name	Yessongs
type	live
artist	Yes
cover	Yessongs_front_cover.jpg
released	18 May 1973
recorded	February - December 1972
genre	Progressive rock
length	2:09:55
label	Atlantic
producer	Yes, Eddie Offord }}

''Yessongs'' is the first live album from the English progressive rock band Yes, released on Atlantic Records. The album is formed of recordings from their supporting world tours for their studio albums, ''Fragile'' and ''Close to the Edge'', between February and December 1972. A concert film of the same name was released in 1975 that documents the band's performances at London's Rainbow Theatre on 15 and 16 December 1972.

''Yessongs'' was released on 18 May 1973 as a triple vinyl set. It reached number 7 on the UK Albums Chart and number 12 on the ''Billboard'' 200 in the United States. The album was certified gold in 1973 and platinum in 1998 by the Recording Industry Association of America. It is now available as a double CD.

Production[link]

Background[link]

The ''Fragile'' tour tracks "Long Distance Runaround/The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)" and "Perpetual Change" are the only tracks on the album to feature Yes's original drummer, Bill Bruford, who left the group after recording ''Close to the Edge''. For that album's tour, Yes were joined by drummer Alan White, who had only days to learn the material. White was only three years into his career as a session drummer, but had already worked with such acts as The Plastic Ono Band and Joe Cocker.

Composition[link]

The album opens with an excerpt from Igor Stravinsky's ''Firebird Suite'', which has been a standard opening Yes concerts ever since. Later in the album, vocalist Jon Anderson sings a passage from Stravinsky's ''The Rite of Spring'' before the medley from keyboardist Rick Wakeman.

All band members except Anderson and White are given extended solo space. The track "Mood for a Day" is an unaccompanied guitar performance by Steve Howe, who also takes extended solos during "Yours Is No Disgrace" and at the end of "Starship Trooper". The ''Yessongs'' version of "The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)" is considerably longer than the studio version, with bassist Chris Squire taking an extended solo (and jamming with Bruford). Bill Bruford performs a drum solo on "Perpetual Change," which is preceded by an extended guitar performance by Howe accompanied by Bruford and Squire. The album also contains a medley of excerpts from keyboardist Rick Wakeman's solo album ''The Six Wives of Henry VIII''.

Some songs are extended to almost double the length of their studio counterparts as well as given a more high-octane performance.

Sources of live recordings[link]

The album featured no detailed recording credits. Two songs, "Close To The Edge" and "Starship Trooper", can be established by audio comparison to be sourced from the same London Rainbow Theatre concert as the ''Yessongs'' film (15 December 1972). "Roundabout" is assumed to come from the Ottawa, ON show (1 November 1972) and "Yours Is No Disgrace" from the Athens, GA show (14 November 1972) (both of these dates are purely anecdotal). The two tracks from the ''Fragile'' tour featuring Bill Bruford are generally assumed to come from the NYC Academy of Music shows on 19 and 23 February 1972 (based on text in the 1973 Australian Tour programme).

Cover design[link]

The album was initially released on three discs in a fold-out package featuring artwork by Roger Dean. Inside are four individual panels by Dean which continue a theme that began with ''Fragile'' in 1971. On the back cover of ''Fragile'' is an image of a small planet breaking apart into several large pieces with a giant sailing spacecraft nearby. The first panel in ''Yessongs'', titled "Escape", shows the craft apparently leading the planetary fragment through space. The second panel ("Arrival") depicts these fragments landing in the waters of a new world. In the third image ("Awakening") this new landscape becomes the habitat for various plant and animal species. The final image ("Pathways") depicts the emergence of civilization (Dean's cat walked across this piece whilst still wet and its paw prints can be clearly seen). This theme is also the basis of the film ''Floating Islands''. The sailing craft was used as a small logo on many of the band's subsequent albums, and the image sequence inspired Yes vocalist Jon Anderson's first solo album ''Olias of Sunhillow'' in 1976, although Roger Dean was not involved with that album's artwork.

The original Bob White plot for the RPG Ultima IX: Ascension compared the original ending of the game to Dean's artwork on ''Yessongs''.

