Rick the man

I HAVE written about classically trained keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman before. His career with progressive rock band Yes was a wonder to behold, their album “Close to the Edge” being my favourite. He never does anything by halves.

To put on a live performance of his album “Journey to the Centre of the Earth” at the Royal Festival

Hall, London, in 1974, he employed the London Symphony Orchestra, the English Chamber Choir, and as narrator David Hemmings.

In the process he damned near bankrupted himself. The music came first, but there is more to him than that. A literal giant of a man, his sense of humour matches his height. No wonder he had us in stitches on TV’s “Grumpy Old Men”.

His earlier career with The Strawbs says it all. Their hit “Part of the Union” was adopted by the striking trade unions of the 1970s as their anthem.

Rick told me that the song was actually a piss-take! They never got the joke. No wonder then, that the last time I saw him was at a Conservative Party conference. There is more to this man than meets the eye. He is an avid student of history and politics. What’s more, he is a kind and generous man. Rock on Rick!