107: The one with Rick Wakeman

The words ‘legend’, ‘superstar’ and ‘world-renowned’ are over-used these days but when referring to Rick Wakeman, they are more than appropriate.

A classically trained keyboardist, Rick reached international stardom with the influential band that pioneered progressive rock: Yes. However, his real success came as a solo artist when he went on to sell more than 50 million records. As a keyboardist extraordinaire, he’s performed with Elton John, David Bowie and Cat Stevens, been an awarded a CBE, inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and appeared as a Grumpy Old Man on BBC’s programme of the same name.

When you chat with Rick, you’re never quite sure what direction the conversation is going to go. He’s intelligent, articulate, opinionated, and amusing, in fact anything but grumpy. We talk about anything and everything, from the overcrowded internet, his hatred of ‘family’ updates in Christmas cards, being impersonated online, and his love for stargazing to the subjects to ruin every good party: religion and politics!