Reception[link]

Track listing[link]

CD 1 Side one # "Opening (Excerpt from ''Firebird Suite'')" (Igor Stravinsky) – 3:47 # "Siberian Khatru" (Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman) – 9:03 # "Heart of the Sunrise" (Anderson, Bill Bruford, Chris Squire) – 11:33

Side two #

"Perpetual Change" (Anderson, Squire) – 14:11 # "And You and I" (Anderson, Bruford, Howe, Squire) – 9:33 ## "Cord of Life" ## "Eclipse" (Anderson, Bruford, Squire) ## "The Preacher the Teacher" ## "Apocalypse"

Side three #

"Mood for a Day" (Howe) – 2:53 # "Excerpts from ''The Six Wives of Henry VIII''" (Wakeman) – 6:37 # ”Roundabout" (Anderson, Howe) – 8:33

CD 2 Side four # "I've Seen All Good People" (Anderson, Squire) – 7:09 ## "Your Move" (Anderson) ## "All Good People" (Squire) # "Long Distance Runaround/The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)" (Anderson, Squire) – 13:37

Side five #

"Close to the Edge" (Anderson, Howe) – 18:13 ## "The Solid Time of Change" ## "Total Mass Retain" ## "I Get Up I Get Down" (Anderson, Squire) ## "Seasons of Man"

Side six #

"Yours Is No Disgrace" (Anderson, Bruford, Howe, Tony Kaye, Squire) – 14:23 # "Starship Trooper" (Anderson, Squire, Howe) – 10:08 ## "Life Seeker" (Anderson) ## "Disillusion" (Squire) ## "Würm" (Howe)

Concert film[link]

name	Yessongs
director	Peter Neal
producer	Brian Lane, David Speechley
starring	Jon AndersonChris SquireSteve HoweRick WakemanAlan White
music	Yes
editing	Philip Howe
released
runtime	76 minutes
gross	}}

A film, also titled ''Yessongs'', was released in 1975. It documents their concerts at London's Rainbow Theatre on 15 and 16 December 1972. The only performances that are the same on the album and the film are "Close to the Edge" and "Würm". #"Overture" #"I've Seen All Good People" #"Clap" #"And You and I" #"Close to the Edge" #"Excerpts from ''The Six Wives of Henry VIII''" #"Roundabout" #"Yours Is No Disgrace" #"Würm" (excerpt from "Starship Trooper")

On 17 December 1997, the film was released on DVD with Dolby.

Personnel[link]

Jon Anderson - lead vocals

Chris Squire - bass guitar, backup vocals

Steve Howe - electric and acoustic guitars, backup vocals

Rick Wakeman - keyboards, synthesiser, organ

Bill Bruford - drums on "Perpetual Change", "Long Distance Runaround" and "The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)"

Alan White - drums (everything else)

Chart performance[link]

!Year	!Chart	!Position
	UK Albums Chart

Certifications[link]

!Organization	!Level	!Date
RIAA – USA	Gold	March 17, 1973
CRIAA – Canada	Gold	December 1, 1976
RIAA – USA	Platinum	April 10, 1998

Reissues[link]

18 February 1987 - Original CD Issue - Atlantic Records (CD) 27 September 1994 - 2-CD Remaster - Atlantic Records (CD) 25 July 2001 - 3-CD HDCD Remaster by Isao Kikuchi - US "accordion" style cover - Warner Japan AMCY-6293 (CD) 22 July 2009 - 2-CD SHM-CD Remaster by Isao Kikuchi - original UK booklet style cover - Warner Music Japan WPCR-13517/8 (CD)

Missing from the Yes "expanded and remastered" 2003/2004 series by Rhino/Warner, (like Yesshows, 9012Live and Big Generator) Yessongs was most recently remastered in 2009 by Isao Kikuchi. The album was published by Warner Music Japan as part of their "Yes SHM-CD Papersleeve" series. Yessongs is the sole album from this series not to have bonus tracks.

Sources[link]

Allmusic

"Top Pop Albums 1955-2001", Joel Whitburn, c. 2002

http://www.minilps.net/yes/yessongs-amcy-6293

http://www.minilps.net/yes/yessongs-wpcr-13517

References[link]

External links[link]

