top of page
Latest News
2001 News
28th December
Panto time... Oliver, fiancee Lisa, brother Adam and his wife Terri all braved the elements to pay a visit to see dad in panto at the Hall for Cornwall in Truro where they met up with sister Jemma for a family get-together. The pantomime has received rave reviews and all the kids (of whatever age) in the audience were certainly having a good time.
25th December
Oliver receives a Deerstalker hat (a la Sherlock Holmes) from Clive as a Christmas present......
9th December
Oliver was in attendance at the Classic Rock awards ceremony in December and appeared on stage to have a chat via telephone link up to his dad, Rick, who won the best Keyboard player. Oliver was again voted for by the readers for this award and Oliver was also quite chuffed to see Three Ages voted in the top 16 best albums of the year. Many thanks to all who voted.
Oliver also had a good chance to catch up with Clive Nolan (who was appearing as part of the band Pendragon) and they did an interview due to be printed in next months Wondrous Stories publication.
Oliver also had a chance to meet up with Damian Wilson who was supporting Pendragon with his own acoustic band. Many visitors to the site well may have heard of Damian from Rick's English Rock Ensemble band but few will know that Damian had already worked with both Oliver and Adam before joining Dad's band. Oliver and Damian have previously worked on a couple of ideas, nothing of which has come to fruition but who's to say what the future brings.
Congratulations again to Martin Hudson of the CRS for organising a great evening.
8th December
'Chakras' has been delayed for a month until the end of December, we have now been told. Apologies to those who were hoping to purchase these as Christmas presents! Here is the latest update on commissioned releases:
CHAKRAS CD / Oliver Wakeman. To be released end of December 2001. Catalogue number BH 790092
60's, 70's & 80's QUIZ CD's. These CDs are planned for October 2002. Catalogue numbers unavailable.
2nd December
The track "The Enchanter" from 'The 3 Ages of Magick' is available on the Argentinian Magazine "Mellotron" cover CD along with tracks from, amongst others, the new Arjen Lucassen project "Ambeon"! If the collectors amongst you would like to get hold of a copy then email Andres Valles(andresvalle@interlink.com.ar) who puts the magazine together. The 3 Ages of Magick was given an indespensable review which is the highest accolade they can bestow, of which Oliver is very proud. The review can be found here, translation thanks to Andres Valles.
27th November
The Hound is currently at the pressing plant have the first run of promo copies pressed. The release date is still scheduled for 4th February next year.
13th November
3 Ages was the 4th best selling CD according to the November issue of 'Wondrous Stories' magazine.
Oliver will be attending this year's Classic Rock Society Awards Night in Rotherham on the 8th December. Pendragon, with Clive Nolan, will be the main act with support from Damian Wilson. This promises to be a great evening! Information on ticket sales is available by contacting Martin Hudson at MHudsonrok@aol.com.
5th November
The satellite radio channel Total Rock will be conducting an on-air interview with Oliver on Saturday 10th November at 19:00 GMT. For those of you able to receive Sky Digital, Total Rock broadcasts on channel 885. They also broadcast via the internet. More information on this and Total Rock in general is available from their website at http://www.totalrock.com. This channel played Oliver's "Mind Over Matter" last Friday evening during a session with special guest Martin Hudson from the Classic Rock Society.
The mastering for 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' is now complete.
2nd November
Oliver Wakeman and Lisa Dennison announce their engagement. Congratulations and best wishes to them both from those of us here at the website!
18th October
The mixing for Hound has been completed and the mastering is due in late October/early Nov.
10th October
Mixing on the Hound Album has begun with Karl Groom (3 Ages/Jabberwocky) once again in the chair.
6th October
Many of you who also visit the RWCC website may have noticed the unusual news item that Oliver's father, Rick, is to appear in panto this Christmas in Truro, Cornwall. Rick has always had a love for pantomimes and all of Rick's children have been dragged to them on many occasions! A few visitors may find this quite a strange move for a musician of Rick's calibre but after having had such a difficult couple of years we are all looking forward to seeing Rick having a good time and doing what he does best - entertaining people and making them happy. Oliver and his partner Lisa will no doubt attend a few of these performances along with the webmaster of this site and we hope to meet any visitors to this site there.
Oh yes we do, etc...
The latest news from the commissioning label is that 'Chakras' is now due to be released in November.
5th October
'The 3 Ages of Magick' was the 5th best selling CD in this month's 'Wondrous Stories' chart. Oliver would like to pass on his congratulations to all at Wondrous Stories and the Classic Rock Society on its tenth anniversary.
10th September
There is now an independent Oliver Wakeman Mailing List active on Yahoo! Groups, set up and moderated by Tatiana, a regular contributor to this website. Check it out here...
9th September
Some of the more eagle-eyed visitors to this site may have noticed an article in this month's Record Collector. The article was based around the cast and release of Oliver's next project 'The Hound of the Baskervilles'. However, mention was made about an album of keyboard-backed poetry for this year's Armistice Day. We felt that we should let you know what this is about and as to why we hadn't mentioned it before....
Oliver was commissioned to write some incidental music for an album of World War One poetry readings. The work is due out as an album towards the end of the year and it is hoped that the readings along with some of the music will appear on Radio 4 on Armistice Day. Oliver has also written the incidental music for the other three CD's in the set; 'Love & Romance', 'Epics' and 'Nature & Pastoral'. This music, along with the 'Chakras' album, is commissioned work of which Oliver is proud, but does not consider to be solo albums and should not be treated as such. For the collectors or poetry lovers amongst you, we will keep you informed of all avenues of Oliver's involvement with these projects. Tim Jones, one of the editorial assistants of Record Collector, was present at the '3 Ages' launch party and had a lengthy chat with Oliver and also wrote a review of '3 Ages' for the magazine which is printed with Record Collector's kind permission.
8th September
Work has begun on the booklet for the Hound of the Baskervilles album designed again by Opus Designs who did the '3 Ages of Magick' booklet. The artwork has been painted by noted artist Peter Pracownik who was also responsible for the latest Limp Bizkit album cover. This gave Oliver some kudos with his younger brother Luke and his friends and Oliver no longer feels quite so 'over the hill'!
1st September
The recording for the 'Hound of the Baskervilles' album (Nolan & Wakeman) is pretty much done. Just a few more backing vocals, and some keyboard finishing touches to go; then it's time for the mix. Performers on the album so far have been...
Clive Nolan - keyboards and BVs
Oliver Wakeman - Keyboards
Karl Groom - Guitars
Arjen Lucassen - Guitars
Pete Banks - Guitars
John Jowitt - Bass
Peter Gee - Bass
Tony Fernandez - Drums
Robert Powell - Narrator
Bob Catley - vox
Tracy Hitchings - vox
Ian 'Moon' Gould - vox
Paul Allison - vox
Ashley Holt - vox
Michelle Young - vox
Ewa Albering - Flute
Jo Greenland - Violin
Paul Wrightson - BVs
23rd August
All recording for the Hound album has now been finished and mixing has begin. Karl Groom (who mixed Jabberwocky and 3 Ages) is in the chair once again.
16th August
Unfortunately it would appear that due to a clerical error, the US release date for 'The 3 Ages of Magick' previously advised on this website is now incorrect and we would like to apologise for this 'bum steer'. We have it on the best authority that the correct US release date for the album is now just under a month away, on the 11th September. For those of you who cannot wait, you can always order it via the Voiceprint website at www.voiceprint.co.uk.
14th August
Oliver has been recording his piano parts for the 'Hound' at Thin Ice studios, where things are continuing to take shape. Peter Banks is due in to the studio shortly to lay down more guitars, followed by Ashley Holt of the Original English Rock Ensemble, who will be contributing vocals to the project.
23rd July
The '3 Ages of Magick' is released in Europe today!
20th July
Voiceprint have announced details of the US release of 'The 3 Ages of Magick' - it will be released in the States via distributor DNA, who supply all the major stores - with a release date of 14th August. The catalogue number will be different to the European RES144CD - it will be RSG2049. All major stores should stock this. DNA choose two titles per month from their releases (about 15) to concentrate their promotions on and they have chosen '3 Ages' as one of them! If you have trouble locating it for any reason you can always order it via the Voiceprint website at www.voiceprint.co.uk.
New Horizons have published a detailed review of 'The 3 Ages of Magick'. Click hereto be taken to their site.
Michelle Young, one of the backing vocalists on 'Jabberwocky' has completed a track for the 'Hound of the Baskervilles' project.
