ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
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'Rick Wakeman's Grumpy Old Picture Show'
Despite the title of his new DVD, this rock keyboard legend really isn't that grumpy at all
By Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST MinistriesLAKE FOREST, CA (ANS) -- It was back in 1969 when I was a young reporter on the Middlesex County Times in Ealing, West London, when I first met a young musician called Rick Wakeman.
Norma and Dan Wooding (holding a copy of The Caped Crusader) with Rick towering above them
My editor, Bert Munday, had asked me to become the paper's South Ealing reporter and "go out and see if you can find any stories in this area."
My first day on the job, I went to the BBC's Ealing film studios on South Ealing Road and was given my first story. A BBC spokesperson told me that they were about to launch a new series called "Monty Python's Flying Circus" and I could do a story about it. It turned out to be what I believe was the first story in print about this crazy bunch and soon I was going out regularly with them as they filmed their antics in the streets of Ealing.
Flushed with success, I then went to a series of stores on the South Ealing Road, but no other stories were forthcoming. until I finally ended up at the Musical Bargain Centre, which sold second-hand musical instruments.
When I entered, I heard someone playing keyboards in such an extraordinary way, so I asked the manager -- known affectionally as "Uncle Ernie" -- who he was. He told me it was a teenager called Rick Wakeman and he regularly came in to practice and was often joined by John Entwistle, the bass player with the Who, though John was not there that day.
He called Wakeman to come out and give me an interview and then I discovered that he was helping to pay his college fees by doing sessions. "I've just played keyboards and arranged 'Morning Has Broken' for Cat Stevens and played mellatron for David Bowie's 'Space Oddity,'" he told me.
After the story appeared, Rick invited me to his home in Northolt and shared with me that he was a Christian and was a Sunday School teacher at the local South Harrow Baptist church where he had been baptized.
We have been friends ever since and I later had the rare privilege of writing Rick Wakeman's official biography called Rick Wakeman - the Caped Crusader which carried a foreword from Elton John. It is now out of print, but copies are available (at high prices) at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb
_ss_gw/002-4410825-6071247?url .=search-alias%3Daps&field -keywords=Rick+Wakeman+-+the +Caped+Crusader
Over those early years, I watched Rick's astonishing career blossom as he joined The Strawbs and then YES, and became fabulously rich. At one time he owned 22 cars including eight Rolls Royce's.
Rick Wakeman with his amazing car collection
I also watched with dismay the way alcohol took over his life and the shock when he suffered several heart attacks in his twenties.
After getting the message from "above" that his life would not last much longer if he continued with this lifestyle, Rick thankfully came off the booze and made a re-commitment to his earlier Christian faith.
His iconic career with YES and as a solo performer has drawn sell-out crowds around the world and after Norma and I moved to Southern California in 1982, Rick came over from Britain to do several benefit concerts for ASSIST where, like all those who attended, I marveled at his talent.
New DVD
Cover of the new DVD
Now, I have just watched with Norma a new DVD release called "Rick Wakeman's Grumpy Old Picture Show" recorded "Live on Tour" and directed by Robert Garofalo for Classic Studio T based at Shepperton Film Studios in the UK. This DVD sees Rick reprise his very popular role from the BBC Hit Series, "Grumpy Old Men," in a hilarious one-man show.
The iconic rock legend identifies with the masses, as he moans and rants his way through the frustrations and irritations of modern life. Delivered in a highly amusing fashion, Wakeman creates a riotous pastiche of his extraordinary life and escapades, which every self-confessed "grump" will chortle in relation to.
The show includes on screen clips projected behind him which included his daughter who joins her dad in a fabulous version of "Amazing Grace." He also is has performance collaborations with Gordon Giltrap, Chris Blakey, The English Rock Ensemble and the English Chamber Choir.
Highlights for me and my wife were his amazing version of "Eleanor Rigby" which he arranged as if it had been composed by Prokofiev and hymns like "There is a Green Hill Far Way" and "The Day Thou Gaveth, Lord, Hath Ended."
Rick Wakeman plays the minimoog wearing one of his famous capes
The 143 minute DVD is a truly unique show, but a warning for the faint a heart. Rick has still retained his Benny Hill-like humor and some might not like it.
But still, the music more than makes up for some of his near-the-knuckle stories and for YES fans, he brings the house down near the end with his incredible performance of "Starship Trooper" on the minimoog.
If I had half the musical talent of Mr. Wakeman, I certainly wouldn't be grumpy at all. And, to think of it Rick, in real life, is far from a grumpy old man. He's a delightful friend and encourager to Norma and myself, even after all these years. Thank you my friend for your friendship which has lasted nearly 40 years!
For more information on Classic media Group, go to www.classic-media-group.com and for Rick Wakeman, go to www.rwcc.com.
Dan Wooding, 67, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma of 44 years. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS). He was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. Wooding is the author of some 42 books, the latest of which is his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, go to www.fromtabloidtotruth.com. danjuma1@aol.com.
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