Rick Wakeman's book of anecdotes and other grumpyness

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Product Description

Around about August 1948, Mr and Mrs Cyril Wakeman had an early night and some time later, at Perivale in Middlesex, Mrs Wakeman produced a bonny baby son. They named him Richard, but he quickly became known as Rick. Rick was a likable little fellow who had a talent for the piano and for making trouble, and music became Rick's life. Later he joined a popular music group called Yes and became a legend. Much later he became a Grumpy Old Man who appears on "Countdown", hosts a hugely popular radio show on Planet Rock and performs a one-man show telling stories about his rather extraordinary life. Which is where this book you are holding comes in.Mr Wakeman is simply one of the great storytellers of our age - let's face it, he has some fabulous material. It seemed a shame that some of the funniest yarns should not be more widely known. So he accepted some cash and here we are. Curl up by the fire with a "Grumpy Old Rock Star" and your nearest and dearest. We defy you not to want to read it aloud and laugh.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15212 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

From the Back Cover
Around about September 1948, Mr and Mrs Cyril Wakeman had an early night and sometime later, at Perivale in Middlesex, Mrs Wakeman produced a bonny baby son. They named him Richard, but he quickly became known Rick.

Rick was likable little fellow who had a talent for the piano and for making trouble. At the age of nine he found inspiration through his first junior school music teacher Miss Dennis who had large breasts and for whom he quickly learned to play ‘Side Saddle’ – the Russ Conway hit. Music became Rick’s life. He attended the Royal College of Music, where he studied piano, modern music, clarinet and orchestration before which at the age of seventeen, forming a band called Curdled Milk a very clever homage to Eric Clapton’s Cream.

Later he joined a popular music group called Yes and became a legend. Much later he became a ‘Grumpy Old Man’ who appears on ‘Countdown’, hosts a hugely popular show on ‘Planet Rock’ and performs a one man show telling stories about his rather extraordinary life.

Which is where this audiobook you are holding comes in. Mr Wakeman is simply one of the great story tellers of our age – let’s face it he has some fabulous material. It seemed a shame that some of the funniest yarns should not be more widely known. So he accepted some cash and here we are.

Grumpy Old Rock Star is a collection of never-before-told stories from his amazing life. From touring in a white van in the early sixties; playing keyboards on David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’ (no really); to buying an American football team some American's with very Italian surnames; his drinking days - beer in copious amounts and port and brandy in pint glasses , (three of those a day) oh yes, plus a few bottles of wine; throwing Salvador Dali offstage because he was spoiling his piano solo; the truth behind the curry on stage episode and how he ended up with the earth from around Che Guevara’s body in his shed, given to him by his old friend and fan Fidel Castro.

Curl up by the fire with a Grumpy Old Rockstar and your nearest and dearest. We defy you not to laugh.

About the Author
Rick Wakeman is the most gifted keyboard player of his generation, as at home on stage at a rock concert as in the organ loft of a great cathedral. As keyboard player for the 70s supergroup Yes his extraordinary live tours and multimillion-selling albums are legendary. He has also appeared on Top Gear achieving a lamentable lap time of 1.55.26.

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Customer Reviews

Yes! No... Maybe...
I'm not a great reader of biography, but I was looking forward to this book as I admire Rick Wakeman both as an amazing musician and as a quirky character. This book is OK, and has a number of of interesting and amusing recollections from Rick Wakeman's career but it is rather rambling and self indulgent. Whilst it gives a sense of some of the bizarre and whacky things that have happened to him in the course of his musical career I was hoping for something a bit more interesting than in depth details of his drinking habits which seemed to feature on every other page... Having said that some of the recollections were so funny that I did laugh out loud and have to read them to my husband. So, if you're a complete Rick Wakeman fan you may enjoy this enough to make forking out the cash worthwhile, but be warned, it is only a collection of stories and not a decent biography.

More for the retirement fund ?
I liked this book. Anyone looking for a biography will be disappointed as it is simply a collection of remeinisisances from his colourful past.

It is a little disjointed, but this is catered for in the text and actually says so. Having seen a large number of his shows, this was the book I was waiting for. I found it a very easy and comfortable read, and find it easy to dip back into now and again, something I rarely do with other books. Respect to his co-writer. I look forward to another installment.

For those thinking of possible duplications with his "grumpy" dvd, there arn't any as his DVD has other stories. For more of the same, I would recommend his "Live in 2000" dvd.

Avoid the "Other side of Rick Wakeman" dvd though. Its, shall we be kind here,... Poor.

Good, but over too soon
If you are thinking of buying this because you want to hear ricks life story then your wasting your cash.

This book is a collection of short stories from his life in music from about the age of 14.
The only moan i have is that its a bit short, i did the complete book in two evenings and im not what you would call a fast reader.

But with chaptor titles like "The tin bath tecnique and the small hours hooker" or "i've got che guevara in the shed" its well worth the read. If nothing else you will find a new use for a breeze block and a hotel towel.