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The Wizard of Prog: The Truth And Something Like The Truth - The Incredibly Entertaining Memoir from a True Rock Legend
'From the beginning to not quite the end... just yet'.
From piano-playing child prodigy, through to classically trained keyboardist and onto his rise with Yes and as a solo artist, Rick Wakeman's life so far has been one of very dramatic spirals, spectacular comebacks and legendary rock ‘n’ roll excess.
The first of his epic concept albums, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, was released in 1973 to indifferent reviews, but was a worldwide hit, to the vast surprise of his record company. The following year, Journey to the Centre of the Earth was another phenomenon. He took it around the world, with huge orchestras and choirs, which he funded, spending every penny he’d earned. After headlining Crystal Palace Park, he suffered a heart attack aged just 25. Languishing in hospital, he wrote his next album, The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Ignoring doctors’ orders to retire, he went straight out on tour. However, the high cost of his lavishly staged concerts, combined with his second divorce, eventually caught up with him, leaving him impoverished, homeless and occasionally even sleeping rough by 1980. He lived to tell the tale and many more like it.
While Rick takes his music and creativity very seriously, he views his life as material for a sitcom. This unmissable memoir is the story of a musical genius with a taste for adventure, a delightful sense of the absurd and a winning gift for comedy. It's the book Rick has always wanted to write and the sole unsurprising thing about it is that it's a hell of a read.
From piano-playing child prodigy, through to classically trained keyboardist and onto his rise with Yes and as a solo artist, Rick Wakeman's life so far has been one of very dramatic spirals, spectacular comebacks and legendary rock ‘n’ roll excess.
The first of his epic concept albums, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, was released in 1973 to indifferent reviews, but was a worldwide hit, to the vast surprise of his record company. The following year, Journey to the Centre of the Earth was another phenomenon. He took it around the world, with huge orchestras and choirs, which he funded, spending every penny he’d earned. After headlining Crystal Palace Park, he suffered a heart attack aged just 25. Languishing in hospital, he wrote his next album, The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Ignoring doctors’ orders to retire, he went straight out on tour. However, the high cost of his lavishly staged concerts, combined with his second divorce, eventually caught up with him, leaving him impoverished, homeless and occasionally even sleeping rough by 1980. He lived to tell the tale and many more like it.
While Rick takes his music and creativity very seriously, he views his life as material for a sitcom. This unmissable memoir is the story of a musical genius with a taste for adventure, a delightful sense of the absurd and a winning gift for comedy. It's the book Rick has always wanted to write and the sole unsurprising thing about it is that it's a hell of a read.
378 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 29, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 31, 2026
I don't normally read autobiographies. I generally find that they leave a bit too much out. My favourite biographies tend to dig-in to the life of their subjects in way more detail than the subjects would normally reveal. Peter Ames Carlin's Homeward Bound: The Life of Paul Simon (2016) is a great example, and, though at the time-of-publication, the subject likely isn't too happy with what is being written, it nonetheless invariably makes them more personable and real. I gained a greater insight and appreciation of Simon through a biography he absolutely didn't authorise.
And so The Wizard of Prog. I would likely have purchased this title, despite my reservations about autobiographies, though in paperback form. My wife though, secured a VIP ticket to a book-signing event, and the ticket came with a near front-seat, a copy of the hardback edition, and in the first batch to queue for my copy to be signed.
It's not Rick's first autobiography. 1995 saw Say Yes! and 2009 saw the publication of Grumpy Old Rock Star: and Other Wondrous Stories. Quite a lot of autobiography really, but Rick has a lot to say. 3 divorces, four marriages, in-and-out of Yes, debt, heart attacks, other health emergencies, and an awful, awful lot of booze (well, up to 1985, that is). Endless tours, one-man gigs and an absolutely fabulous amount of composing, which he mentions near the end, he intends to ensure is recorded in sheet music for posterity. And throughout it all, that acerbic wit, rock-fast Christian faith, and willingness to help others, documented through his charitable causes, which have ensured his place as a household name. His piano recital of David Bowie's Life on Mars on the night Bowie's death was announced, at the very end of Simon Mayo's Radio 2 show in January 2026, pretty much sealed-the-deal, and introduced him to a new, younger audience.
So, the doors having opened early, I'd read 60 pages of The Wizard of Prog before Rick came on stage.
It became clear that he'd written (with Ian Gittins) an autobiography that absolutely reads like he is speaking to you at...a book signing, or one of his one-man gigs. Yet, for the first 200 pages, The Wizard of Prog is a bit low on the real laugh-out-loud humour, though fascinating nonetheless.
After that though, the gates of mirthdom are opened wide. As the world and people got dafter, Rick was there to witness it. A retelling of a story from Sharon Osbourne about how Ozzie was somehow getting legless day-after-day when he was left naked and without clothes in his hotel room is fabulous, and another one about the scattering of his Mother's ashes, equally so. In between, perhaps the worst response from a spouse receiving a (relieved) phone call from her husband...and...and, well lots really.
It is obvious though that Rick has realised his days are numbered, or at least his gigging days are numbered. Having recently had a new lease on life 'A New Brain' arthritis in his fingers is slowing him down a bit. He still has a lot of projects though in mind, and at the end of this volume, he lists them. I'm particularly interested in the one proposed with Trevor Rabin, and I'd asked him a related question about this during the Q&A.
There are two photo sections and, an Index, which I always appreciate.
So, despite my reservations about autobiographies, I sped through The Wizard of Prog, and will cherish my SIGNED copy!
And so The Wizard of Prog. I would likely have purchased this title, despite my reservations about autobiographies, though in paperback form. My wife though, secured a VIP ticket to a book-signing event, and the ticket came with a near front-seat, a copy of the hardback edition, and in the first batch to queue for my copy to be signed.
