Oliver Wakeman Latest News

22 Mar 2024

It's finally available to pre-order!

The new studio album "Anam Cara" is now available to pre-order from Burning Shed and Cherry Red. 

Housed in a wonderful digipack adorned with Anne Sudworth's wonderful artwork, the album features some of the finest musicians Oliver has had the honour of working with, including Hayley Griffits (Riveerdance), Troy Donockley (Nightwish), Oliver Day (Fragile), David Mark Pearce (Munroe's Thunder/OWB) and Scott Higham (Pendragon)

These 10 new songs are amongst the most emoptic pieces Oliver has written. The promo video can be seen here and you can pre-order here

Press Release 

Oliver Wakeman has the honour of being one of the few musicians to have performed and recorded with some of Prog Rock’s most respected musicians.   

Having been a member of both YES and The Strawbs, he has toured a large part of the planet and has appeared on over 60 albums throughout his career.   

The last few years have seen him re-release a great number of albums from his back catalogue including 2019’s YES album ‘From A Page’, his musical collaborations with Clive Nolan and 2013’s award winning Raven’s and Lullabies album with Gordon Giltrap.  

However, 2023 saw him return to the studio with a collection of talented musicians to record his new album ‘Anam Cara’ which is due for release in 2024.  The album features a stellar collection of musician including Hayley Griffiths (Riverdance) - vocals, Troy Donocley (Nightwish) - whistles and pipes, Oliver Day (Fragile) - acoustic guitars, lute and mandolin, Scott Higham (ex-Pendragon) - Drums and Percussion, David Mark Pearce (Munroe’s Thunder) - Electric Guitar, Robert McClung (Telergy) - Violin, Steve Amadeo (Aynsley Lister Band) - Bass and Mick Allport - Sax & Clarinet all alongside Oliver’s trademark keyboard and piano skills.  

Oliver’s love for making every album he writes different to the preceding one, continues with this release. A blend of Celtic Rock and progressive tendencies, the album features beautiful ballads, atmospheric rock songs along with epic tracks featuring a multitude of musical styles weaving their way through stories beautifully delivered by Hayley’s haunting vocals.  

The origins of the ‘Anam Cara’ album begin prior to Oliver joining YES, however due to the pressures of touring and recording it was put on the back burner and the collection of song snippets and ideas were put aside for the right moment for Oliver to develop them and bring them to life. This started in 2023 with new music being written throughout the year with recording taking place in various studios in the UK and the US.  

Mixed by Karl Groom (Threshold) and recorded in part by John Mitchell (It Bites/Frost) the album is packaged with Artwork by the world renowned Artist Anne Sudworth.    

Oliver "Anam Cara refers to the Celtic concept of a Soul Friend. This seemed to fit perfectly with the songs I have written for the album, all of which are short stories from the romantic “Miss You Now” to the prog rock spy story epic “Marble Arch”. Not only did the album allow my imagination to run riot, it was also a perfect excuse to be able to call upon some of the finest musicians around to help realise my vision for the album. They have all truly become ‘Soul Friends’"

21 Mar 2024

“We should do this again” said Rick Wakeman as he, his son Oliver, Gordon Giltrap and Carrie Martin took to the stage to thunderous applause at the conclusion of last year's charity concert “The ‘Other’ Coronation Concert”.

Featuring sets from all four artists, the evening was a beautiful mix of music, stories and laughter.

True to his word, Rick has agreed to perform again along with Oliver, Gordon and Carrie.

Last year's concert was a very special occasion and sold out within a few weeks, raising a tremendous amount of money for two local schools - hopefully this year we will be able to do the same, this time raising money for Milestone School and The Roses Theatre itself. So, take your seats and prepare for another evening of breathtaking virtuosity, great stories and beautiful songs.

This time around, the artists will perform their own set of material from their retrospective careers, with occasional appearances in each others' sets throughout the show to create a truly unique one-off concert. 

One not to be missed!

Tickets available from https://www.rosestheatre.org/book/instance/301201

7 Oct 2023

To read an overview and update on the new album please visit the blogs page

27 Sept 2023

You can view the video on Oliver's YouTube channel

A video in which Oliver talks about the new John Wetton book "An Extraordinary Life" which is available now from Rocket88 Books at https://johnwettonbook.com/ 

Oliver and John toured together back in 2009 and some of the stories are recounted in this video as a taster for the wonderful stories which his friends and musician colleagues have contributed to this book.

16 Aug 2023

John Wetton An Extraordinary Life features stories and tributes from more than seventy people who knew and worked with John – among them Oliver Wakeman and former bandmates in Family, King Crimson, Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash, Roxy Music, U.K., Asia, the John Wetton solo band, and more.