Yesworld: The Official Yes website

Category:Yes (band) live albums Category:Albums with cover art by Roger Dean Category:Albums produced by Eddie Offord Category:Yes (band) video albums Category:Triple live albums Category:1997 video albums Category:Live video albums Category:1973 live albums Category:Atlantic Records live albums Category:Atlantic Records video albums

de:Yessongs es:Yessongs fr:Yessongs it:Yessongs ka:Yessongs hu:Yessongs nl:Yessongs ja:イエスソングス no:Yessongs pl:Yessongs pt:Yessongs fi:Yessongs sv:Yessongs uk:Yessongs

name	The Edge
background	solo_singer
birth name	David Howell Evans
birth date	August 08, 1961
Birth place	Barking, Essex, England, United Kingdom
origin	County Dublin, Ireland
instrument	Guitar, vocals, keyboards, piano, bass guitar
genre	Rock, post-punk, alternative rock
occupation	Musician, songwriter, activist
years active	1976–present
label	Island, Mercury
associated acts	U2, Passengers
website
notable instruments	Gibson ExplorerFender StratocasterGibson Les PaulFender TelecasterGretsch Country GentlemanGretsch White FalconRickenbacker 330/12 }}

David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), more widely known by his stage name The Edge (or just Edge), is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record. As a guitarist, The Edge has crafted a minimalistic and textural style of playing. His use of a rhythmic delay effect yields a distinctive ambient, chiming sound that has become a signature of U2's music.

The Edge was born in England to a Welsh family, but was raised in Ireland after moving there as an infant. In 1976, at Mount Temple Comprehensive School, he formed U2 with his fellow students and his older brother Dik. Inspired by the ethos of punk rock and its basic arrangements, the group began to write its own material. They eventually became one of the most popular acts in popular music, with successful albums such as 1987's ''The Joshua Tree'' and 1991's ''Achtung Baby''. Over the years, The Edge has experimented with various guitar effects and introduced influences from several genres of music into his own style, including American roots music, industrial music, and alternative rock. With U2, The Edge has also played keyboards, co-produced their 1993 record ''Zooropa'', and occasionally contributed lyrics. The Edge met his second and current wife, Morleigh Steinberg, through her collaborations with the band.

As a member of U2 and as an individual, The Edge has campaigned for human rights and philanthropic causes. He co-founded Music Rising, a charity to support musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina. He has collaborated with U2 bandmate Bono on several projects, including songs for Roy Orbison and Tina Turner, and the soundtracks to the musical ''Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'' and the Royal Shakespeare Company's London stage adaptation of ''A Clockwork Orange''. In 2011, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine placed him at number 38 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

Personal life[link]

David Howell Evans was born at the Barking Maternity Hospital, Essex, England to Welsh parents Garvin and Gwenda Evans. When he was one, his family moved to County Dublin, Ireland where he attended St Andrew's National School. He received piano and guitar lessons and often performed with his brother Dik Evans before they both answered an advertisement posted by Larry Mullen, Jr. at their school, Mount Temple Comprehensive School, seeking musicians to form a band. The band accepted both of them. This band went through several incarnations before emerging as U2 in March 1978 (Dik Evans left the band just before the name change). U2 began performing in various venues in Ireland and eventually began developing a following. Their debut album, ''Boy'', was released in 1980.

In 1981, leading up to the October tour, Evans came very close to leaving U2 for religious reasons, but he decided to stay. During this period, he became involved with a group called Shalom Tigers, in which bandmates Bono and Larry Mullen Jr. were also involved. Shortly after deciding to remain with the band, he wrote a piece of music that later became "Sunday Bloody Sunday". The Edge married his high school girlfriend Aislinn O'Sullivan on 12 July 1983. The couple had three daughters together: Hollie in 1984, Arran in 1985 and Blue Angel in 1989. The couple separated in 1990, but were unable to get officially divorced because of Irish laws regarding marriage annulment; divorce was legalised in 1995 and the couple were legally divorced in 1996.

In 1993, The Edge began dating Morleigh Steinberg, a professional dancer and choreographer employed by the band as a belly dancer during the Zoo TV Tour. They had a daughter, Sian (born 1997), and a son, Levi (born 25 October 1999), before marrying on 22 June 2002. He appeared in the 2009 music documentary film ''It Might Get Loud''. The Edge has been criticized for his efforts to build five luxury mansions on a 156 acre plot of land in Malibu, California. The California Coastal Commission voted 8-4 against the plans, with the project described by the commission's executive director, Peter Douglas, as "In 38 years...one of the three worst projects that I've seen in terms of environmental devastation...It's a contradiction in terms – you can't be serious about being an environmentalist and pick this location." The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy agreed to remain neutral on the issue following a $1 million donation from The Edge and a commitment from The Edge to designate 100 acres of the land as open space for public footpaths.

