Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman
Richard Christopher "Rick" Wakemanis an English keyboardist, songwriter, television and radio presenter, author, and actor. He is best known for being in the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004 and for his solo albums released in the 1970s...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionRock Singer
Date of Birth18 May 1949
check discovered illness life next passed saved
My mother had never had a day's illness in her life and never thought to have checks. Then, at 78, she discovered she had breast cancer and passed away the next year. But if she'd had a check two years before, they could have done something about it, they could have saved her.
cut great
I cut out bread, I don't eat after 6 P.M., and I go on walks, and it's had a great effect.
celebrate love
I'm a Freemason, and we love to celebrate Burns' night: piping in the haggis, the whole lot.
brain constantly due enjoy good imagination life slept work
I've got an overactive brain. I enjoy work, I enjoy life, and I'm not good at relaxing. I've also never slept very much due to this overactive imagination and my brain constantly thinking.
understanding works
I always say that it's about breaking the rules. But the secret of breaking rules in a way that works is understanding what the rules are in the first place.
artists cat david joined kept life morning musician numerous played session though trained worked yes
I had joined Yes in 1971. I was a classically trained musician who had worked with numerous artists as a session musician. I played on David Bowie's 'Life On Mars,' Cat Stevens's 'Morning Has Broken' and even on some Des O'Connor records, though I kept that quiet.
band chalk cheese generally great rest touring yes
Touring with Yes was generally great fun, and I got on well with the rest of the guys, but we were like chalk and cheese in many respects. I was unique in the band as a card-carrying Conservative.
farther frustrated hardly music played playing
To play music, you have to understand it. I didn't understand 'Topographic Oceans.' That's why I hardly played on it. It frustrated me no end - and playing the whole thing on tour, I got farther and farther away from it.
garden buried
Success is buried in the garden of failure.
understanding secret way
The secret of breaking rules in a way that works is understanding what the rules are in the first place.
writing
I'm always writing or playing because that is my life.
writing next needs
The studio is not the place to write. You need to be 75% ready when you go into the studio, and then the music can develop to the next stage.
rocks play records
But I'd play on everything from pop records to a lot of the glam stuff to rock stuff to classical stuff. I used to get called to do all those things, it was great.
adventure player musical
My earliest professional musical experiences were really as a session player, and every day was an adventure. Three sessions a day, every day, and you never knew who you would be working with until you arrived at the studio.