1 Jun 2023

I have written up a short story about the wonderful charity concert which was held on the 6th May and featured Dad, Gordon Giltrap, myself and Carrie Martin. It can be found in the blogs section of the website (or by clicking on this bit!)

19 May 2023

The music of Yes indelibly shaped the original sound of progressive rock. But the true tale of this landmark band goes well beyond headline-making albums like Fragile and Close to the Edge. In this book, Kevin Mulryne tells the absorbing story of the final Yes album of the 1970s, Tormato, uncovering myriad fascinating twists and turns for the first time.

Featuring a foreward by Oliver and available from the Burning Shed shop

28 Apr 2023

Evergreen manages to be Carrie’s most eclectic and varied collection yet, featuring tracks ranging from the delicate folk of ‘Lost In The Right Time’, through the soul-blues of ‘Deep Blue Heaven’ and the poppier ‘Girl With A Feather’, all the way to the prog-rock influences displayed on the ambitious eight-minute ‘Keep In The Light’. Oliver appears on two tracks.

Available from Psychotron Records 

11 Mar 2023

The latest winter offering - a single track CD of an original piece of music co-written by Pete Coleman and Tony Clarkin, with Matthews' lyrics inspired by a quote from Kenneth Grahame's classic tale The Wind in the Willows:

"Beyond the Wild Wood comes the Wide World," said the Rat. "And that's something that doesn't matter, either to you or to me."

Despite the warning, Mole resolves to enter the Wild Wood, intent upon making the acquaintance of one particular inhabitant, Mr Badger.  His cheer and exhilaration of exploration however is short-lived.  For the Wild Wood is not just a place, but a state of mind! As dusk advances the psychological terror begins: faces loom, hard-eyes pierce, shrill whistling, chasing, pattering footsteps!  Could there be anything worse - the Wide World perhaps?

Tony Clarkin (Magnum) - Composer/Guitar

Pete Coleman - Composer/Multi-instrumentalist

Bob Catley (Magnum/Avantasia) - Vocals

Charlotte Dickerson - Vocals

Oliver Wakeman (Yes) - Keyboards

Roberto Vitelli - Bass

Clare Hines - Electro Hurdy Gurdy

Rodney Matthews - Drums

Available from the Rodney Matthews website!

24 Feb 2023

I have finally finished my review of 2022 which contains information about the work I have was involved in during the year! Please read it in full here...

15 Nov 2022

So where to start with an update on the new album. Well even though over the last 4 years I have released the box sets Collaborations, From a Page and Tales by Gaslight which included the new records Dark Fables and From a Stage (plus over 150 sessions!) it could be perceived that I haven’t released a ‘new’ album since Ravens & Lullabies in 2013.

So I have been determined to get a new record out for 2023. I currently have about 3 records in the works but I decided to focus on the one which I have wanted to do for quite a while, Anam Cara. This was an idea for a project I wanted to do many years ago when I started working with the singer Rachel.

However, as that band dissipated and morphed in into the Oliver Wakeman Band and the Mother’s Ruin album, the ideas I had for this album were put on the back burner. So when I was in discussion with the management company about what was coming next, I mentioned this album idea and got the green light to progress.

So where are we at the moment? Well, nearly all the music is written and I have David Mark Pearce doing the electric guitars, Steve Amadeo on bass and Scott Higham on drums. A formidable rhythm section and great lead guitarist I’m sure you’ll agree. There will be more announcements over the coming weeks about the vocalist and other musicians confirmed on the album. 

I am very excited about this project and am also delighted to announce that Anne Sudworth will again be providing one of her wonderful pieces of artwork for the sleeve. The album will be in the very capable hands of Karl Groom who will be handling the mixing and mastering.

We are currently aiming for an early 2023 release date. More news to follow but it’s really starting to take shape nicely! 

11 Nov 2022

Many people who follow my music career will be very familiar with my regular Guitarist David Mark Pearce. Dave has appeared on lots of my records, most recently 'Dark Fables'.

He has been working and writing a new album as part of a band called Munroe's Thunder featuring the wonderful vocal talents of Ronny Munroe. Dave can be heard playing some lovely guitar throughout. There is a promo single video available to see on YouTube.

I was very honoured when he asked me if I would provide keyboards on a track or two. Before I knew it I was on the whole album. It is a harder edged rock album than I have been involved in before but I enjoy that style of music and so it was great to be involved. So much so that I was also responsible for the album sleeve layout and logo design!

The album is due out on the 11th November and can be purchased from the label directly in the US at https://www.rflrecords.com/shop or from Amazon in the UK.

