Rick Wakeman has been to Mars. Well, kinda. The veteran keyboard player recently visited the Airbus Space Facility in Stevenage to film promo videos for his latest album, Return To The Red Planet, a sequel to 2020’s critically praised The Red Planet.
“Airbus has its own [recreation of] Mars; it’s where all of the craft that go into space are tested out,” Wakeman tells Classic Rock. “I did check my British Airways air miles and there were not enough for a trip to Mars, so they kindly allowed us to go in and do some filming. I do have a very genuine interest in the subject, so it was great to spend time talking to all of the technicians and scientists there.”
He continues: “Ever since [Russian cosmonaut] Yuri Gagarin went up and back [in 1961] I’ve been fascinated with space, and I’ve got some good friends at NASA. Photographs of the Russians’ first mission were grainy, understandably, but since then technology has improved things phenomenally. And with so much new information I thought: ‘Crikey, there’s another album here’. For instance, Mars almost certainly used to be a blue planet like Earth, and where there’s water it’s pretty certain there will also be life. My pal David [Bowie] was right.”
Speaking of the Bowie, Wakeman’s nine-track Return To The Red Planet features a rather wonderful selection titled Bowie’s Vision. With its false ending and uplifting choral climax, it’s a lovely tribute to Wakeman’s old friend, some of whose albums he played on and whose 1971 hit single Life On Mars? was enhanced by a distinctive piano solo from Wakeman.
“I’m glad you like that one,” he says of Bowie’s Vision, smiling. “It’s a tongue-in-cheek story of what David did, and I love the [choral] part at the end.”
Described as a “progressive work that fuses science, imagination and musical virtuosity”, Return To The Red Planet is released on October 16 via Madfish. It was created along with Wakeman’s regular backing collective The English Rock Ensemble, featuring Mollie Marriott (daughter of late Small Faces and Humble Pie frontman Steve) on lead vocals, plus bassist Lee Pomeroy, guitarist Dave Colquhoun and drummer Adam Falkner.
Should the opportunity arise in the future, Wakeman hopes to perform both of his Mars-themed albums together in a single show, although, as he points out, it depends very much on the reaction of the public to the new record. “If it’s only bought by eight people and a dog, that won’t be anywhere enough to sell tickets for a concert,” he notes.
Wakeman has repeatedly spoken of working towards retirement, but his calendar seems to contradict that. In December he and son Oliver undertake A Hint Of Christmas, six festive dates around Britain, followed by 18 UK shows billed as Wizard Of Prog in February and March 2027.
“In October I’m doing STARMUS VIII – The Search For Truth, a big piece for piano and chamber orchestra that’s based on the lectures of [late astrophysicist and cosmologist] Stephen Hawking, which I’m really looking forward to, and also next year I’m headed off to South America,” he explains. “But I am slowing down.”
It’s all set to come to a head on Wakeman’s birthday, May 18, in 2029. “That’s when I turn… oh Crikey,” he calculates theatrically. “Is it eighty-nine? Ninety? A hundred? I dunno. No, it’ll be my ninetieth birthday. That will be the last big bang for me. I hope to go out in style at somewhere like the Royal Albert Hall with lots and lots of friends and special guests on stage. I will keep on making music, there’s still tonnes of stuff left to do, but in terms of touring that will be it. I may still do the occasional concert here and there, but I have to be sensible.”
Before he heads off to rehearse for STARMUS VIII, we have a rumour to run past him: that in September he goes to Vietnam to play piano in an open-air concert for an audience of… bears.
“It’s true,” he affirms. “I’m an ambassador for Animals Asia, which saves moon bears from the dreadful bear bile trade. They go into sanctuaries and get their lives back. The Vietnamese have now banned bear bile farming, but as part of that deal we must look after them. I came up with this silly idea to raise awareness: why don’t I go there and do a concert for the bears? Not for people, but for the actual bears. Obviously I can’t go into the cages,” he says, grinning, “but they’re building a stage and we bring along a grand piano.
“The funny thing is, for the last few months they’ve been playing them some of my piano albums, so that the bears have an idea of what to expect. When I get there they’ll probably turn around and say: ‘Oh shit, it’s him again.’”
Return To The Red Planet is released via Madfish on October 16.