Music style[link]

Guitar playing [link]

As a guitar player, The Edge has a sound typified by a low-key playing style, a chiming, shimmering sound (thanks in part to the sound of VOX AC-30s) that he achieves with extensive use of delay effects and reverb. The feedback delay is often set to a dotted eighth note (3/16 of a measure), and the feedback gain is adjusted until a note played repeats two or three times.

On 1987's ''The Joshua Tree'', The Edge often contributes just a few simple lead lines given depth and richness by an ever-present delay. For example, the introduction to "Where the Streets Have No Name" is simply a repeated six-note arpeggio, broadened by a modulated delay effect. The Edge has said that he views musical notes as "expensive", in that he prefers to play as few notes as possible. He said in 1982 of his style,

"I like a nice ringing sound on guitar, and most of my chords I find two strings and make them ring the same note, so it's almost like a 12-string sound. So for E I might play a B, E, E and B and make it ring. It works very well with the Gibson Explorer. It's funny because the bass end of the Explorer was so awful that I used to stay away from the low strings, and a lot of the chords I played were very trebly, on the first four, or even three strings. I discovered that through using this one area of the fretboard I was developing a very stylized way of doing something that someone else would play in a normal way."

Many different influences have shaped The Edge's guitar technique. His first guitar was an old acoustic guitar that his mother bought him at a local flea market for only a few pounds; he was nine at the time. He and his brother Dik Evans both experimented with this instrument. He said in 1982 of this early experimentation, "I suppose the first link in the chain was a visit to the local jumble sale where I purchased a guitar for a pound. That was my first instrument. It was an acoustic guitar and me and my elder brother Dik both played it, plonking away, all very rudimentary stuff, open chords and all that." The Edge has stated that many of his guitar parts are based around guitar effects. This is especially true from the ''Achtung Baby'' era onwards, although much of the band's 1980s material made heavy use of echos.

Vocals [link]

The Edge also supplies the backing vocals for U2. U2's 1983 live album and video release, ''Under a Blood Red Sky'' and ''Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky'' are good reference points for his singing (as are the live DVDs from the Elevation Tour, ''U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle'' and ''Elevation 2001: Live from Boston''). For example, he sings the chorus to "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (Bono harmonizes on the final 'Sunday'). U2 used this tradeoff technique later in "Bullet the Blue Sky" as well. His backing vocals are sometimes in the form of a repeated cry; examples of songs that use this approach include "Beautiful Day", "New Year's Day" and "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)". Another technique he uses in his backing vocals is the falsetto, in songs such as "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of", "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own", "A Man and a Woman", "The Wanderer", live versions of "The Fly", and "Window in the Skies".

The Edge sings the lead vocal on "Van Diemen's Land" and "Numb", the first half of the song "Seconds", dual vocals with Bono in "Discotheque", and the bridge in the song "Miracle Drug". He also sings the occasional lead vocal in live renditions of other songs (such as "Sunday Bloody Sunday" during the PopMart Tour and "Party Girl" during the Rotterdam Zoo TV show when it was Bono's birthday). He also plays a solo acoustic version of the song "Love is Blindness" that is featured in the documentary film ''From the Sky Down''.

Other instruments [link]

He has played piano and keyboards on many of the band's songs, including "I Fall Down", "October", "So Cruel", "New Year's Day", "Running to Stand Still", "Miss Sarajevo", "The Hands that Built America", and "Original of the Species" and others. He plays the organ on "Please". In live versions of "New Year's Day", "The Unforgettable Fire", "Your Blue Room", and "Moment of Surrender", he plays both the piano and guitar parts alternately. In most live versions of "Original of the Species," piano is the only instrument played during the song. Although The Edge is the band's lead guitarist, he occasionally plays bass guitar, including the live performances of the song "40" where The Edge and bassist Adam Clayton switch instruments.

Solo recordings[link]

In addition to his regular role within U2, The Edge has also recorded with such artists as Johnny Cash, B. B. King, Tina Turner, Ronnie Wood, Jay-Z, and Rihanna. The Edge connected with Brian Eno and Lanois collaborator Michael Brook (the creator of the infinite guitar, which he regularly uses), working with him on the score to the film ''Captive'' (1986). From this soundtrack the song "Heroine", the vocal of which was sung by a young Sinéad O'Connor was released as a single.

