Wizard Of Prog

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With 50 million album sales under his own name and countless millions more playing with Yes, Rick Wakeman is one of the greatest musicians of all time, who’s seen it all, done it all, and now telling all in his wild and witty era-defining autobiography.

From piano-playing child prodigy, through to classically trained keyboardist and onto his rise with Yes and as a solo artist, Rick Wakeman’s life so far has been one of very dramatic spirals, spectacular comebacks and legendary rock ‘n’ roll excess. The first of his epic concept albums, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, was released in 1973 to indifferent reviews, but was a worldwide hit, to the surprise of his record company. The following year, Journey to the Centre of the Earth was another global top ten.

He toured the world with it, taking huge orchestras and choirs, which he funded, spending every penny he’d earned. After performing at Crystal Palace, he collapsed backstage with a heart attack (aged 25). While incarcerated for weeks in hospital, he wrote his next album, The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

Ignoring doctors’ orders, he went straight out on tour, which, along with two divorces, bankrupted him, leaving him homeless and sleeping on park benches in Kensington. He lives to tell the tale, and many more like it. While Rick takes his music and creativity very seriously, he views his life as material for a sitcom.

This unmissable memoir is the story of musical genius with a taste for adventure, a delightful sense of the absurd and a winning gift for comedy. It’s the book Rick has always wanted to write, and the only unsurprising thing about it, is that it’s a hell of a read.

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