Rick Wakeman

My life revolves around music and always will. I need to be a part of music and not an observer.

The studio is not the place to write. You need to be 75% ready when you go into the studio, and then the music can develop to the next stage.

My earliest professional musical experiences were really as a session player, and every day was an adventure. Three sessions a day, every day, and you never knew who you would be working with until you arrived at the studio.

I was born in 1949 – which seems like a long time ago… Actually, it is a long time ago, when I think about it.

Coming back to Yes is like never having left. Even when I have not been in the band, I have always felt part of it.

People like Frank Zappa were amazing for us Brits.

My faith is very private to me. It plays an important part in my life, but I do not try and throw my beliefs at others. I have tremendous respect for all faiths and beliefs, but have a deep concern that religion and faith are currently a long way apart from each other.

When I die, I’ll probably climb out of the coffin and play the organ at my own funeral!

I always say that it’s about breaking the rules. But the secret of breaking rules in a way that works is understanding what the rules are in the first place.

Even the two times that I left, I never really felt like I left the band. It’s very bizarre. It’s like there’s sort of an umbilical cord that stretches between us spiritually.

But I’d play on everything from pop records to a lot of the glam stuff to rock stuff to classical stuff. I used to get called to do all those things, it was great.

I like Toronto a lot, it’s a good city. The only thing that really annoys me about Toronto is that you’re turning Maple Leaf Gardens into a grocery store, which is absolutely nothing short of disgusting.

As a songwriter, I was influenced by David Bowie – a great writer. A class above everybody in so many ways. Lennon and McCartney, of course. Class stuff. David Cousins was my favorite lyricist.

Country and western is the music of the devil. That’s the real truth of the matter. My late Mother, bless her, loved country and western. God, I couldn’t handle it.

Actually, I only left twice. I left then, and then rejoined literally two years later for Going For The One.

I read numerous books – loads in fact – and, as I always do when recording a historical project, immersed myself into the subject matter. I spent many hours at Henry’s old homes, such as Hampton Court, and visiting the Tower of London. I read no other books during that period.

I’ve been married three times and divorced three times.

But I listen to live recordings of things that I did back in the ’70s and then how I’ve done things since. And there’s no doubt about it: if I compare the two, it’s like chalk and cheese.

I’m always writing or playing because that is my life.