Even before he achieved worldwide fame and notoriety with prog rock legends Yes, Rick Wakeman was already rubbing shoulders with the soon-to-be rich and famous thanks to his job as in-house keyboard player at Trident Studios in central London. Before long he passed through folk proggers the Strawbs and was playing massive arenas with Yes. He also hit the headlines for his excessive solo shows in the 70s, not least his grand attempt to present his 1975 solo album The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table on ice at Wembley Arena! Along the way there was his well-documented battle with booze which ended in the mid-80s, since when he’s performed with Yes and as a solo artist, as well as becoming something of a media celebrity in his own right. And, as Classic Rock discovered when we sat down with him in 2010 to talk about his encounters with the great and the good of music and beon, not only is he great mates with Sooty, but he’s also been given the, er, brush-off by foul-mouthed fox Basil Brush.
