Rick Wakeman Interview in the Shropshire Star 27-03-2015

Yes man Rick back for more

As befits a former Grumpy Old Man, it didn’t take long for Rick Wakeman to get into Victor Meldrew mode about his drive home the previous evening.

“I was in Buxton last night, and they very kindly decided to do three and a half ton of roadworks on the A14, so I came via Glasgow, I think,” the otherwise very affable 65-year-old said over the phone from his office in Norfolk.

Wakeman’s qualification for a senior citizen’s bus pass last May is reflected in the title of his latest show, featuring his unique combination of music and humour, which rolls up at Shrewsbury’s Theatre Severn this evening. So what can the audience expect to see?

“Over the years, people have said ‘I hope you play that, you should play that,’ and so I decided it would be a really good idea to stick them all together.

“It works pretty well. You try very much to put a set together that you think flows and makes sense and sends people home with a smile on their face, and that’s what I try to do,” he said.

Whether it’s Grumpy Old Men, Watchdog or a BBC4 documentary, Wakeman is an engaging presence on TV and his latest show draws on those skills to supplement his musical pieces.

The former keyboard player for 1970s prog-rock band Yes is aware of the need to maintain a feeling of spontaneity for every show.

“I want every night to be like an opening night, where I’m not quite sure myself what’s going to happen, ‘cause the great advantage of being on your own is that if I want to change a few pieces around, I can do,” he explained.

As the author of two books recounting life on and off the road, Wakeman is not short of a story or three, though it took a little coaxing from his publisher to convince him of this.

“Random House said, ‘Will you write a couple of books,’ and I said, ‘I can’t have enough stories to write a book.’ The editor took me out for lunch and said, ‘Look, I’ve got a pad here, every time you think of a story, I’m going to write it down.’ By the time we had had coffee, he said ‘I’ve got nearly 80 stories here.’ and that’s how the books started,” he said.

Wakeman will be back on TV this year with a couple of very different music documentaries.

“I’m doing the history of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. We’ve already done 10 days filming out in Venice. That’s great fun, I’m really enjoying that, for a series called Perspectives, which comes out on ITV in April. The BBC one is The History of the Tour Bus, which will be great fun. I’m not sure when that’s coming out, we start filming that in about two weeks’ time. It should be hilarious. It’s not so much about my tales, more tales from other people and roadies who rode on the original tour buses. I’m looking forward to doing that very much, it should be a lot of fun,” he said.

As for other projects, Wakeman is certainly in no mood to hang up his trademark flowing cape just yet.

“I’m going to be working on a project with Alfie Boe, who’s a dear friend of mine, and next year the
plan is to take some Journey [To The Centre Of The Earth] shows abroad and, hopefully, put the [Myths
and Legends of] King Arthur [and the Knights of the Round Table] show back on ice again.

“I thought when I became a pensioner, things would slow down, but they’ve got absolutely worse. I’ve got my diary in front of me and my next day off is August 11th, which doesn’t please the missus very much, but there you go,” he said.

Yet Another Evening With Rick Wakeman: The Music and Anecdotal Wit of an Old Age Pensioner features at Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, tonight. See www.theatresevern.co.uk for details.

By Stephen Taylor