Rick Wakeman Concert - Royal Court Theatre, Bacup 16/3/2001

The end of an era. The final UK tour. Or at least that is what he says. After his messy divorce, it seems he cannot now afford to subsidise his traditional small venue gigs. What a pity, because this gig was a cracker. Different from the previous concerts of his I  have been to, but no less special.

The venue was a tiny theatre, in a small village which might have been called Royston Vasey if I had less imagination. As it turned out it was an intimate venue, full of atmosphere, but not the best acoustics in the world (a bit boxy!). A simple sparkly backdrop framed the usual electronic grand piano and medium sized keyboard rig (with immense racks and Celestion Monitor System which he as used for years).

The show started with the "The Return Overture" which saw Rick take the stage to enthusiastic applause. The intro segued into "Dance of a Thousand Lights" in which Rick displayed all of his usual brilliant dexterity. Probably one of the best tracks he has written for years and a great opener.

From then on we were treated some some great songs, many with the tenor Ramon Remedios contributing his formidable vocal talents. "Make Me A Woman" from "The Time Machine" was performed again. OK but not my cup of tea (especially as there are better vocal tracks similar to that song knocking around that would have been nice to hear), but that was the only glitch in a wonderful night.

When he started playing a compilation of bits from "No Earthly Connection" I couldn't believe it. I never expected him to play anything from that album ever again, prompting me to relisten to the album for the first time in perhaps 10 years. Ramon had a hard time singing it but Rick played out of his skin, incredible.

He then played his usual token Yes compilation of "And You And I/Wonderous Stories/The Meeting" which was as good as ever, Ramon making a commendable attempt at the vocals on the ABWH track, even though the octave drop from Anderson's range didn't really suit the song. Ramon did a really great job on "Morning As Broken" though, surely one of the best session pieces Rick ever played on.

Ramon was given the chance to show us his opera skills with a rendition of "Nessun Dorma" (albeit with a bit of trouble due to a head cold) which was nice, and Rick demonstrated his dubious operetta writing skills with his "Barber Of Wigan" epic. Only Rick can get away with lines such as "I'm The Barber of Wigan, Once I Had A little Comb (comedic Pause), But Now I've Got A Biggun!". Trouble is it was funny for the first five minutes, after fifteen I think we were all wanting something a bit more serious (and good).

Rick treated us to a great rendition of "Seahorses". The last time I saw him play this he spent the whole time looking over his shoulder in frustration at his keyboard rig while still managing to play it perfectly. Immense!
He also played "After The Ball". This was a track I hadn't heard him play for a while (since I saw him at the Halifax Piece Hall in 1985, I think), and he included the story of how it came to be written while it was actually been recorded!
 

The show came to an end with a Beatles medley, "Fool On The Hill" followed by "Eleanor Rigby" in the style of Prokofiev. As I've mentioned before "Eleanor Rigby" is perhaps my favourite Wakeman live track, and to hear it in full flight at full volume, seeing his masterful technique and unparallelled dynamism close up was the highlight of my year so far. A Genius!

The encore was a rendition of two tracks from the "1984" collaboration with Tim Rice and that was it. Two and a half hours of brilliance and comedy, 'cos you have to remember his funny stories are funny enough to warrant his own funny stand up show on the funny channel. I think we all expected another encore which explained why he didn't get a standing ovation which was a shame 'cos he deserved one. Either that or half the audience couldn't stand up without their zimmer frames!

I stuck around after the show which isn't my usual tactic, but I thought this might be the last chance to get to meet him. After a few minutes Rick turned up in the foyer and started an autograph session. He seemed really relaxed and genuinely warm and friendly towards everyone who had waited to meet him. I got my programme signed, thanked him for starting off my obsession with prog rock (Journey was the first proper album I ever bought 25 years ago) to which he replied "You're a brave man!". I took his photo and shook "the" hand! What a top bloke and a great night's entertainment. It'll be a real pity if it does turn out to be his last tour, although rumours still abound that he will return to Yes and tour with them. Fingers crossed.

(Copyright David Hopton 4 May 2001)

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