Most older music fans will know keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman from his many years as a member of the progressive rock legends Yes. But he has gained a legion of non-music fans in more recent times for his appearances on the BBC comedy series, Grumpy Old Men, and the Channel Four game show, Countdown.
“Some of the people who knew me from the television shows didn’t quite know what to expect when they came to my concerts,” smiled 67-year-old Rick. “I think many of them expected to hear the type of anecdotes and stories I’ve told on TV rather than see a rock concert.”
Rick’s recordings have been many and varied in a career stretching back to 1970 when he joined progressive folk rockers The Strawbs. He had actually trained as a classical musician with the intention of becoming a concert pianist. But he quit his studies at London’s Royal College of Music in 1969 to work as a session musician.
“I earned good money playing on songs by all kinds of artists. I played the mellotron on David Bowie’s Space Oddity and was on tracks by everyone from Elton John to T. Rex. In fact, I was on Countdown a few years ago when Des O’Connor was presenting the show and reminded him that I’d played on some of his songs.”
In many ways, it was amazing that Rick survived his early years in the business. His photograph could have accompanied any written definition of the rock and roll lifestyle. A heavy smoker and drinker, he suffered three heart attacks while in his twenties. He also contracted both cirrhosis of the liver and alcoholic hepatitis.
“I was my own worst enemy. I quit smoking and drinking but the damage I’d done to my body meant I’ve never really enjoyed the best of health. At one point, I got double pneumonia and pleurisy and was given just 24 hours to live. But I’m still here trying to live as healthily as I can which is particularly important because I was diagnosed as diabetic last year.”
The course of his career played a significant part in the UK top ten success of Rick’s latest solo album, Piano Portraits. Despite selling well over 50 million albums, Piano Portraits is Rick’s highest-charting LP since 1975’s The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and his first chart entry since 1999’s Return to the Centre of the Earth.
“The idea behind Piano Portraits came about after David Bowie’s death last year. I did a piano rendition of his song Life on Mars? for a tribute show on BBC Radio 2
“I’d played keyboards on the original recording so I just felt like it was a fitting tribute from me. The public reaction was so positive that I re-recorded it, along with two other tracks, and released it through Spotify with all proceeds going to the wonderful Macmillan Cancer Support charity.”
Rick decided to take things a step further for his album.
“I’d wanted to do a purely piano album for years. The public response to Life on Mars? made me decide this was the right time. I spent quite a while working out which songs I should include. My first thought was songs I’d played on like Life on Mars? But I thought this would be too restrictive. Instead, I widened the idea to include pop and classical pieces which provoke a strong memory or emotion for me.”
The end result is an eclectic mix of 15 tracks ranging from two Beatles songs, Help! and Eleanor Rigby, through Led Zeppelin’s Stairway To Heaven to classical works such as Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and Debussy’s Clair de Lune.
“I’m so proud of the album and absolutely delighted by the public reaction. I hadn’t expected it to translate into so many sales but I’m genuinely delighted to be back in the charts. I love the television work I do and thoroughly enjoy telling my stories. But I’m first and foremost a musician so it’s nice to now be known for having a big hit album.”
Rick is also performing again with his old Yes bandmates, Jon Anderson and Trevor Rabin, as ARW.
“We also have Lee Pomeroy on bass and Louis Molino on drums. We play songs from the various eras of Yes. We started the tour in North America late last year. That was enormously successful and we’ve got more shows scheduled in Europe and Asia during March and April. I love playing the concerts. It makes me feel like a rock star again.”


in 
brief


Conor Oberst


American singer / songwriter Conor Oberst released his seventh studio album, Ruminations, last October. Written and recorded during the winter of 2015 into 2016 at his home in Omaha, Nebraska, all ten tracks are acoustic songs featuring Conor with a guitar, piano and harmonica.
At the time, he felt it was right to present the songs in their raw and simple state. But the passing of time has seen Conor have a change of heart or at least made him feel his fans might like to hear a different interpretation of each song. So it is that a full band version of every track on Ruminations features on Conor’s forthcoming album, Salutations.
Scheduled for release on March 17, the new album is described as a companion piece to Ruminations. In addition to the new versions of the old songs, Salutations also includes seven additional tracks. Some of these were written at the same time as the songs which were used on Ruminations while others were written and recorded last October at the Five Star Studios in Los Angeles.
Lead single, A Little Uncanny, is available now. One of the acoustic songs now given the full band treatment, the accompanying video can be seen at  www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eJCyJ8vhJM
For those who prefer the original recording, Ruminations can be heard in full at www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDJi3RU5mUE&list=PLhXnMQ4RYBoYcPjZjNqSEL828IMz_GKx9


Spoon


American indie-rock quintet Spoon have enjoyed enormous chart success with their last three albums.
Their breakthrough came in 2005 when the band’s fifth studio album, Gimme Fiction, peaked at number 44 on the Billboard 200. Building on this new fan base saw Spoon reach number ten with 2007’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga and peak at number four with both 2010’s Transference and 2014’s They Want My Soul.
The band return on March 17 with their ninth album, Hot Thoughts. One of the ten tracks, I Ain’t The One, has already been heard on the soundtrack of the TV series, Shameless.
But it is the album title-track which has been selected as the lead single. Available now, there is as yet no accompanying video but an official audio posting of the song can be heard at www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6KFBFg5q1Y
If you enjoy their music, all of Spoon’s previous albums are posted in full on YouTube. Type ‘Spoon full album’ in the search box to gain access. Only their 1996 debut, Telephono, is not immediately revealed but this is also on the website.


Dylan Gardner


Dylan Gardner’s earliest memory was of never wanting to be anything other than a musician. 
He recorded his first song on his father’s computer at the age of 14. Suitably proud of their son’s work, his parents sent the song to their friends who, in turn, passed it on to their friends. It was eventually heard by an A&R man at Hollywood Records who emailed Dylan’s parents saying “Really good. Don’t know what to do with this but he has a future.”
“It was that ‘he has a future’ which lit the fire in me,” said Dylan, now just turned 20. “This gave me the confidence to believe I really could have a career in music.”
He self-released an EP, Morning Stories, in 2012 and his debut album, Adventures in Real Time, in 2014. The album attracted interest from major labels and saw Dylan sign with Warner Bros.
His new album, Almost Real, will soon be released. Lead single, Sign Language, is out now. There is no official music video at the moment but a lyric video is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP4ViC_ZJZw
His earlier videos can be accessed at www.youtube.com/user/OfficialDylanGardner


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