Wakeman attended Drayton Manor Grammar School. He initially studied piano, clarinet, orchestration and modern music at the Royal College of Music, but he left of his own accord after a year and a half in favour of work as a session musician.
In 1970, Wakeman played with Strawbs and was an active studio musician, playing with such artists as David Bowie, Cat Stevens and Al Stewart, notably playing piano on both Bowie's Life on Mars? and Morning Has Broken by Cat Stevens He joined Yes in 1971, after keyboardist Tony Kaye was asked to leave the band because of his refusal to play anything more than the organ. His first album with the band was Fragile released 1971 in the UK and 1972 in the US, and very nearly his last was Tales from Topographic Oceans, released in 1973. He also played on the studio album Close to the Edge (his favourite Yes album) and his live performances with the group were released as Yessongs. He left the band following the Tales from Topographic Oceans tour.
During his time with Yes, he released his first solo album, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII, which showcases his skills with various electronic and acoustic keyboard instruments. Some members of Yes played their respective instruments on certain tracks.
In 1975, he released the concept album The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table which was supported by a live show featuring ice skating theatrical performances accompanied by a large number of musicians, an orchestra and choirs. The cost of the show was extravagant and it caused Wakeman to declare bankruptcy.
Of all the members of the band, Wakeman is the only non-vegetarian, a difference which contributed to his first departure from the band. The primary reason for that initial departure, however, was musical differences. Wakeman felt Tales from Topographic Oceans was thin on substance and did not connect with its themes. Further, he did not enjoy the experience of reproducing the entire work on stage each night. He felt the length of the songs prohibited the band from playing many of their more popular songs of the time. Following the tour, as the band began work on what would become Relayer, Wakeman felt further alienated from the group. Disenchanted with the direction in which Yes were going, and already into a successful solo career, Wakeman jumped ship.
He rejoined Yes for their 1977 album Going for the One. He remained until their next album, Tormato, a year later. He is reputed to have given the album its name by throwing a tomato at a showing of the art used for the album's cover.[citation needed]
In 1989, he joined with three fellow ex-Yes members to form Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (a.k.a. ABWH). After ABWH's first album, some of the completed tracks for a planned second album were merged with tracks from an in-progress Yes album to create the album Union. Wakeman, along with the combined members of both bands then joined to form a Yes supergroup (made up of past and present members of Yes) for the subsequent tour in 1991. When the tour ended a year later, Wakeman left again. He then returned in 1996 for the Keys to Ascension albums but left before the band could tour. In 2002, he rejoined Yes and has been with the group ever since, but also enjoys a successful solo career.
He has also performed as a guest or session musician for artists as disparate as:
* John Williams,
* Brotherhood of Man,
* Elton John,
* Lou Reed,
* David Bowie (notably mellotron on 'Space Oddity', piano on 'Life On Mars' and 'Changes'),
* Cat Stevens (including piano on Stevens' hit cover of the hymn "Morning Has Broken"),
* T. Rex,
* Ozzy Osbourne,
* Black Sabbath (playing keyboards on "Sabbra Cadabra" and "Who are You" on 1973's Sabbath Bloody Sabbath),
* Brian May and played piano on "There's no one quite like Grandma"[citation needed] by St. Winifred's School Choir.
Although Wakeman was a noted player of the Hammond Organ and the Minimoog, he also played a key part in the popularisation of the Mellotron – an electronic musical instrument that used a bank of prerecorded tape strips, activated by each key on its keyboard. It proved too unwieldy and unreliable for regular touring, and Rick eventually doused his in petrol and set fire to it in a field . Undeterred, Rick worked with David Biro to develop the Birotron, which used the then popular 8-track cassette format rather than bare tape strips. Only 35 Birotrons were produced, it was not a commercial or technical success, and Rick eventually threw his across the stage after it broke down mid-concert, an action he now regrets, as there are only 6 known remaining examples.
He has written the soundtracks for two films by Ken Russell: Lisztomania (1975), which features vocals from Roger Daltrey and which takes as its starting point the music of Liszt and Wagner; and Crimes of Passion (1985), much of which is built around themes taken from Dvorak's New World Symphony.
As announced on the official Yes website, Rick Wakeman will not be joining Yes on their 40th Anniversary tour, he will instead be replaced by his son Oliver Wakeman. In 2008, Wakeman has been touring with a solo show, "Rick Wakeman's grumpy old picture show", an evening of biography, stories and music.