5th July
"The 3 Ages of Magick" was officially launched last night at the 12 Bar Club in Central London's 'Tin Pan Alley'. The evening featured a 30 minute live set of some of the material from the album with a few other bits thrown in for good measure. The live set featured Oliver on Piano, Tim Buchanan on Acoustic Guitar and Tony Dixon on Whistles and Uilleann Pipe. The set list was as follows:
Intro theme - (new arrangement of the Ages of Magick)
A new piece with no title as yet!!!!!
Lutey and the Mermaid (from 3 Ages)
The Whales Last Dance (from 3 Ages)
She Moves Through the Fair (traditional)
Standing Stones (from 3 Ages)
Hy Breasail - outro theme (from 3 Ages)
A great time was had by all and the music was extremely well received. Oliver was ably supported by partner Lisa Dennison (who helped him endure the 7-hour journey from Devon), father Rick (shortly returned from doing a 'Return to the Centre of the Earth show with choir and orchestra in Canada) and all the members of the '3 Ages' band (with the exception of Steve Howe who was leaving early in the morning for the Yes tour and was unable to attend). Also there were many of Oliver's friends who had visited him for the show, Richard Hudson (Strawbs drummer and writer of the hit single Part of the Union), Clive Nolan (co-writer of the Jabberwocky album and the forthcoming 'Hound of the Baskervilles' album), Tracy Hitchings (singer on the Jabberwocky album), Anne Sudworth (album cover artist), Mike Philps (co-owner of the Opus Music with Oliver), Angus Walker (ITN political reporter often seen in the early hours of the morning making reports) and various magazine representatives - Martin Hudson (editor of the Wondrous Stories Magazine), Simon from New Horizons, Wayne Smith who runs the RWCC website & several chaps from the pro-audio company Allen & Heath.
The run up to the launch saw Oliver receiving loads of calls from various people who had been invited, but who were unable to make it - a couple of people Oliver was hoping to see were Bob Catley (caught up in the studio with the new Magnum Album), Oliver's brother Adam (co-incidentally at a launch party as part of the backing band for the new Lisa Stansfield album in Germany) and Oliver's mum who was unable to attend due to work commitments. The launch was viewed by all who saw it as a great start to the new album and we hope to start printing reviews of the album and the gig in the near future. Oliver would like to publicly thank Tony and Tim for making the journey to London with him to perform. Their help was very much appreciated.
Tracy Hitchings has recently been in to Thin Ice Studios to complete her vocals for the 'Hound' project. Arjen Luccassen (of Ayreon fame) has also added some more guitars to the album.
Inspired (hopefully) by the album launch he attended this week, Wayne Smith of the RWCC has added a '3 Ages' page including samples of the album. Click here to jump to it.
The Voiceprint website now has '3 Ages' available to purchase, even though the official release is not until the 23rd of this month.
23rd JuneOne month exactly to go before '3 Ages' is released!
16th June
Martin Hudson of the Classic Rock Society has carried out an interview with Oliver which has some interesting insights into how the '3 Ages' album came about. The interview along with the first review can be found in next month's issue of 'Wondrous Stories' (July 2001). For details of obtaining a copy contact MHudsonrok@aol.com.
9th June
Paul Allison is in Thin Ice studios recording his contributions to the 'Hound of the Baskervilles' album. Work has now resumed and a more rapid rate on this album now with the remainder of the recording scheduled to be finished over the summer. Mixing will take place towards the autumn and a release of early 2002 is planned. This actually works out very well for Oliver as the releases of all his albums looked as if they were all going to be practically the same date!!! They are now as follows:
'The 3 Ages of Magick' - Oliver Wakeman with Steve Howe - 23rd July 2001 - Resurgence
'Chakras' - Oliver Wakeman - October 2001 - Origins
'The Hound of the Baskervilles' - Oliver Wakeman & Clive Nolan - Early 2002 - Verglas
7th June
Oliver and Steve met at Hatch Farm Studios in Chertsey (studio where various boy bands have been recorded) to be filmed answering questions about '3 Ages' for the American release. Some of the film will appear on the Voiceprint website (the group of companies of which Resurgence is a part), so keep visiting their site!
