Greetings Rick, thank you for replying to this interview. I just want to say that your music has affected my life in such a positive way, and I thank you for sharing your wonderful talent and timeless music with the world.
You are a very brave man sir and probably in need of psychiatric help for liking what I do !!!! but thanks very much.
What types of music and performers influenced your musicality? What is was your favorite band/performer of all time? Favorite classical composer?
I listened to a lot of American 60's soul music. Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Sam and Dave type of stuff. I loved the production. I dislike 60's British productions because the drum sounds were so awful and you could never here the bass properly. Deep Purple with their album Shade of Deep Purple. You could hear everything clearly and I think one of the best produced albums of that time.
I also listened to bands like Vanilla Fudge and believe it or not, when I was a bit younger than that in the 50's, loved trad bands like Kenny Ball! I actually still own every single he made up to 1962! Basically I liked musicians who could play and there were in general a lot more in America than over here!
I don't really have an all time favourite performer although Bowie would undoubtedly be top of the list if my life depended on naming someone! Prokofiev is my all time "classical" hero.
As a musician, how do you go about the composing process? Do you write exclusively on the piano?
I never ask myself how I write . It is the unknown "x" factor. Some days I can compose , others I can't . I have just gone over a year without writing anything and then suddenly came up with a really nice suite of music for piano. You can't "look" to compose. Anybody whom says they can are kidding themselves. True I can "write" something to order, but that is not inspirational. I try now to only accept the "inspirational." I still tend to compose mainly on piano though. Instruments with great sounds tend to cloud the composition and can sometimes kid you that what you have written is good when it's not. the great sounds can fool you a lot, also there are only a few places I find inspirational to write anyway. Strangely enough the house I used to live in before my divorce was not one of them. I wrote a few nice things on the Isle of Man but it wasn't inspirationally as productive as I had initially thought it would be. I had a lovely piano there but couldn't write in the house. The places I can write in well and feel great about what I do there are my home in Tenerife where I pretty much live a lot of the time now and my girlfriend's gallery in Milan. She is an artist and I love to work there on the piano while she is painting. General Music in Italy supplied me with a great piano to work on. I wrote all of the new music there and finished it off in Tenerife.
How has faith influenced your music? Please explain.
I have a strong Christian faith and a great belief in God but a diminishing belief in the church in general which I feel has forgotten it's role in Christianity (that should start an argument)! I have written a lot of Christian music but do not mix the work with my secular stuff. I do not preach, that is not my job. People have the freedom of choice and it's not for me in a privileged potion to force my beliefs upon others. Having said that, if asked, I will happily talk for hours on the subject.
In the early `80's on your old `Gastank; show, you had Steve Hackett on and said that you'd love to work together, why didn't it happen? Will it ever happen?
Management and record company interference. I'm fed up with record companies and the restrictions they put on musicians. Also when you do end up collaborating it invariably ends up with arguments over publishing splits and the like and so I have decided that unless everything is 100% agreed beforehand I will not get involved in joint projects anymore.
Are you going to collaborate with Keith Emerson?
If we can get the right budget from a record company. At the moment what we have been offered is not enough to make an album of the standard that both Keith and I feel is what is expected. Without that I refuse to make a cheap product that will disappoint people. Keith and I have prepared a lot of music and both know we have some great stuff. It's a pity that at the moment there is not a record company out there that realises the potential of what we have.
What is your favorite book?
Down To Sunless Sea (but I can't remember the author). Wonderful book. I have read it three times and the ending still freaks me out. It would make a great film If I had the money I'd make it! Add to that all the Richmal Crompton & `William' books and I would be a happy reader.
Movie?
A Night To remember, which is the true story of the Titanic taken from the book. I was disgusted by the inaccuracies in TITANIC and walked out of the movie. Add to that the great movie with Peter Sellers about the little cinema, I think it was called The Greatest Smallest Show On Earth which was a classic. I also love all the Ealing Comedies. I find modern day films in general to be lacking in story , content and acting ability to be honest.
You have two extremely talented sons. Did you ever imagine that they would be keyboardists?
I am very proud of all my kids. Jemma too has a contract now. She has the most beautiful voice and plays the piano well too as do the boys of course. Ben is a lyricist out in Switzerland and Oscar (15) is a drummer! They're all at it!
What do you think of Oliver's work with Clive Nolan?
Excellent stuff although I have to be honest (and perhaps biased) and say I prefer his work that he does on his own.
You've toured with Adam; will all three Wakemans ever record/tour together?
Highly unlikely. It would be impossible to get all of us to agree on what the music should be, how the production should be done or even who plays what! More importantly.... who would pay for it ! Perhaps if I ever got my own TV show I'd have the lot on and we'd do a piece together. Four keyboardists with Ben, Jemma and Adam singing as well and Oscar on drums!!!!! That could be fun.
What are your hobbies/interests outside music?
I'm a golf fanatic. Currently the handicap has sadly shot up to 13. I had it down to 10 and would love to get to nine just to say I once played off a single handicap.
I'm a Manchester City fanatic. I was once a Brentford director but we had a fall out (half my fault, half their's) and I'm afraid my passion for that club died on the spot. I still avidly follow their scores and want them to do well, but City are my great love.
I am a television freak and own up to loving UK Gold which is probably my favourite channel.
To be honest I am a self-confessed workaholic. I get up at 6 every day and am rarely in bed before 1 in the morning. I love music and the industry and look forward to every day which always seems to be different. I don't like a lot of the people who run the business who really shouldn't be there as they don't understand music and entertainment at all. It never used to be like it. The world of entertainment really needs to be creatively back in the hands of the artists. British music no longer leads the world. We kid ourselves it does but we are light years behind. We are insular in thinking and consider the music industry to be like the British Empire was. Oh dear!
What has been your happiest moment in your life so far?
I have had many happy points, too many to list and they can't be put into order really. The birth of all my children. Creating music, performances on stage, watching City thrash somebody, playing a great game in golf, laughing with friends. Sometimes the smallest of things can create the happiest of moments in your life.
The lowest point?
I have had a few of these too. They are not nice and they don't make a man of you either. They are not an experience worth going through. I suppose the low points that happen because you made an error of judgement about a person are the ones that hit you most. You then feel you've completely wasted many years of your life, but you can't put the clock back and so I only look forward. Looking back in general at low points makes me sad, annoyed and wanting to give up and go and live like a hermit somewhere where I never have to face anybody again.... so quite simply I don't look back anymore.
You've had a heart attack in 1975 and were very sick a few years ago. How is your health now?
As best as I could hope for. I try and watch my weight, eat the right things but I don't sleep enough (I average three hours a night). The pneumonia I had three years ago knocked the stuffing out of me and I know that I never really fully recovered. I like having the experience of life that being 52 gives you, but I don't like the physical deterioration that goes with it!
I'm listening to the Rick Wakeman The Legend in concert DVD as I type, on the Yes song introduction, you mention that you explained that your good friend and Yes-mate- Jon Anderson was . "the only person I know who's trying to save this planet, while living on a totally different one. " I heard he is a fantastic person but how `different' is he? Any stories?
Not really. Jon is a true artist. He lives for art of all form. That will always make him difficult to understand by a lot of people. A true artist has a different way of thinking. Their brain functions differently. I love true artistic minds which is why Jon and I get on well. I would love to do a project with him, just him and I, even though I said I would not get involved with collaborations, he would be an exception to the rule. The chances are nil though I would think as the YES management haven't exactly got me on their Christmas card list and I'm sure would block any move in this direction. Mind you. Jon might not fancy the idea anyway!
Your epic productions: `Journey to the Centre of the Earth,' `The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table,' `Criminal Record' and Six Wives of Henry VIII,' are still crowd/fan favorites, besides the recent release of `Return To The Centre Of The Earth,' will there be more epic productions?
If I can get funding, it's what I love doing. Trying to get the financial resources to do what I really want though is almost impossible these days. I still try and in fact am working on one at the moment. If it happens, great, but if not I won't be suicidal! I've enjoyed all I have done and feel there is a lot more in side of me, in fact I know there is a lot more inside of me. It's hard to explain that to the businessmen who run the industry now though.
What is next in the life of Rick Wakeman?
I'm touring with the English Rock Ensemble around Central America and then into Russia for two shows. I then have a few Christmas television programmes to pre-record and then believe it or not I am playing Abanazer in Aladdin in Truro in Cornwall for five and a half weeks. I'm really looking forward to that. It's a great script, written by Roy Hudd. Then in January it's back in the studio to finish off the new studio album with the band and then more touring. In the summer I'm doing something completely different by doing some selected performances with the English Chamber Choir around some of England's Stately homes. Then I will be looking for somewhere to live!
Thank you so much for this interview. Best Wishes and thank you for sharing you answers and thoughts.
Cheers, Lee
Cheers.......Rick