Personal life
A self-confessed former alcoholic, he had several heart attacks in his twenties. The first of them occurred just after he left Yes in early 1974, during the release of Journey To The Centre Of The Earth. He married former Page Three model Nina Carter, although they have since divorced. He has had a renewal of his Christian faith, which began around the time of their marriage.
Children include Adam Wakeman, Oliver Wakeman, Oscar Wakeman, Jemma Wakeman, Ben Wakeman, and Manda Wakeman, who have inherited their father's interest in music.
A passionate football fan, Wakeman has supported Brentford F.C. since he was a child, and later on he also became a director of the West London club. After a disagreement with the board, he moved on to Manchester City F.C. but never stopped loving the Bees. He was also involved in the ownership of the American soccer club Philadelphia Fury in the late '70s, along with other rock celebrities such as Peter Frampton and Paul Simon.
He is a strong supporter of the UK's Conservative Party, and performed a concert in September 2004 for the benefit of the party. The Arthur section of his King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table suite is used as the theme tune to the BBC's Election Night Coverage since 1979 (with the exception of 2001). Wakeman's album Fields of Green '97 featured the track "Election '97/Arthur", which was used by the BBC for their coverage of the 1997 General Election. The music was further revamped for the BBC's 2005 Election Night coverage.
Rick can currently be seen as a contributor on BBC Two's series, Grumpy Old Men. He has also appeared in a number of episodes of Countdown; about twenty per year, according to Wakeman. He currently (2008) presents a weekly Saturday morning programme, "Rick's Place", on Planet Rock. He has also appeared on the satirical panel show Have I Got News For You as a guest.
Rick appeared as himself in "Journey to the Centre of Rick Wakeman", the last episode of season two of Mitch Benn's Crimes Against Music, a BBC Radio 4 comedy programme. The episode detailed a fictional war between England and Wales in 2009 which only Rick could stop. The majority of the episode was set inside Rick where Mitch and his team are sent to rouse him from a coma and thus stop the war.
In December 2006, Rick was the guest host for an episode of The Personality Test, a BBC Radio 4 programme where the panel stay the same and the host changes each week. The questions set in the programme are all about the host. Rick set a challenge for a new concept album idea, and the comedian Will Smith suggested "Spiders and Other Invertebrates". Rick said he liked that idea so much, he would include a track of his next album called "Spiders and Other Invertebrates", and would include a sleeve credit to Will. Will responded by saying that Rick had "...just made my life".
Rick has been president of the show business charity The Heritage Foundation (formerly Comic Heritage) for the past two years. The charity erects blue plaques on the homes and/or work-places of late entertainers and sportspeople. He is also Honorary President of the Classic Rock Society, a UK-based organisation helping to promote classic and progressive rock. In October 2007 Rick commenced a new tour 'Rick Wakeman's Grumpy Old Picture Show', where Rick accompanies video performers such as Gordon Giltrap and the English Rock Ensemble.
He also appeared on Top Gear and got a lap time of 1.55.26.
In December 2006 and 2007, Rick was the celebrity who turned on the Christmas lights in Diss, Norfolk, a town close to his home.
On 25 June 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Wakeman among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire. In September and October 2019, Wakeman embarked on his first solo American tour in 13 years, playing piano shows. Wakeman's Christmas-themed piano album, Christmas Portraits, was released in November 2019.
In January 2020, Wakeman started recording a new progressive rock album which was set for release in March. The album's title was revealed as The Red Planet and, according to Wakeman, harks back to albums such as The Six Wives of Henry VIII and Criminal Record; it was due for release on 3 April 2020 and features the English Rock Ensemble. It was delayed again to be released "nearer to June realistically", due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
The Meeting
Rick Wakeman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A dream will call and raise it's head in majesty
Dividing all my energy
To the meeting of Your love
Where from whence it came
Like a singer searching for a song
I try to reach where You belong
I will be Your servant child
No, oh no
I cannot be deceived
No, oh no
There's something that I feel
There's something that I feel inside
Surely I could tell
If you ask me, Lord
To board the train
My life, my love would be the same
As I could be the one for You
In the meeting of Your love
In the meeting of Your love
The opening lyrics of Rick Wakeman's song, The Meeting, depict a realization of a dream that is to occur that night. This dream is symbolized as a majestic and powerful entity that will consume all of the dreamer's energy, leading him to a life-changing meeting with love. The energy is symbolic of the passion and dedication that the dreamer has to offer to love, indicating the magnitude of the meeting. The dreamer expresses a strong desire to reach love and to become the song of love, to be a servant of love. The dreamer believes in his path toward love and is determined not to be deceived, thereby genuinely willing to give love his all.