10 Nov 2022

On the 26th of May I received a call from the Yes management (who also manage me) about the very sad news of the passing of Alan White. I worked with Alan during the YES tours and we wrote and jammed together often.

I wrote a tribute about him which can be seen on my website here

https://www.oliverwakeman.co.uk/memories-of-alan-white

I was also asked by the family if I would like to record a video for the Tribute concert that was being put together in his honour in Seattle. I was touched to have been asked and the video can been seen on my YouTube channel by the link below.

https://youtu.be/dLE7ENRqi2U

1 Nov 2022

It is often remarked upon that my favourite YES album is the often maligned 'Tormato'.

I am delighted to announce that I have written the Foreword for this new book written by Kevin Mulryne from the Yes Music Podcast all about this album.

If you are interested in pre-ordering the book then please visit tormatobook.com

5 Sept 2022

Here's a quick one-stop shop of some of the recent press Oiver has been involved in.

All Music Magazine interview (& Video)
https://allmusicmagazine.com/ex-yes-keyboardist-oliver-wakeman-discusses-new-box-set-his-iconic-father-and-his-love-of-comedy-3-18-2022/

https://youtu.be/dMWgU_Pedts

Yes Music Podcast
https://yesmusicpodcast.com/oliver-wakeman-talks-about-yes-and-his-recent-box-set-collaborations-528/

They also devoted two shows to the Raven's and Lullabies album which was split into two parts and they can be heard here:- Pt 1 & Pt 2

YesShift Ep50: Collaborations Album Review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUd3YtuZoVw

YesShift Facebook live interview
https://www.facebook.com/Yesshift/videos/1034685450460613

VM Music Rocks Interview
https://vwmusicrocks.com/an-interview-with-oliver-wakeman-of-yes/

DPRP Collaborations Review
https://www.dprp.net/reviews/2022/040#wakeman

Rock Of Nations w/ Dave Kinchen Podcast
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3eqS3lIACkwKpBaMCnC33C?si=6I5XIHfSQ92vskCw2qdyHQ&nd=1

Michael's Record Collection Interview (Text and video)
https://michaelsrecordcollection.substack.com/p/oliver-wakeman-spotlights-his-collaborations

https://youtu.be/JEa1PHuQrZo

Classic Album Interview
https://youtu.be/tZarcBcoGUE

9 Jun 2022

I have added a section to the site about the sad news of the passing of the YES drummer Alan White. This can be found under the Blogs section in the menu above or by clicking here.

4 Jun 2022

I was delighted to be invited to be the guest of the YouTube/Internet challenge Genealogy program where they set a team of researchers to look into my family history...

There are some fascinating stories: another musician in my family (further back than Dad BTW!), a bicycle champion turned bicycle thief and a tragic train incident.

Well worth watching if you are interested in Genealogy and the Wakeman name.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLRI8Pz1Eas

1 May 2022

Claiming Peter Banks is a new documentary film about the ex YES guitarists life.

The trailer for the film has been released and features me alongside Fernando Perdomo, George Mizer, Jon Anderson, Steve Hackett, Trevor Rabin, Sepand Samzadeh, Jon Kirkman, Bill Forth, Steve Stevens, Thijs van Leer, Mike Hough and Colin Carter.

It can be seen on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLtAz_07JY4

30 Apr 2022

This wonderful children's film (which features my soundtrack) is now available to purchase or rent on Prime Video, Apple iTunes, Google Play and YouTube Movies.

We are currently in discussion regarding the music for the follow up!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yendor-Journey-Adventurer-Sarah-Matthews/dp/B09VYKWZDR

24 Apr 2022

This new teaser video contains music samples from all three albums featuring performances from Steve Howe, Gordon Giltrap and Paul Manzi.  

Oliver says: “Having a teaser video available really allows the listener to get a feel for the differing styles between the three albums and how, surprisingly, they complement each other. Putting this video together reminded me just how pleased I was with these albums. 

Hopefully this gives the music a chance to reach a new audience as well as appealing to those who might already have the originals but are interested in the other projects and the bonus material contained in the Box Set.”   

You can watch the teaser video on Oliver's YouTube channel

10 Apr 2022

The new Collaborations box set is now available directly from Burning Shed!

Oliver Wakeman has the honour of being one of the few musicians to have performed and recorded with some of Prog Rock’s most respected guitarists.   

Back in 2001, many years before he became a member of YES, Oliver and guitarist Steve Howe worked together on the “The 3 Ages of Magick” album. Supplemented by an array of talented musicians, this album became a hidden gem in the YES family tree of recordings.   