He also created the theme song for season one and two of ''The Batman''. He and fellow U2 member, Bono, wrote the lyrics to the theme of the 1995 James Bond film ''GoldenEye''. The Edge, along with bandmate Bono, recently composed a musical adaptation of Spider-Man. On May 25, 2011, a single titled ''Rise Above 1: Reeve Carney Featuring Bono and The Edge'' was released digitally. The music video was released on July 28, 2011.

Musical equipment[link]

The Edge plays electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, piano, bass guitar (on "40" and "Race Against Time") and lap steel guitar. Compared to many lead guitarists, The Edge is known for using many more guitars during a show. According to his guitar tech Dallas Schoo, a typical lead guitarist uses four or five different guitars in one night, whereas The Edge takes 45 on the road, and uses 17 to 19 in one 2.5-hour concert. He is estimated to have more than 200 guitars in the studio.

Philanthropy[link]

In 2005, The Edge along with Bob Ezrin and Henry Juszkiewicz co-founded Music Rising, a charity that helped provide replacement instruments for those that were lost in Hurricane Katrina. The instruments were originally only replaced for professional musicians but they soon realized the community churches and schools needed instruments as well. The charity's slogan is "Rebuilding the Gulf Region note by note" and has so far helped over a hundred musicians who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Edge also serves on the board of the Angiogenesis Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving global health by advancing angiogenesis-based medicine, diets, and lifestyle.

See also[link]

Timeline of U2

List of people on stamps of Ireland

References[link]

;Footnotes

;Bibliography

External links[link]

U2.com, official U2 site

Music Rising

The Edge – Album Credits

A Study of The Edge's Guitar Delay

The Edge: 'It's all about the vision'

Food Bank For New York City public service announcement

Comment on the mathematical analysis of The Edge's guitar sound

Category:Irish male singers Category:Irish rock guitarists Category:British male singers Category:British rock guitarists Category:Irish people of Welsh descent Category:People from County Dublin Category:People from Essex Category:People from Dalkey Category:Lead guitarists Category:Slide guitarists Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Golden Globe Award winning musicians Category:Backing vocalists Category:U2 members Category:1961 births Category:Living people Category:Pseudonymous musicians Category:Rock songwriters

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name	Rick Wakeman
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Richard Christopher Wakeman
birth date	May 18, 1949
Birth place	Perivale, London, England
instrument	Keyboards, piano, synthesiser
genre	Rock, progressive rock, pop, electronica, jazz fusion, classical, Christian music
occupation	Musician, songwriter
years active	1969–present
label	A&M;, Charisma, President Records, Voiceprint, Griffin, EMI, Music Fusion, Hot Productions, Studio T
associated acts	Yes, Strawbs, ABWH, David Bowie, Warhorse, Black Sabbath, Cat Stevens
website	www.rwcc.com }}

Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes. He is also known for his solo albums, contributing to the BBC comedy series ''Grumpy Old Men'' and for ''Rick's Place'', his former radio show on Planet Rock that aired until December 2010.

Wakeman was born in West London. He purchased his first electronic keyboard at 12 years of age. In 1968, he studied the piano, clarinet, orchestration and modern music at the Royal College of Music before leaving after a year in favour of session music work. He went on to feature on songs by artists including Ozzy Osbourne, David Bowie, T. Rex, Elton John and Cat Stevens. Wakeman joined the folk group Strawbs in 1969 and played on three of their albums. He first joined Yes in 1971 to replace Tony Kaye, and left the group in 1974 to work on his solo career. He returned in 1976 before leaving with lead vocalist Jon Anderson in 1980. Wakeman was part of the side project Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, a group of ex-Yes members formed in 1989, and the eight-member Yes line-up that followed until his third departure in 1992. He returned for two years in 1995 and once more in 2002, where he was part of the band's 35th anniversary tour until its end in 2004.

Wakeman began his solo career during his first run with Yes. His perhaps most known records being his first three, ''The Six Wives of Henry VIII'' (1973), ''Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' (1974) and ''The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table'' (1975). He has produced over 100 solo albums that have sold more than 50 million copies. In November 2010, Wakeman was awarded the Spirit of Prog award at the annual Marshall Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards.

