RICK WAKEMAN
VENUE CADOGAN HALL, LONDON
DATE 20/12/2024
For good or for ill, the classically trained Rick Wakeman will forever be known for his keyboard work with prog pioneers Yes at the height of their planet-straddling powers and the pomp –though his detractors would doubtless call it pomposity –of his mid-70s solo releases inspired by history, literature and folklore. But lest we forget, he’s also a composer, collaborator and session musician, whose fingerprints are indelibly stamped across a variety of classic hits well beyond the prog milieu for which he’s most celebrated. To another generation entirely, he’s the grumpiest of old men whose largely comedic incredulity at modern life was broadcast into the living rooms of the nation when scheduled programming was still a thing. And tonight, on the final night of a seasonal 19-date tour, he combines all of these elements for his annual Yuletide celebration.