Following his tenure in the keyboard seat for YES in from 2008 to 2011, Oliver teamed up with another British guitar legend, Gordon Giltrap, to record their award winning “Ravens & Lullabies” album, a collection of rock and acoustic tracks featuring the singers Paul Manzi (SWEET) and Benoit David (YES).  20 years following its original release, “The 3 Ages of Magick” is teamed with the album “Ravens & Lullabies” in the new “Collaborations” 3CD Box Set. 

Including remastered versions of both albums along with the previously unreleased acoustic live album, “From a Stage” featuring music from Wakeman & Giltrap’s many years of performing together across the UK.  

The “Collaborations” box set contains 3 CDs each with 16-page booklets including lyrics, previously unseen artwork and many stories behind the creativity of Wakeman and Giltrap. 

“Collaborations” is available from Burning Shed.   You can order the set here: https://burningshed.com/store/oliverwakeman  

1 Feb 2022

A lyric video “Moneyfacturing” from the box set, is now available to view on YouTube. The track is taken from the Wakeman/Giltrap “Ravens & Lullabies” record in the box set and features Paul Manzi (SWEET)

Oliver says: “This is one of my personal favourite band tracks I have ever written and recorded, allowing me to make use of a lot of my collection of keyboards. It is a radio-friendly song which also reminds people what a great electric guitar player Gordon is!”

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/QupyT5apZ9g

“Collaborations” will be released by Burning Shed on 11th April.

You can pre-order the set here: https://burningshed.com/store/oliverwakeman

1 Feb 2022

OLIVER WAKEMAN Announces “Collaborations” 3CD Box Set including re-issues of “The 3 Ages of Magick” with Steve Howe & “Ravens & Lullabies” with Gordon Giltrap

Release April 11, 2022 – available to pre order now from

https://burningshed.com/store/oliverwakeman

Oliver Wakeman has the honour of being one of the few musicians to have performed and recorded with some of Prog Rock’s most respected guitarists.

Back in 2001, many years before he became a member of YES, Oliver and guitarist Steve Howe worked together on the “The 3 Ages of Magick” album. Supplemented by an array of talented musicians, this album became a hidden gem in the YES family tree of recordings.

Following his tenure in the keyboard seat for YES in from 2008 to 2011, Oliver teamed up with another British guitar legend, Gordon Giltrap, to record their award winning “Ravens & Lullabies” album, a collection of rock and acoustic tracks featuring the singers Paul Manzi (SWEET) and Benoit David (YES).

20 years following its original release, “The 3 Ages of Magick” is teamed with the album “Ravens & Lullabies” in the new “Collaborations”3CD Box Set. Including remastered versions of both albums along with the previously unreleased acoustic live album, “From a Stage” features music from Wakeman & Giltrap’s many years of performing together across the UK.

The “Collaborations” box set, comprising 3CDs each with a 16-page booklet and individual art prints of the sleeves, will be released by Burning Shed on 11th April.

“The 3 Ages of Magick”, released in 2001, is an instrumental album based in the style of the great 70’s prog solo records. Featuring Steve Howe across 11 of its 13 tracks, the album is both gentle and outlandish in equal measure. The album, based on stories from British folklore, utilises traditional instruments to help tell each story. This remastered version also includes 3 bonus tracks not available on the original release.

10 years later, Oliver and another legendary guitarist, Gordon Giltrap, joined forces after meeting at one of his father’s (Rick Wakeman) Christmas concerts in which they both performed.

“Ravens & Lullabies” allowed Oliver and Gordon to intertwine their acoustic musical abilities in the Lullabies section of the record. The Ravens aspect of the album allowed Gordon to be re-introduced to the Prog community in which he had been a leading figure during his heyday when releasing albums such as “Fear Of The Dark” and “Perilous Journey” (which contained his hit song “Heartsong”). This remastered version also features the bonus studio tracks, “The Forgotten King”, “Bach’s Praeludium” and a new version of Gordon’s classic “Roots” which were only included on the limited-edition double disc release of the original. Also included is a new recording, a piano and classical guitar version of Oliver’s track “The Wedding Approaches”.

This box set package also includes a third disc, “From a Stage”. During the lockdown, Oliver was approached by the sound engineer from one of the Giltrap/Wakeman concerts to say he had found a multitrack recording from a Christmas concert Oliver and Gordon had performed at along with special guest Paul Manzi (SWEET). This allowed a great opportunity to put together the live album “From a Stage” featuring Oliver and Gordon’s interpretations of songs from their collective 20+ years of back catalogues. Including the warmth and musical interplay that became a trademark for their often sold out shows, the recording features songs such as “Heartsong”, “Glimmer of Light”& “Roots”.

The “Collaborations” box set contains 3 CDs each with 16-page booklets including lyrics, previously unseen artwork and many stories behind the creativity of Wakeman and Giltrap. The first 250 box sets will also include the 4th art print of the box set cover numbered and signed by Oliver Wakeman.

A lyric video “Moneyfacturing” from the box set, is now available to view on YouTube. The track is taken from the Wakeman/Giltrap “Ravens & Lullabies” record in the box set and features Paul Manzi (SWEET)

Oliver says: “This is one of my personal favourite band tracks I have ever written and recorded, allowing me to make use of a lot of my collection of keyboards. It is a radio-friendly song which also reminds people what a great electric guitar player Gordon is!”

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/QupyT5apZ9g

“Collaborations” will be released by Burning Shed on 11th April.

You can pre-order the set here: https://burningshed.com/store/oliverwakeman

About Oliver Wakeman

Eldest son of prog legend Rick, Wakeman filled the keyboard role, once held by his father, with YES from 2008 to 2011. His work with YES includes the triple live album in “In The Present – Live From Lyon,” “Fly From Here” and the “From A Page” box set featuring recordings from his time in the band released in 2019. During his tenure with YES, Wakeman also toured and recorded as a member of The Strawbs. Wakeman’s debut album (1997) “Heaven’s Isle” was inspired by the island of Lundy, and he has since released a number of solo and Oliver Wakeman Band albums.  He has also released several collaborations with renowned musicians, including Clive Nolan, Steve Howe, band mate to both Oliver and his father in YES, as well as writing and recording with guitar legend Gordon Giltrap. Oliver is currently working on his latest album ‘Anam Cara’ due for release in late 2022.

Collaborations  – Release 11th April

Pre-order the boxset here: https://burningshed.com/store/oliverwakeman

8 Dec 2021

My performance of Life on Mars *with* David Bowie!

Back in ‘17 I was demonstrating the Dexibell H7 electric piano & showed off the Bluetooth functionality by finding a version of Life on Mars without Dad playing. It gave me a chance to get as close as I was ever going to come to playing with David Bowie on Life on Mars! Here's the link to watch the song. https://youtu.be/ExRg2t_8eGw

Talking about Dark Fables

I thought I would do a video and talk about the Dark Fables single CD release and how it came to be. It can be viewed on my YouTube channel.

5 Nov 2021

Dark Fables, the rarities album featuring the music from the never finished proposed follow up to the Hound of the Baskervilles album has been released in digpack form today. This album was previously available as the third disc on the Tales By Gaslight box set.

Press release: Clive Nolan & Oliver Wakeman’s “Dark Fables” will be released on November 5, 2021. This standalone release was originally the third CD from Clive Nolan and Oliver Wakeman’s “Tales By Gaslight” box set released earlier this year.

“Dark Fables” contains over 30 minutes of music conceived for the abandoned “Frankenstein” album which would have joined the duo’s “Jabberwocky” and “Hound Of The Baskervilles” collaborations. As with the previous albums, “Dark Fables” features the duo’s virtuosic keyboard playing with sublime performances from Gordon Giltrap, Paul Manzi (The Sweet, Arena, Oliver Wakeman Band). Andy Sears (Twelfth Night), Karl Groom (Threshold), David Mark Pearce (Oliver Wakeman Band, Munroe's Thunder) and Charlotte Dickerson.

The set also includes unused pieces from their “The Hound Of The Baskervilles” album; “The Man Called Sherlock”, which was the original version of the “Overture”, and “221B”, inspired by Sherlock Holmes’ famous address in Baker Street. In addition, the release also features Rick Wakeman narrating the “Jabberwocky Poem” in full, a perfect way to round off the twists and turns of another Nolan/Wakeman project!Clive Nolan (Pendragon, Arena) and Oliver Wakeman (YES, Strawbs) first combined their considerable keyboard and compositional talents to create the two aforementioned rock opera/concept albums in 1999 and 2002. Peter Pracownik was the creative behind the original “The Hound Of The Baskervilles” artwork 20 years ago and has employed his talents again for the sleeve of “Dark Fables”.

You can listen to the single release, “Why Do You Hate Me” on Oliver’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/hHgejgg5Wy4

28 Oct 2021

Press release: Jon Anderson and Jean-Luc Ponty Featured On Epic New Single Hall of Fame Prog-Rocker and Fusion Pioneer together again with Michael Lewis on Some People.

The magnificent pairing of Jon Anderson, the voice of YES, with world renowned violinist Jean-Luc Ponty saw its one and only album release in 2015 and its final tour in 2017.