Early life[link]

Rick Wakeman was born on 18 May 1949 in the west London suburb of Northolt to Cyril Frank and Mildred Helen Wakeman. He attended Wood End Infants School in 1954, followed by Drayton Manor Grammar School in 1959. He started playing the piano at the age of 5 and purchased his first electronic keyboard at the age of 12. In 1968, Wakeman secured a place at the Royal College of Music, where he studied piano, clarinet, orchestration and modern music. He left a year later in favour of session music work.

Music career[link]

Session work and the Strawbs (1969–1971)[link]

Wakeman became an active session musician. In June 1969, he played Mellotron on David Bowie's single "Space Oddity" for a session fee of £9. He went on to play piano for Bowie's "Life on Mars?", "Changes" and "Oh! You Pretty Things" in April 1971 and "Absolute Beginners" in 1985. He also played the piano on the Cat Stevens' hit "Morning Has Broken". In 1971 he acquired an early Minimoog synthesiser, purchasing it at half price from actor Jack Wild who believed that it was defective because it only played one note at a time.

In 1970 and 1971, Wakeman was part of the folk rock group Strawbs. His first appearance on an album sleeve was on ''Dragonfly'', the group's second studio album released in February 1970. The band held a concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London on 11 July 1970 where Wakeman performed a solo piano piece named "Temparament of Mind". He received a standing ovation for his performance, and the track appeared on the band's live record released that year, ''Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios''. Wakeman appeared on the front page of ''Melody Maker'' soon after, which called him "Tomorrow's Superstar", and composed the theme music to the television show ''Ask Aspel''. He remained in the Strawbs for a third album, ''From the Witchwood'', but left the group in mid-1971.

Joining Yes and start of solo career (1971–1975)[link]

In 1971, Wakeman joined the progressive rock band Yes, replacing their organist Tony Kaye. His first concert with the group took place in Leicester on 30 September 1971. He worked on the group's fourth, fifth and sixth studio albums – ''Fragile'' (1971), ''Close to the Edge'' (1972), and ''Tales from Topographic Oceans'' (1973). Wakeman, however, felt ''Tales from Topographic Oceans'' was pretentious and – despite its ambition – insubstantial. He disliked performing the album on tour, feeling the length of the songs prevented the band from playing their more popular tracks. Following the tour, as the band began work on what would become ''Relayer'' (1974), Wakeman felt further alienated from the group. Disenchanted with the direction in which Yes was going, and already into a successful solo career, he left.

Wakeman produced his first three solo albums during his first run with Yes. On 23 January 1973, he released ''The Six Wives of Henry VIII'', an instrumental concept album based on his interpretations of the musical characteristics of the wives of Henry VIII, using keyboard instruments. The album was overall well received by critics. ''TIME'' magazine named the record one of the best pop albums of 1973. In October 1975, the album was certified Gold.

On 18 January 1974, Wakeman performed ''Journey to the Centre of the Earth'', a forty-minute piece based on the Jules Verne novel of the same name, at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Combining rock with an orchestra and choir, the concert was recorded and released on 18 May, where it topped the UK album charts on entry for one week. The record became a multi-million dollar seller in six weeks. The album was certified Gold in September 1974.

In May 1975, Wakeman released ''The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table'', with the album was performed live at the Empire Pool on ice. The show was well received but expensive to produce, consuming much of the income from sales of the album. The album was also a worldwide success, reaching No.21 in the United States while going Gold (the third time a Wakeman record had achieved this) in Brazil, Japan and Australia. The album has sold 12 million copies.

In 1975, Wakeman produced the first of two soundtracks for films by Ken Russell, that being ''Lisztomania''; Wakeman would go on to create the soundtrack for ''Crimes of Passion'' in 1984. In 1976, Wakeman produced and created the album ''No Earthly Connection'' in France.

Rejoining Yes (1976–1980)[link]

Wakeman returned to Yes for their 1977 album ''Going for the One''. He remained until their next album, ''Tormato'', a year later. He is reputed to have given the album its name by throwing a tomato at a showing of the art used for the album's cover.

Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe and Yes (1989–1992)[link]

In 1989, he joined with three fellow ex-Yes members to form Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe ("ABWH"). After ABWH's first album, some of the completed tracks for a planned second album were merged with tracks from an in-progress Yes album to create the album ''Union''. Wakeman, along with the combined members of both bands then joined to form a Yes supergroup (made up of past and present members of Yes) for the subsequent tour in 1991. When the tour ended a year later, Wakeman left again.

Fourth run with Yes (1995–1997)[link]

He then returned in 1996 for the ''Keys to Ascension'' albums but left before the band could tour.