1st June
The June 2001 issue of 'Wondrous Stories' featured an interview with Steve Howe. Part of the interview focused on the '3 Ages' project and Steve had this to say:
"Yes that was a nice project. Oliver played me some work that he wanted to do and said to me 'would you play some guitar on it?' So we started talked about how this could be done and how I might appear on a couple of tracks and suddenly the idea sort of grew. I could see how prepared he was and how much stuff he could do at home, which was colossal, on his keyboard set up. So he was generating this and then I said to him 'why don't I, instead of just playing guitar, work through all the songs with you and sort of suggest which should be in, what should be done and just give some guidance. Not so much musical or in the preparatory state but just adding ideas or subtracting things, so he'd have someone to spin off."
"He'd bring in a new track, we'd pull the track apart and he'd bring in another one and I was impressed with this. So we refined the tracks together and the next thing I know I'm on all of the tracks but in two different ways. I'm kind of a support player and play some things in the background and other tracks I come blaring out of the speakers, you know, I'm interacting with Oliver confrontationally there and it's quite exciting. I get quite a huge solo on Spanish guitar on the last track of the album so it's an interesting development for working with somebody whose seems to be familiar but the main reason I worked with Oliver is because he has his own version of what he wants to do. He's developing his own style and he's kind of wealthy as a music person and a terrific player. I think the album will hopefully be seen as his opening out album where he's kind of saying 'this is the kind of thing I'd like to do'. It's so much him and only on a few tracks do I play around purposely wanting him to be not competing with me at all. It's his album and I'm trying to help him with it and I think I kept that in mind all the time."
(Reprinted with permission.)
23rd May
At long last we have news of an official release date for the '3 Ages of Magick'! In the UK at least, the launch date for this album is two months today, on the 23rd of July, and will be on the 'Resurgence' label.
22nd May
Tony Fernandez is currently spending some time at Thin Ice Studios, recording his contribution to the 'Hound of the Baskervilles' album.
25th April
Oliver has recently been commissioned to write the theme for an audio quiz CD - more news on this when we have it!
Contracts for '3 Ages' have been signed - a release date should only be a matter of days away!
'Chakras' has been given a proposed release date of October - details of the label and exact date to follow when we have them...
At long last work has resumed on the 'Mothers Ruin' project. Oliver is hoping to make this his next major project. We must point out though that the project is still in its early stages and Oliver has all the promotional work involved in 3 Ages and Chakras to deal with along with the finishing of the Hound of the Baskervilles so don't hold your breath for a quick release - but there should be plenty to satisfy your voracious appetites in the meantime!
23rd AprilThe Oliver Wakeman Website wins the '2001-2002 Golden Web Award'.
4th AprilArjen Luccassen (Ayreon - The Electric Castle) has recorded a guitar solo for the Hound of the Baskervilles.
31st March
The commissioned recording 'Chakras' is now complete, having been mastered this week by Rob Aubrey at Nomansland. The finished package has been delivered to the publisher and we will let you know release information as soon as we have it.
29th March
The '3 Ages of Magick' is nearing its final stages of release. The cover layout is almost finished and we hope to have a release date for you in the very near future. The new '3 Ages of Magick' website section will be up and running very soon.
Due to the workload that Oliver and Clive Nolan are experiencing at the moment, the 'Hound of the Baskervilles' album is not going to be released in May as originally expected, and it is anticipated that the release will now be in the Autumn. This album is very special to Oliver and Clive who have put a lot of hard work into the album and want to make sure it gets the attention to detail that it deserves. Watch this space for news of the album as it develops!
Oliver, whilst finishing the 3 Ages album, was approached to write a Relaxation/New Age album based on the Seven 'Chakras', energy centres within the body. Oliver has been working on this album for the last two months. The album is a very mellow affair and has been warmly received by all who have heard it. The music is similar in style to 'The Dolphins Dream' on the Heaven's Isle album released in 1997. The album has been mastered by Rob Aubrey who was responsible for the mastering of 'The 3 Ages of Magick'. Oliver is extremely pleased with the results and we will have more news about the release of this album when we get it.
20th February
The '3 Ages' Album is due to be mastered this week by Rob Aubrey at Nomansland.
18th February
Bob Catley, who played "The Boy" on 'Jabberwocky', has been into the Thin Ice Studios to record his contribution to the 'Hound of the Baskervilles'. Bob's vocals feature on four of the tracks on the Hound project.