Now, one more song has been added to their legacy with the release of Inventioning’s new high-octane single: Some People, co-written by Jon Anderson and Michael Lewis (the original co-founder of the group that became the Anderson-Ponty band).

“Jean-Luc rarely plays on other songs but I approached him with this one in 2012,” Lewis said. “He listened to the song, liked it, and agreed to record on it.” For Jean-Luc Ponty fans, the song features a jazz-fusion style violin solo that only he could play. “I really enjoyed recording as a guest on this track by Michael Lewis” Ponty remarked in a September 30th Facebook post about the upcoming release.

Inventioning, a dark horse on the Prog Rock scene, has gained recognition as an up-and-coming powerhouse with an all-star lineup and a unique sound. "Prog fanatics, meet your new under-the-radar favorite,” says Northwest Music Scene.

Jon Anderson (Owner Of A Lonely Heart) performs his signature vocal sound on the chorus message of “Some people don’t understand how lucky they are.” Inventioning’s powerful lead singer, Bridgette Lewis, added a vivacious rock vocal to the verses, interlaced with elaborate backgrounds. 

Keyboardist Oliver Wakeman, son of Rick Wakeman (legendary keyboardist for YES) added acoustic piano and two virtuosic Moog synthesizer solos to the song. For the rhythm section, Inventioning enlisted the talents of two Grammy award-winning Nashville session players – Brian Fullen on

drums and Adam Nitti on bass.

Some People is the second Inventioning single to feature Jon Anderson on vocals. Walking Talking, another Anderson/Lewis co-writing collaboration, was released in 2014. Alison Henderson of progarchy.com commented: “With or without Jon Anderson or Jean-Luc Ponty, it sounds as though Inventioning could be one of the next big Prog happenings.”

Unreleased until now, “Some People was the very first Anderson-Ponty recording, and may be the last in their combined legacy,” said producer Michael Lewis. “We’re glad it’s finally seeing the light of day. It brings everything full circle, and it’s a new beginning for us as the Inventioning Band.”

Inventioning songs are available from Apple iTunes, BandCamp and all major digital outlets. Visit http://inventioning.net for more information and to receive updates.

10 Jul 2021

I am delighted to hear that the Yendor Soundtrack received the silver award for best soundtrack at the Independent Shorts Awards in Los Angeles. This really in an hounour to have it recognised again in amongst other great soundtracks.

31 May 2021

Back in 2016 I was asked by English Heritage to provide a piano version of the Queen classic We Are The Champions for a video about the making of the Blue Plaque for Freddie Mercury. This version has the piano more audible than the original. It cna be viewed on my YouTube channel

7 May 2021

The third win for best soundtrack for Yendor! This award is presented by the Bristol International Short Film Festival/

5 May 2021

My score for the Rodney Matthews film 'Yendor' has picked up two best soundtrack awards which I am delighted about. The first was for 'The Monthly Film Festival' - https://tmff.net/winners/best-of-april-2021/ and the second was Best Soundtrack at the 'Europe Film Festival' - 

https://www.facebook.com/101581141587433/posts/293718709040341/?d=n A

4 May 2021

A few weeks ago Clive Nolan and I asked if anyone had any questions regarding the Tales By Gaslight project. We have now filmed our answers and you can see them on YouTube at https://youtu.be/ORy473PdJbw

It was great fun to chat with Clive again!

28 Apr 2021

I have added a new video to my YouTube channel showing me seeeing the physical Tales By Gaslight boxset for the first time. You can watch it here: https://youtu.be/Ok7i1SKLHFI

23 Apr 2021

Tales By Gaslight, the new box set featuring the Jabberwocky and Hound of the Baskervilles album Oliver wrote with Clive Nolan is released today!

20 Apr 2021

FROM A PAGE DIGITAL RELEASE

Legendary Prog Rock band YES have released the 2019 boxset “From a Page featuring Live from Lyon” on all digital platforms.

Originally released in 2019 as a Box Set featuring the previously unheard music from 2010, the 4 new tracks were packaged alongside the previously released Live From Lyon live album. They are now available as two individual releases.

The first, From A Page features the 4 new tracks, joined by a single edit of the track To The moment and completed with original Roger Dean Artwork.

The second, the triple album Live From Lyon, was first released in 2010 and now includes “Second Initial” which was previously a Japanese only bonus track.

