We may know him best as the ultimate progressive rock keyboard maestro, celebrated guzzler of curries, fearless wearer of capes and perennially grumpy bon viveur, but even a figure as deservedly legendary as Rick Wakeman had to start somewhere. Five decades on from first finding fame and fortune as a member of Yes, Rick can look back on his glittering career with a real sense of satisfaction – but never let it be said that the great man didn’t earn his stripes and pay his dues prior to scaling the sequinned ladder to stardom.
For several years, starting when he was still a snotty but precociously talented schoolboy, our hero slaved away over a hot Hammond organ, making a humble crust as a professional session musician, performing on an ear-watering selection of notable – and not so notable – recordings, and enjoying what he describes today as “the best possible apprenticeship”, steadily earning himself a formidable reputation as the premier ivory-tinkler of the late 60s and early 70s.