30th January
We are now able to confirm that Steve Howe is the mystery guitarist on the new Oliver Wakeman album "The 3 Ages of Magick". This album has now been mixed and we hope to have a pre-release copy very soon. Steve, who is also the executive producer, has been working closely with Oliver on the album since 1998. The recording was completed in late 2000 and the mixing responsibilities handled by Karl Groom (who also mixed 'Jabberwocky') at Thin Ice Studios. The cover artwork has been supplied by Anne Sudworth, a respected fantasy artist who has recently had her work published in a Paper Tiger book.
The personnel line-up is as follows:
Oliver Wakeman - Keyboards, Pianos & Hammond Organ
Steve Howe - Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Steel Guitar
Dave Wagstaffe - Drums & Percussion
Tim Buchanan - Fretted & Fretless Bass
Tony Dixon - Uillean Pipes, Whistles & Flutes
Jo Greenland - Violin
14th January 2001
We are pleased to announce that fantasy artist Anne Sudworth is providing the artwork for "The 3 Ages of Magick". Her work can be viewed at http://www.annesudworth.co.uk.
Top of page
2001 News
2000 News
31st December
Seasons Greetings and Happy New Year to all our visitors!
Recording for the Hound is now due to begin in Late January following Oliver's work on the "3 Ages" project and Clive's involvement with his studio "Thin Ice".
28th December
The studio recording work on the '3 Ages of Magick' has been completed. All the performances were first class and the album is due to be mixed in mid-January. The album was recorded in a wonderful converted barn studio in Cornwall. More about the recording will be posted soon in the new "3 Ages" section.
10th December
Studio recording on 'The 3 Ages of Magick' has begun!
1st December
Oliver is currently busy working on a few new musical ideas and is really looking forward to 2001. Many of you may have noticed a lack of action here at the Oliver Wakeman website but there have been a lot of factors which interrupted work here for a while. However things have turned a corner and we intend to keep the site regularly updated with news on the recording schedule of both 3 Ages and Hound. We are also beginning work on dedicated sections for both the "Hound of the Baskervilles" and "The 3 Ages of Magick" projects so please bookmark this page and visit us regularly.
20th November
Smokestack (the R&B band Oliver plays with) continues to perform in the Devon area and they have had another line up change. The band's new drummer 'Chico' has slotted in extremely well and the performances have all been well received. If you are in the West Country and would like details of the gigs, please email us here!
15th November
The '3 Ages of Magick' is still being worked on - no more news as yet on a firm release date but Oliver is not too troubled by this as it has given him an opportunity to rework a few ideas and pull a few other musicians into the fold to hopefully create an album that will stand out from the crowd. The response to demo versions of the songs has been extremely encouraging.
1st November
Lyric writing is underway for the 'Hound' project as the recording dates close in on Oliver & Clive. Recording will hopefully start around Xmas/New Year time. Verglas are still aiming for a April/May release and there are lots of exciting ideas for promotion being talked about - more news when we get it.
2nd October
As many of you are aware Rick has been undertaking an extensive tour of the UK following his return from the South American shows. Oliver has been attending a couple of the shows close to his home in Devon and has met a few people who have bought copies of Heaven's Isle along with them. The show is a great laugh and we recommend that if you get a chance to see the show then do so as you are in for a real treat.
1st October
The October issue of 'Wondrous Stories' featured Oliver as the guest in the 'Hearing Aid' section where the writers of the magazine list the five most listened to albums that month. For those interested Oliver's choices were
The Devlins - The Devlins
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
The Cardigans - Gran Tourismo
Harry Connick jr - Come By Me
Ben Folds Five - Ben Folds Five.
Martin Hudson gave Oliver's "Heaven's Isle" as one of his five.
14th September
Robert Powell arrived at Thin Ice Studios last Friday as planned to record his narration for the Hound of the Baskervilles project. Oliver and Clive are extremely pleased with the job that Robert has done and sat throughout the session smiling broadly.
7th September
Robert Powell is due to record his narrations for "Hound of the Baskervilles" with Clive and Oliver this Friday (8th September). Recording of the other musicians is scheduled towards the beginning of next year. The latest tentative release date for "Hound" is April 2001.