All tracks were recorded by the line-up of Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Alan White, Benoit David and Oliver Wakeman:

1. To The Moment (6:09)
2. Words on a Page (6:18)
3. From the Turn of a Card (3:24)
4. The Gift of Love (9:52)
5. To The Moment (single edit) (4.22)

The promo video for “To the Moment (Single Mix)” can be viewed on Oliver's YouTubeChannel - https://youtu.be/PKUK_frQEsQ

Oliver Wakeman has personally overseen the preparation of the previously unreleased recordings which were mixed by Karl Groom and mastered by Mike Pietrini.

This is the first time these songs have been made available on digital platforms. The digital listening platforms option are here: https://lnk.to/FAPLFL

Oliver Wakeman says: “Following Chris Squire’s passing, I felt that the new music we’d created, but not released, should be heard and not sit unfinished on a shelf. And with Steve, Alan and Benoit’s enthusiasm for the project, I am proud to know that this music will get to see the light of day and, hopefully, be enjoyed by YES fans as a piece of previously hidden Yes history.”
Steve Howe described the project as “Good music never goes away or lays down to the commercial pressures that exist. Oliver's compositions, “To the Moment”, “Words on a Page” and “From the Turn of a Card” demonstrate his musicality and talents, while “The Gift of Love” explores the collaborative essence of Yes, pooling ideas and then working together on its arrangement, whilst utilising all of its many themes and variations. Karl Groom and Roger Dean both contributed their skills towards making this a worthy further 'page' in Yes' long and diverse musical adventures."

Alan White added: “I’m pleased to see a gem of YES history coming to fruition in the form of this mini box set. New songs from the past and I’m hoping we can find even more music in the archives for future releases.”

The physical Box Set and limited-edition blue vinyl are still available direct from Burning Shed at: burningshed.com/oliverwakeman

About Oliver Wakeman
Eldest son of prog legend Rick, Wakeman filled the keyboard role, once held by his father, with YES from 2008 to 2011. His work with YES includes the triple live album, In The Present – Live From Lyon, Fly From Here and the From A Page box set featuring recordings from his time in the band and released in 2019. During his tenure with YES, Wakeman also toured and recorded as a member of The Strawbs.
Wakeman’s debut album (1997) Heaven’s Isle was inspired by the island of Lundy, and he has since released a number of solo and Oliver Wakeman Band albums. He has also released several collaborations with renowned musicians, including Steve Howe, band mate to both Oliver and his father in YES for The Three Ages of Magick album, as well as uniting with another guitar legend Gordon Giltrap for the award-winning Ravens & Lullabies album, both of which are set to be part of an upcoming box set. Most recently Wakeman has been working on The Tales By Gaslight box set which contains the classic albums, Hound of the Baskervilles and Jabberwocky, plus a previously unreleased disc of recording from the never made third album from the trilogy made in collaboration with Clive Nolan. Each album is accompanied 16-page booklets including lyrics, previously unseen artwork and many stories behind the creativity from both Wakeman and Nolan. Tales By Gaslight will be released by Burning Shed on 23rd April available from www.burningshed.com/oliverwakeman.

8 Apr 2021

8th April February 2021: Oliver Wakeman and Clive Nolan release a lyric video for “Coming to Town” taken from their box set, Tales by Gaslight – out on 23 rd April. 

The track is taken from the first album in the box set Jabberwocky and features Bob Catley (Magnum) on vocals and the late Peter Banks on guitar. 

Oliver says: “This is a fun upbeat track which I have always enjoyed playing live and it became an ever-present song in my bands live set. Revisiting the original for this box set reminded me of what a great job Bob Catley did with his vocal performance, and it is always lovely to listen to Peter playing a wonderful guitar solo.”

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/xPI9zTKprC0

Tales by Gaslight – Release 23rd April

Pre-order the boxset here: https://burningshed.com/store/oliverwakeman

Coming to Town lyric video

https://youtu.be/xPI9zTKprC0

Watch Why Do You Hate Me? video here: https://youtu.be/hHgejgg5Wy4

Watch teaser video here

https://youtu.be/_5Bt2_xBdYI

9 Mar 2021

9th March 2021: Oliver Wakeman (YES, Strawbs) reunites with Clive Nolan (Pendragon, Arena) after 20 years to issue a 3CD Box Set - Tales By Gaslight featuring remastered versions

of their ‘future prog classics’ Jabberwocky and The Hound Of The Baskervilles along with a new disc Dark Fables.

A lyric video for the new track, Why Do You Hate Me? from Dark Fables, is available to view here.

The track is based around the confrontation between Frankenstein’s monster and his maker, Dr Frankenstein who is disowning him. Oliver says: “Why Do You Hate Me”? is a powerful song with an overarching theme of needing to be wanted and loved. Essentially a song for the disadvantaged and marginalised, a theme many people will be able to relate to”.