This song speaks to a deeply spiritual experience; it is about the profound connection that can be made between oneself and the divine. It portrays a sense of seeking and searching for a greater, more meaningful connection to something that transcends our everyday lives. The Meeting is about the ultimate, elusive goal that a spiritual seeker seeks in their journey. It is about experiencing love as a force that unites all creation and transforms our existence.
Line by Line Meaning
Surely I could tell when I sleep tonight
I know deep within that tonight, in my dreams, a powerful vision will emerge
A dream will call and raise it's head in majesty
This dream will be a grand spectacle, commanding my full attention
Dividing all my energy
It will consume me completely, leaving no room for other thoughts or emotions
To the meeting of Your love
This dream will take me to a place where I can experience Your love in a profound way
Where from whence it came
I wonder where this dream comes from, what its source is
Like a singer searching for a song
I am searching for something that resonates with my soul, like a musician searching for the perfect melody
I try to reach where You belong
I am striving to connect with You, to find my place in Your divine plan
As I will be the song for You
I offer myself to You, to be an instrument of Your will
I will be Your servant child
I humbly submit myself to You, ready to receive Your guidance and direction
No, oh no
I am certain, without a doubt
I cannot be deceived
I am aware of the tricks and illusions that can mislead me, and I will not fall for them
There's something that I feel
I sense a powerful force, a deep emotion that guides me
There's something that I feel inside
This feeling comes from within, from the depths of my soul
Surely I could tell
I know this feeling so intimately, I can recognize it at any moment
If you ask me, Lord
If You call upon me, if You need me
To board the train
To embark on a journey, to take action and follow Your lead
My life, my love would be the same
I will give my all to You, regardless of the cost or the outcome
As I could be the one for You
I am willing to be Your chosen one, Your faithful servant
In the meeting of Your love
In this sacred gathering, where I can be fully immersed in Your love and grace
In the meeting of Your love
Where I can experience the fullness of Your love and be transformed by it
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: WILLIAM SCOTT BRUFORD, RICK WAKEMAN, JON ANDERSON, STEVE JAMES HOWE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Mary_Not_Contrary
Surely I could tell
When I sleep tonight
A dream will call
And raise it's head in majesty
Dividing all my energy
To the meeting of your love
Where from whence it came
Like a singer searching for a song
I try to reach where you belong
As I will be the song for you
I will be your servant child
No, oh no
I cannot be deceived
No, oh no
There's something
That I feel
There's something that I feel inside
Surely I could tell
If you ask me Lord
To board the train
My life my love would be the same
As I will be the one for you
In the meeting of your love
In the meeting of your love 🤍🕊
@Jagermeister058
In a million years we will still listen to this.
@jan-martinulvag1953
No dreams are not reality, neither is fantasy. Every morning when Jon wakes up he does not feel good about life. At all. Then he slowly makes his way into his fantasy/unreality. Why did he stop working with Vangelis? Vangelis is a very sad old man. Only people that dont understand can please these two men. And not very long. Silence is the enemy of Jon. He Has to talk all the time. (lie)
@patrickmurphy1803
GROW UP
@ActivateMission2ThisTimeline
When I pass on this song will be played to honor my wife.
@patrickcostello4146
Such
a beautiful thought! This song remind me of angels.
@leonardopinto3021
A dear friend of mine, many years ago said that the music of YES was sublime,he was right,now he is with the angels listening to this wonderful music.Greeting from ITALY.
@trepichejr
i hear this song since i was a child in 1989, is beautiful, is very important to me, thanks Anderson, thanks Wakeman, this album abwh is wonderful
@MamaEof4
We used this song when we got married in 1991 when I walked down the Isle! It still brings me to tears still!
@overtimefreak2685
Thousands of pianists on this planet, but only one is able to play such fantastic music: Rick Wakeman, Anderson sings like a god....so many memories when I hear his voice! So much records he did make better!
@anatoliyzhalnin8393
Banks and Moraz can