20th July
We have been led to believe that a piece of music from Heaven's Isle was used on a holiday programme shown in the UK this week, but we aren't able to confirm this at the moment. If anybody has any information on this, we would be very pleased to hear from you, so please, email us here!.
The writing and the bulk of the arrangements for the 'Hound of the Baskervilles' has been completed. Both Oliver and Clive are extremely happy with the results so far. Recording is to begin later in the year and we will bring you all the news as this aspect of the project continues to develop.
The '3 Ages of Magick' album is also moving along nicely - we hope to have some interesting news concerning the release of this album soon.
All of us here at Oliver's website would like to take this opportunity to wish his brother Adam all the very best on the 2nd of August when he marries his fiancée, Terri, in Cornwall. It will be one of the rare occasions when the whole Wakeman family gets together - the last time was 'This Is Your Life' last year!
17th July
Official news release from Verglas Music - 'The Hound of the Baskervilles':
"Clive Nolan and Oliver Wakeman have continued working in the Thin Ice studios on their latest project. The music is now pretty much complete and work is now underway on the lyrics. The cast, not unexpectedly, draws from the team that created 'Jabberwocky' and the vocalists will include Robert Powell, Bob Catley, Tracy Hitchings, Ashley Holt, Paul Allison, Ian 'Moon' Gould and Michelle Young. Some of the musicians expected to contribute are Peter Banks, Tony Fernandez, Karl Groom and Peter Gee. Devonshire based Peter Prakownik, who comes from the Roger Dean / Rodney Matthews school, has been commissioned to create the artwork."
25th May
Oliver is scheduled to appear with Smokestack to open the North Devon Jazz Festival in the Wrey Arms in Barnstaple on Saturday 27th May between 1pm and 4pm. This will be the third year that the band have appeared in this festival although the first with new bassist Tim Buchanan.
Meanwhile on the studio side of things, work on Mysteries and Mythologies is progressing well. The twelve titles have all been arranged and the pre-production is well underway. We have no news of a label or release date yet and Oliver wants to get the project as well-developed as possible before he embarks on the promotional side of the album. It also looks likely that the release title of the album will change from the one we have mentioned so far. It will now be titled "The 3 Ages of Magick". Oliver is extremely pleased with the work that has been put into the album and the enthusiasm and encouragement that everyone has shown so far. Watch out for some new pages on this site dedicated to the new album. These can be accessed through the projects page in the near future.
'Hound' news - this has been put to one side for a few weeks as Clive has been busy promoting Arena's new album 'Immortal' (very good by the way - well worth a listen!) and Oliver has been busy with '3 Ages'. Jabberwocky was written and arranged in similar circumstances as both musicians are extremely busy. Oliver and Clive are keen to get back into the project as soon as workload permits, and this break will enable them both to listen to the material with fresh ears, so to speak! The duo hope to return to the work on Hound by the end of the month with a loose time-frame planned for recording by the end of the year and release early next year.
15th May
There is now a website dedicated to Oliver in Portuguese! This can be found at http://tinpan.fortunecity.com/dylan/799/oliver.htm
13th April
An in-depth and searching interview with Oliver conducted during the first of the "Hound of the Baskervilles" joint writing sessions has been published in full on the New Horizons website.
13th April
Oliver's publishers, PXM Publishing, now have their website up and running. It is at http://www.pxmpublishing.com . More audio samples are available here. Anyone interested in contacting Oliver in a commercial capacity should do so through PXM Music.
22nd March
The collaboration on "The Hound of the Baskervilles" has officially started! Oliver and Clive started the first writing sessions early this week, bringing their ideas for this project together for the first time in a writing environment. Says Oliver after the first couple of days, "My initial thoughts are that it is going to be pretty good!".
19th March
A photograph featuring Rick and his family appeared in the Mail on Saturday on the 11th March. The photograph was featured along with an article on Nina Carter (Rick's wife) and her days as one of the first supermodels. The photograph was taken by Patrick Lichfield originally for an article in 'HELLO' magazine back in the early 90's. We don't think that Oliver has changed that much really!!!!
12th March
Oliver has confirmed that he will be in the audience at the Rick Wakeman gig this coming Friday the 17th March in Babbacombe in Devon. If you manage to spot him there, please say hello! Further information on this concert and the rest of Rick's UK tour dates can be found on the RWCC site here.