It's not Rick's first autobiography. 1995 saw Say Yes! and 2009 saw the publication of Grumpy Old Rock Star: and Other Wondrous Stories. Quite a lot of autobiography really, but Rick has a lot to say. 3 divorces, four marriages, in-and-out of Yes, debt, heart attacks, other health emergencies, and an awful, awful lot of booze (well, up to 1985, that is). Endless tours, one-man gigs and an absolutely fabulous amount of composing, which he mentions near the end, he intends to ensure is recorded in sheet music for posterity. And throughout it all, that acerbic wit, rock-fast Christian faith, and willingness to help others, documented through his charitable causes, which have ensured his place as a household name. His piano recital of David Bowie's Life on Mars on the night Bowie's death was announced, at the very end of Simon Mayo's Radio 2 show in January 2026, pretty much sealed-the-deal, and introduced him to a new, younger audience.
So, the doors having opened early, I'd read 60 pages of The Wizard of Prog before Rick came on stage.
It became clear that he'd written (with Ian Gittins) an autobiography that absolutely reads like he is speaking to you at...a book signing, or one of his one-man gigs. Yet, for the first 200 pages, The Wizard of Prog is a bit low on the real laugh-out-loud humour, though fascinating nonetheless.
After that though, the gates of mirthdom are opened wide. As the world and people got dafter, Rick was there to witness it. A retelling of a story from Sharon Osbourne about how Ozzie was somehow getting legless day-after-day when he was left naked and without clothes in his hotel room is fabulous, and another one about the scattering of his Mother's ashes, equally so. In between, perhaps the worst response from a spouse receiving a (relieved) phone call from her husband...and...and, well lots really.
It is obvious though that Rick has realised his days are numbered, or at least his gigging days are numbered. Having recently had a new lease on life 'A New Brain' arthritis in his fingers is slowing him down a bit. He still has a lot of projects though in mind, and at the end of this volume, he lists them. I'm particularly interested in the one proposed with Trevor Rabin, and I'd asked him a related question about this during the Q&A.
There are two photo sections and, an Index, which I always appreciate.
So, despite my reservations about autobiographies, I sped through The Wizard of Prog, and will cherish my SIGNED copy!
November 3, 2026
I enjoyed this deep dive Rick did on his life, even going way back to his early years. A minor “complaint” I have is that, with all the many works he’s done, I think he could’ve detailed more about them and made it longer. But the amount of works he does touch on paint a pretty good picture of his music career. And he does not shy away from family matters and health issues from over the years.
I should also mention I experienced this as an audiobook. Rick does a great job reading the whole thing. It’s different from the podcast, where he is asked questions point blank and tries to remember things on the spot, which can lead to pauses and stammering while trying to recall the memory. Here, it’s easier for him because he’s dealing with something already written. And if he did pause or stammer along the way, then such moments have been edited out expertly to make the audiobook feel seamless.
He does simplify certain Yes related transitions, particularly his leaving after Union and Keys to Ascension. And he definitely remembers the events surrounding Yes’ 40th anniversary tour differently from what actually happened. The way he describes it here makes it sound like he was always part of the Close to the Edge and Back Tour lineup and then Oliver was asked to join the band once they were gonna tour without Jon, but Rick was never part of that tour’s announcement. It was always Oliver. It may sound silly and unnecessary of a step, but I do kind of wish some sort of historian about Rick’s career had been allowed to give his manuscript a look. He also still maintains that he threw the tomato on the Tormato cover art, and there has been much debate about that. He does downplay the rivalry between Yes and ARW, which is fine I suppose as they are now all well past that. But I do really want this to be the last time I ever hear Rick’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame speech. I still think it’s a shame that Bill Bruford and Scotland Squire didn’t have time to speak at the event.
I quite like how the epilogue talks about ideas he still has. The one that stands out to me the most is a novel about the music industry. Would be very interested in reading Rick Wakeman the fiction writer.
I should also mention I experienced this as an audiobook. Rick does a great job reading the whole thing. It’s different from the podcast, where he is asked questions point blank and tries to remember things on the spot, which can lead to pauses and stammering while trying to recall the memory. Here, it’s easier for him because he’s dealing with something already written. And if he did pause or stammer along the way, then such moments have been edited out expertly to make the audiobook feel seamless.
He does simplify certain Yes related transitions, particularly his leaving after Union and Keys to Ascension. And he definitely remembers the events surrounding Yes’ 40th anniversary tour differently from what actually happened. The way he describes it here makes it sound like he was always part of the Close to the Edge and Back Tour lineup and then Oliver was asked to join the band once they were gonna tour without Jon, but Rick was never part of that tour’s announcement. It was always Oliver. It may sound silly and unnecessary of a step, but I do kind of wish some sort of historian about Rick’s career had been allowed to give his manuscript a look. He also still maintains that he threw the tomato on the Tormato cover art, and there has been much debate about that. He does downplay the rivalry between Yes and ARW, which is fine I suppose as they are now all well past that. But I do really want this to be the last time I ever hear Rick’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame speech. I still think it’s a shame that Bill Bruford and Scotland Squire didn’t have time to speak at the event.
I quite like how the epilogue talks about ideas he still has. The one that stands out to me the most is a novel about the music industry. Would be very interested in reading Rick Wakeman the fiction writer.
November 2, 2026
Brilliant! Finally, an autobiography by someone who has led an interesting life (including 4 marriages, a plane crash and a car crash!) and been friends with so many household names. Oh, and he happens to be one of the greatest rock stars ever. Thanks Rick.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews