RICK WAKEMAN Announces Live At The London Palladium 2023 4CD Compilation

7th December 2023 0 By Jon Deaux

In February 2023, Rick Wakeman CBE performed two sell-out concerts at the London Palladium which celebrated his most acclaimed work as a solo artist and as a member of YES. A year on, he releases ‘Live at the London Palladium 2023’ on his label Fragile Records, in partnership with Esoteric Recordings – an impressive 4CD set, which features the concerts in their entirety.

The five years from 1971 to 1975 were an incredibly creative half-decade for composer/keyboard player Rick Wakeman. During that time, he not only helped YES, the most successful progressive band of all time, create some of their best-known classic albums, but he also wrote and recorded three solo albums, which each achieved multi-platinum sales and set a trailblazing standard for future concept albums to follow.

For his 2023 concerts, he revisited those golden years, unveiling new arrangements of some of his most iconic back catalogue adapted for band and choir, including the premiere of ‘The YES Suite’, a Wakeman-penned medley featuring instantly recognizable themes taken from YES music. Alongside Rick, centre-stage behind his trademark giant keyboard rig, he was accompanied by his long-standing band, the English Rock Ensemble – featuring Dave Colquhoun (guitars and backing vocals), Adam Falkner (drums), Lee Pomeroy (bass and backing vocals), Hayley Sanderson (vocals) and Adam Wakeman (keyboard, guitars and backing vocals) – and the English Chamber Choir, conducted by Guy Protheroe, with recorded narration by famous actors Peter Egan and Ian Lavender.

Recordings of these magical one-off concerts are now available on CD as follows:

Disc 1: The Six Wives of Henry VIII

Disc 2: The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

Disc 3: Classic YES

Disc 4: Journey to the Centre of the Earth

Click here for full tracklisting

A memento of two unique and magical nights, this box set features fresh interpretations of Rick’s back catalogue that have never before been released on record in this form, and is both a wonderful souvenir for long-term fans and an outstanding introduction to a groundbreaking musician’s repertoire for new ones.

RICK WAKEMAN takes his band on the road for an evening of classic prog rock in February 2024.

The tour will start in Glasgow on 15 February 2024 and then visit Liverpool, Manchester, Brighton, Birmingham, York, Gateshead and London before concluding in Bristol on 28 February. The two-part show will consist of Rick’s new arrangements of Classic YES material for band and vocalists, followed after the interval by his much-loved epic Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

February 2024