12th March
Oliver did an in-depth live interview with Nick Jefferson of Medway FM last night at 10-o'clock. Tracks from Jabberwocky and Heaven's Isle were featured. We have been promised a recording of the interview, and we hope to have a transcript and an MP3 file of it here on the site shortly.
15th February
In The Dutch Progressive Rock Page's poll of 1999, Jabberwocky won the 'Best Newcomer' category, got second place in the 'Best Artwork' (second to Roger Dean's artwork for Yes's 'The Ladder', and was voted 12th best album overall for 1999. Check out the poll results - http://www.dprp.vuurwerk.nl/poll99/
13th February
'Jabberwocky' was the seventh best selling CD overall for the Classic Rock Society in
1999 according to the February issue of 'Wondrous Stories'.
12th February
The new Hybrid album 'Integration' featuring Oliver has now been released. Click herefor an independent review.
6th February
"Mysteries and Mythology" is starting to take shape - twelve pieces of music written for this forthcoming project have been selected and pre-production is now under way.
9th January 2000
One of our visitors told us that during the past week, an on-air caller to Steve Lamacq's BBC Radio One show stated that one of Oliver's pieces was his top chill-out track! If anyone can give us some more details, we'd love to hear from you! Please email us here!
Top of page
2000 News
1999 News
7th December
Verglas Music announce that esteemed actor Robert Powell will provide narration on the forthcoming Nolan/Wakeman project, 'The Hound of the Baskervilles'. Collaboration on this project is due to start shortly.
3rd December
Oliver has been commissioned to write the new 'audio signature' for pro-audio company Allen & Heath. This will be used in their new software products, website and marketing materials. Sharp-eyed observers will also be able to spot Oliver pictured on the cover of the (printed version only) brochure for the GS3000 Studio Mixing Desk. For further information contact David Kirk, PR Manager, or Debbie Maxted, Marketing Manager.
28th November
Oliver was interviewed by Martin Hudson of the Classic Rock Society. This interview will be appearing in the January issue of 'Wondrous Stories'. For further information on this publication, email martin.hudson2@virgin.net
28th November
Oliver attended yesterday's Classic Rock Society Awards night, a very memorable evening for all those interested in Classic Rock. The awards were handed out to the victors by Steve Hackett of Genesis fame. Peter Banks was also there and a few photos of the three were taken, which we hope to reproduce on this site soon.
Oliver was asked to accept the award for 'Best Drummer' on behalf of Nick D'Vigilio of the rock band 'Spock's Beard', who was unable to attend as he lives in America! The evening finished on a highlight of Steve Hackett taking to the stage for an impromptu blues performance with Peter Banks on bass.
Oliver did very well at the awards, being nominated for 'Best Keyboard Player'. (He came 7th out of about 60!). 'Jabberwocky' was voted '11th Best Album of the Year' and the 'Heaven's Isle' re-release was voted '22nd Best Album of the Year'.
Oliver wishes to express his thanks to all the people who voted for him and his music.
27th November
Oliver will be at the Classic Rock Society's Awards Night at the Oakwood Theatre, Rotherham. Hopefully some of the other musicians from 'Jabberwocky' will also be there... If you manage to pick Oliver out of the crowd, go and tug his hair, say 'hello' and tell him how much you like his web site!
November
The forthcoming "Hybrid" album has been mixed. For further information on release dates, etc. visit the Hybrid website at http://www.hybrid.force9.co.uk. Legend has it that there's an audio file featuring Oliver there...
October
Oliver begins work on proposed new 'Myths & Mythologies' album. Scheduled release date not yet available!
28th September
'Jabberwocky' reenters as the seventh best selling CD in the October issue of 'Wondrous Stories'. Editor Martin Hudson lists the Heaven's Isle re-issue in his five 'Most Listened-to CD's' that month.
14th September
Oliver records session for the new "Hybrid" album due for release later this year. A solo was recorded for the track "Moving Lights", and the piano section from the track "Man in the Moon". This album is produced by Dave Boland along with Clive Nolan and Karl Groom, the 'Jabberwocky' production team.
1st September
The track "Dangerous World" from 'Jabberwocky' appears on the front-cover CD of the Greek music magazine "Metal Invader"
1st September
Two tracks from 'Heaven's' appear on the Australian radio show "Spectrum".
