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" 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. "
Rick Wakeman
Understanding
Place
Say
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" There are people who think the film 'This Is Spinal Tap' is simply a very funny 'mockumentary.' Well, with Yes, we lived it. Take the hilarious scene in the film in which the bass player is trapped in a giant pod - that actually happened to Alan one night. "
Rick Wakeman
Funny
Night
People
" Sparks is a sporting charity that puts on golf tournaments for sick children, and my animal charities include Oldham Cats and Feline Care, a big cat charity close to me in Norfolk. I'm also a Freemason and the money they raise for charity is phenomenal. "
Rick Wakeman
Children
Me
Money
" There's a fine line between angry and grumpy. Angry isn't nice, but grumpy is funny. "
Rick Wakeman
Angry
Nice
Line
" I had just left Yes and had done a concert at Crystal Palace, South London, with a choir and orchestra playing my solo album 'Journey To The Centre Of The Earth' when I had my heart attack. That day, I hadn't been to bed for four days. I don't remember much. I felt very numb during the day and airy, which is the best way to describe it. "
Rick Wakeman
Best
Heart
Journey
" 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. "
Rick Wakeman
Us
Band
Never
" 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. "
Rick Wakeman
Cheese
Back
Done
" I was born in 1949 - which seems like a long time ago... Actually, it is a long time ago, when I think about it. "
Rick Wakeman
Long Time
Born
Like
" I've been married three times and divorced three times. "
Rick Wakeman
Married
Times
Been
" 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. "
Rick Wakeman
Back
Always
Like
" I bought a racehorse, Tropical Saint, that belonged to the Queen Mother. I used to go down to Banbury and watch him train, but during a televised race, his jockey pulled up and said there was something wrong. They put him in the grass to try and settle him but found him dead in the field. "
Rick Wakeman
Race
Train
Queen
" Liszt was a bit of a rock and roller at heart, but he was a bit of a puritan on his sounds. "
Rick Wakeman
Rock
Heart
Sounds
" I've got an overactive brain. I enjoy work, I enjoy life, and I'm not good at relaxing. I've also never slept very much due to this overactive imagination and my brain constantly thinking. "
Rick Wakeman
Good
Brain
Enjoy Life
" I had joined Yes in 1971. I was a classically trained musician who had worked with numerous artists as a session musician. I played on David Bowie's 'Life On Mars,' Cat Stevens's 'Morning Has Broken' and even on some Des O'Connor records, though I kept that quiet. "
Rick Wakeman
Cat
Broken
Life
" I joined Yes in July 1971. I had heard Yes live, as Strawbs had supported them at a gig in Hull. I thought they were amazing - incredibly different. "
Rick Wakeman
Live
Thought
Different
" People like Frank Zappa were amazing for us Brits. "
Rick Wakeman
Frank
Were
Amazing
" I would have loved to record with Paul McCartney on some of his early solo recordings, wonderful music. Playing some lovely organ, perhaps. I would have loved to record with John Lennon. He was a dear friend. I had lunch with him just two days before he died. "
Rick Wakeman
Two
Early
Friend
" 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. "
Rick Wakeman
London
Project
Myself
" My life revolves around music and always will. I need to be a part of music and not an observer. "
Rick Wakeman
Need
Will
Always
" People always said that I hated punk, and that really wasn't true. It was glossed over for many years that I was the guy who found the Tubes and signed them to A&M. English punk was a revolution. "
Rick Wakeman
True
Said
Revolution
" 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. "
Rick Wakeman
Professional
Three
You
" To play music, you have to understand it. I didn't understand 'Topographic Oceans.' That's why I hardly played on it. It frustrated me no end - and playing the whole thing on tour, I got farther and farther away from it. "
Rick Wakeman
Music
You
Play
" Apparently I'm well-known for my stories, my raconteur tales, that sort of thing. "
Rick Wakeman
Well-Known
Thing
Tales
" I am a Yes fan, ultimately. I've been a member of the band, but I was always a fan of the band first. "
Rick Wakeman
Yes
Always
Fan
" 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. "
Rick Wakeman
Great
Writer
Cousins
" There must be something wrong with the mirrors in our house because every single one I gaze into makes me appear somewhat overweight. "
Rick Wakeman
Me
Wrong
Gaze
" I am a very extreme sort of character, as I don't do things by halves. "
Rick Wakeman
Am
Things
I Am
" I'm a Freemason, and we love to celebrate Burns' night: piping in the haggis, the whole lot. "
Rick Wakeman
Whole
Celebrate
Love
" 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. "
Rick Wakeman
City
You
Short
" Since the 1980s, I've been known more for my TV work, I used to host 'Live at Jongleurs' and of course 'Grumpy Old Men,' and so it's really all come from there. It's been a funny career really, there are people that know me now as a TV person, a comedian, an interviewer - I've had people genuinely gobsmacked to find out I am a musician. "
Rick Wakeman
Work
Funny
I Am
" 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. "
Rick Wakeman
Place
Music
You