Why Do You Hate Me? features Oliver and Clive in their tradition keyboard roles, they are joined by Paul Manzi (The Sweet) on vocals and David Mark Pearce (Monroe’s Thunder) on Guitar.

This box set package also includes a third disc, featuring previously unreleased pieces that were intended to complete the trilogy. This third disc, Dark Fables, contains over 30 minutes of music conceived for the abandoned Frankenstein album.

In keeping with the spirit of the two previous albums, the new recordings feature the talents of, amongst others, Gordon Giltrap, Paul Manzi (Arena, Oliver Wakeman Band, Sweet) Andy Sears (Twelfth Night) and David Mark Pearce (Oliver Wakeman Band). Also included is an original reading of the Jabberwocky poem by Rick Wakeman.

The Tales By Gaslight box set contains 3 CDs each with 16-page booklets including lyrics, previously unseen art work and many stories behind the creativity from both Wakeman and

Nolan. 

Tales By Gaslight will be released by Burning Shed on 23rd April. Pre-order this here:

4 Mar 2021

I was really happy to be a part of this project put together by John Holden.

It is available from https://johnholden.bandcamp.com/album/together-apart-charity-album and all proceeds from this charity album will go to fund vital research into more effective treatments for Low Grade Ovarian Cancer at Edinburgh University Cancer Research Centre - www.ed.ac.uk/cancer-centre/research/gourley-group

Low Grade Ovarian cancer is a rarer sub-type which is difficult to treat and disproportionately affects younger women. Research into LGSOC is seriously underfunded. For more information you can go to cureourovariancancer.org

7 Feb 2021

There is now a teaser video about Tales By Gaslight on Oliver's YouTube Channel.

3 Feb 2021

PRESS RELEASE:

Oliver Wakeman reunites with Clive Nolan after 20 years to issue a 3CD Box Set - Tales By Gaslight featuring remastered versions of their ‘future prog classics’ Jabberwocky and The Hound Of The Baskervilles along with a new disc Dark Fables.

The Tales By Gaslight box set, comprising 3CDs each with a 16-page booklet and 3 individual Art prints of the three covers, will be released by Burning Shed on 23rd April.

Clive Nolan (Pendragon, Arena) and Oliver Wakeman (YES, Strawbs) first combined their considerable keyboard and compositional talents to create two rock opera/concept albums.

Jabberwocky, released in 1999, was based on the famous Lewis Carroll poem. It was followed by The Hound of The Baskervilles (2002), inspired by the Sherlock Holmes novel penned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The project was always intended to be a trilogy of musical interpretations of literary classics, but an album inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was shelved because of a lack of record company funding.

This box set package also includes a third disc, featuring previously unreleased pieces that were intended to complete the trilogy. This third disc, Dark Fables, contains over 30 minutes of music conceived for the abandoned Frankenstein album.

Nolan and Wakeman also found pieces which were unused from The Hound of The Baskervilles. These include The Man Called Sherlock which was the original version of the Overture and 221B, inspired by Sherlock Holmes’ famous address.

Unusually for the time, the first two albums featured a host of guest performances, including narration by Wakeman’s father Rick and actor Robert Powell. Former YES guitarist, the late Peter Banks, Magnum vocalist Bob Catley and singer Tracy Hitchings appeared on both albums. Ayreon mastermind Arjen Lucassen lent his talent to The Hound of the Baskervilles along with members from the bands IQ and Threshold. The unique artwork was created by Rodney Matthews for the original Jabberwocky release. Peter Pracownik was the creativity behind The Hound of The Baskervilles artwork 20 years ago and has returned to this trilogy by lending his talents to the new Dark Fables artwork.

In keeping with the spirit of the two previous albums, the new recordings feature the talents of, amongst others, Gordon Giltrap, Paul Manzi (Arena, Oliver Wakeman Band, Sweet) Andy Sears (Twelfth Night) and David Mark Pearce (Oliver Wakeman Band). Also included is an original reading of the Jabberwocky poem by Rick Wakeman.

The Tales By Gaslight box set contains 3 CDs each with 16-page booklets including lyrics, previously unseen art work and many stories behind the creativity from both Wakeman and Nolan.  The first 250 box sets will also include a 4th limited edition numbered art print of the box set cover signed by Clive Nolan and Oliver Wakeman. 

Tales By Gaslight is available to pre-order now from Burning Shed with the official release on the 23rd April.

2 Feb 2021

You may have noticed the addition of the new Oliver Wakeman logo which was designed by Rodney Matthews! There have also been a few minor tweaks to the website.