26th August
Oliver's music appears on the Verglas music sampler "Dreams and Visions". The tracks featured are "The Mission" from 'Jabberwocky', and the title track from 'Heaven's Isle'.
26th August
'Heaven's Isle' re-released!
1st August
Two page colour spread in the Greek music magazine "Metal Invader" featuring an in-depth interview with Oliver about the 'Jabberwocky' album and the 'Heaven's Isle' re-release.
28th July
'Jabberwocky' was the fifth best selling CD in the July issue of 'Wondrous Stories'
28th June
'Jabberwocky' was the fourth best selling CD in the June issue of 'Wondrous Stories'
27th June
Oliver appears with "Smokestack" at the Bideford Music Day Festival.
28th May
Oliver appeared with "Smokestack" at the Royal and Fortesque Hotel, Barnstaple as the opening act in the North Devon Jazz/Blues Festival. Smokestack are also booked to play at Mr. Bertie's on Tuesday 1st June.
29th April
'Jabberwocky' was the third best selling CD in the April/May issue of 'Wondrous Stories'
21st March
'Jabberwocky' was the third best selling CD in March's issue of 'Wondrous Stories'
18th March
After two months of excellent sales, Verglas Music have given Oliver & Clive the go-ahead to begin work on a new project. At present, it looks like it could be based on Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novel - "The Hound of the Baskervilles".
It is hoped that most of the cast from'Jabberwocky' will feature but a few new faces may join the fold.
6th March
"Smokestack", the R&B band that Oliver guests in, are booked to appear in the North Devon Jazz/Blues festival during May '99.
21st February
'Jabberwocky' was the third best selling CD in February's issue of 'Wondrous Stories'
9th February
Oliver & Clive Nolan were caught on film for BBC1 news whilst at the launch of Rick's new epic -'Return to the Centre of the Earth'.
7th February
Two additional tracks for the 'Heaven's Isle' re-issue have now been finished. "The Outward Journey" and "If A Picture..." were recorded and mixed by the original Heaven's Isle team at The Opus Suite in North Devon. The Verglas re-release is due for a late spring/early summer release.
5th February
‘The Mission' from'Jabberwocky' is featured on the cover CD of Classic Rock Magazine's March/April Issue. The magazine also contains a review and a half-page advert.
1st February
Cranium Music of New Zealand have made'Jabberwocky' February's featured album of the month.
21st January
The original CD version of 'Heaven's Isle' was the seventh best selling CD in January's issue of 'The Classic Rock Society's journal 'Wondrous Stories'
11th January
'Jabberwocky' has been released!
January
Oliver and father Rick were recently spotted at Heathrow airport chatting about various father/son things. 'Wondrous Stories' magazine received a letter from a Wakeman fan who saw the duo at Heathrow saying how pleasant Rick was when asked for an autograph.
January 1999
The Lewis Carroll Society have published the'Background to Jabberwocky' story (featured on this website) in their January issue of 'Bandersnatch'.
1999 News
1998 News
30th December
Lantern FM's Ian Starling interviewed Oliver on the forthcoming release of 'Jabberwocky'. The interview covers a variety of subjects - Heaven's Isle, Jabberwocky, 'This Is Your Life' and much more!
A transcript of this interview can be found on this web site.
29th December
'Jabberwocky' is made 'Album of the Week' on Lantern FM.
December
At the Classic Rock Society's Awards Night, Oliver collected an award for "30 years in rock" on behalf of his father. Oliver made a well-received speech and the award was safely delivered to Rick at CTS studios in London, during the final mix of'Buried Alive' from 'Return to the Centre of the Earth'. Oliver incidentally, was nominated 10th best keyboard player!
October
The'Dolphin's Dream' from Heaven's Isle has been featured on a new video released by the Tarka Trust along with music by Anthony Phillips (of Genesis fame) and the National Philharmonic Orchestra.
August
Rodney Matthews book -'Countdown to Millennium', featuring a version of the 'Jabberwocky' cover is now available through Paper Tiger Publishing. Thoroughly recommended.
August
Two of the pieces from Heaven's Isle were featured on the 'Illuminations', broadcast on West Country TV.
1998 News
1997 News
bottom of page