travelling. All the audiences had to wear a mask and there was no backstage access for anyone. In that respect it was strange looking at a sea of masks, but all the audiences were great.”
To say that Rick is looking forward to touring Britain is a bit of an understatement, as he tells me: “It
seems to have been forever. I think I was still at school when I last toured! [Laughs]. There’s a bit of variation this time by using the electronic keyboards to add a little extra. We trialled it in America and it went
well.” And he has missed performing live: “You bet! Playing has been my
life. I’ve practiced everyday at home, but it’s not the same.”
Rick hasn’t yet decided on a set list for the UK shows, as he explains: “I’ve
started work on it but it’s a delicate balance between the Christmas songs and others. There will definitely be some songs from the ‘Christmas Portraits’ album [2019]. The flow of the show is really important. It’s like a football manager with a team sheet. There are some songs that I have to play and I don’t mind that and also there may be pieces I’ve not done for a long time. One thing I’m thinking of trying is a Christmas version of
my ‘Nursery Rhyme Concerto’.” In ‘The Nursery Rhyme Concerto’, Rick plays well known nursery rhymes in the style of classical composers and he hopes to do some Christmas carols in the same way.
Rick is well-known as a raconteur and some of his stories will form part of the evening. “That’s right”, he says.
“We’re probably looking at 75%/25% in favour of music and as usual, some of them will be true and
some a little watered down.” But what we won’t be hearing is anything from Rick’s latest album, 2020’s ‘The Red Planet’: “No, I can’t really do
anything from ‘Red Planet’ as the tracks don’t work with me on my
own. But I’ve been incredibly pleased with it. I’d have been close to distraught if it hadn’t worked. It was a deliberate attempt to go back to the ‘sound’ of the ‘70s and update it. It was a real concentrated effort, as I gave the other musicians a free rein, as I knew they’d do what I was looking for. A lot of credit has to go to Erik Jordan, who engineered and co-produced it. He pushes me. He’s an ‘I’ dotter and ‘t’ crosser which I’m not. When he does his thing, I make the tea.”
As for the future, 2022 looks like being a busy year, as Rick tells me: “Well,
I’ve got a Prog Rock tour with the English Rock Ensemble, I’m hoping to finish my third ‘Confessions of a Grumpy Old Rock Star’ book, the second half of the US tour and there’s a new album to complete.”
Summing up the new tour, Rick says,
“At last, I can finally tour the UK again! I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed it. I’m also looking forward to ringing the changes with the addition of keyboards, which is a bit of a departure from my traditional ‘piano shows’, but will give me the opportunity to vary the setlist. And hopefully, I can put smiles on all our faces with stories of some of the ludicrous things that have happened in my career. After the last eighteen months, I think we all deserve a laugh!”
For all Rick’s upcoming live dates, please visit the links below.
www.rwcc.com
www.facebook.com/ RickWakemanMusic
