Rick Wakeman Quotes (27 Quotes)


    But no, the record industry refused to embrace the idea and so what happens is, people just go ahead and do it anyway, which means there is less and less money going into the industry.

    People like Frank Zappa were amazing for us Brits.

    All my early attempts at writing helped me to slowly develop a style and a way of writing that worked within the way I was developing as a player.

    Even the two times that I left, I never really felt like I left the band. It's very bizarre. It's like there's sort of an umbilical cord that stretches between us spiritually.

    My earliest professional musical experiences were really as a session player, and every day was an adventure. Three sessions a day, every day, and you never knew who you would be working with until you arrived at the studio.


    My faith is very private to me. It plays an important part in my life, but I do not try and throw my beliefs at others. I have tremendous respect for all faiths and beliefs, but have a deep concern that religion and faith are currently a long way apart from each other.

    I've been married three times and divorced three times.

    I'm always writing or playing because that is my life.

    My life revolves around music and always will. I need to be a part of music and not an observer.

    I was born in 1949 - which seems like a long time ago... Actually, it is a long time ago, when I think about it.

    I like Toronto a lot, it's a good city. The only thing that really annoys me about Toronto is that you're turning Maple Leaf Gardens into a grocery store, which is absolutely nothing short of disgusting.

    Sunday's were musical evenings, as we didn't have a television in the early fifties. My uncle Stan would come over and play the ukulele as well.

    The studio is not the place to write. You need to be 75% ready when you go into the studio, and then the music can develop to the next stage.

    I read numerous books - loads in fact - and, as I always do when recording a historical project, immersed myself into the subject matter. I spent many hours at Henry's old homes, such as Hampton Court, and visiting the Tower of London. I read no other books during that period.

    The new generation is not coming from the media, from radio airplay or whatever because we don't get it,

    Country and western is the music of the devil. That's the real truth of the matter. My late Mother, bless her, loved country and western. God, I couldn't handle it.

    He calls up regularly to find out what pieces I'm going to play so he can bring the right legs. You couldn't make this stuff up.

    I'm not saying I went on stage drunk, but once you've gone completely clear headed, basically the music is your stimulant rather than anything else.

    I always say that it's about breaking the rules. But the secret of breaking rules in a way that works is understanding what the rules are in the first place.

    But I'd play on everything from pop records to a lot of the glam stuff to rock stuff to classical stuff. I used to get called to do all those things, it was great.

    I have done quite a diverse amount of music, and some were not always of my choosing - although I always give it my best professional attention.

    When I die, I'll probably climb out of the coffin and play the organ at my own funeral!

    But I listen to live recordings of things that I did back in the '70s and then how I've done things since. And there's no doubt about it: if I compare the two, it's like chalk and cheese.

    Actually, I only left twice. I left then, and then rejoined literally two years later for Going For The One.

    As a songwriter, I was influenced by David Bowie - a great writer. A class above everybody in so many ways. Lennon and McCartney, of course. Class stuff. David Cousins was my favorite lyricist.

    And the kids are going through their parents' record collections -- I say kids, but really it's everything from the age of 12 up to 20s -- and a lot of them are coming along, and they don't have the ageism thing that a lot of the press do.

    Coming back to Yes is like never having left. Even when I have not been in the band, I have always felt part of it.


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