Fifth run with Yes and Hampton Court (2002–2009)[link]

In 2002, he rejoined Yes and stayed with the band until their 2008 In The Present Tour. For the group's 40th anniversary tour, Wakeman was replaced by his son, Oliver Wakeman.

In 2008, Wakeman toured with a solo show named ''Rick Wakeman's Grumpy Old Picture Show'', featuring an evening of music and stories.

In May 2009, Wakeman performed ''The Six Wives of Henry VIII'' live at Hampton Court Palace for the first time, for two nights. The performance was recorded and released as ''The Six Wives of Henry VIII Live at Hampton Court Palace''.

Instruments[link]

Although Wakeman is a noted player of the grand piano, electric piano, Hammond organ, Minimoog and many later models of synthesiser, he is well known as an exponent (for a time) of the Mellotron – an analogue electronic musical instrument that uses a bank of pre-recorded magnetic tape strips, each of which is activated by a separate key on its keyboard and lasts approximately 8 seconds. Wakeman featured playing this instrument, to varying degrees, on the David Bowie track "Space Oddity", the Yes albums ''Fragile'', ''Close to the Edge'' and ''Tales From Topographic Oceans'', as well as the solo albums ''The Six Wives of Henry VIII'' and ''White Rock''. It proved too unwieldy and unreliable for regular touring, and he eventually doused the last Mellotron that he owned in petrol and set fire to it in a field. Undeterred, he worked with David Biro to develop the Birotron, which used the then popular 8-track cassette format rather than tape strips. Because of the advent of digital keyboards at that time, and also because the cassette tape format could not reproduce the attack and decay of musical notes (which the tape strips of the Mellotron could reproduce), the Birotron was never a commercial or technical success. Only 35 Birotrons were produced, and Wakeman eventually threw his across the stage after it broke down mid-concert, an action he now regrets as there are only six remaining examples.

Recent years[link]

Wakeman's track "Arthur" has been used as the theme tune to the BBC's ''Election Night Coverage'' since 1979, with the exception of 2001 and 2010. Wakeman's album ''Fields of Green '97'' features the track "Election '97/Arthur" which was used by the BBC for their coverage of the 1997 General Election. The music was revamped for the BBC's 2005 general election night coverage.

His TV career was launched in 1982 when he hosted Gastank on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. The show featured a mix of interviews with 1970s musicians and impromptu performances where the guest artist would join Wakeman and his house band in playing re-arranged versions of their classic songs or entirely new pieces created for the show. Wakeman hosted the ITV comedy show Live at Jongleurs for 8 years.

Wakeman is a contributor to the BBC Two show ''Grumpy Old Men''. He has also appeared in a number of episodes of ''Countdown''. He has also appeared on the satirical panel shows ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' (4 appearances) and ''Have I Got News For You''. Between September 2005 and December 2010, Wakeman presented ''Rick's Place'', a weekly radio show on Planet Rock with David 'Kid' Jensen. Wakeman appeared as himself in "Journey to the Centre of Rick Wakeman", the season two finale of ''Mitch Benn's Crimes Against Music'', a BBC Radio 4 comedy programme. The episode detailed a fictional war between England and Wales in 2009 which only Wakeman could stop. Wakeman provided piano for Benn's 2008 single "Sing Like an Angel", which was released on iTunes. In December 2006, Wakeman was the guest host for an episode of ''The Personality Test'' on Radio 4. He also appeared on ''Top Gear'' and set a race track lap time of 1'55.26. Wakeman made his debut appearance on ''Just a Minute'' on Radio 4 on 7 February 2011.

In October 2007, Wakeman commenced a new tour 'Rick Wakeman's Grumpy Old Picture Show', where he accompanies video performers such as Gordon Giltrap and the English Rock Ensemble (Ashley Holt, Lee Pomeroy, Dave Colquhoun and Tony Fernandez). A Freemason, he is a member of Chelsea Lodge No. 3098, the membership of which is made up of entertainers. In 2009, Wakeman became a Patron of Tech Music Schools.

In 2011, Wakeman, alongside Fiaba's drummer Bruno Rubino, has been recording and arranging the debut full-length studio album of the Italian singer Valentina Blanca.

In January 2012, Wakeman appeared as part of a group backing Jasper Carrott on BBC 1's ''The One Jasper Carrott''.

Personal life[link]

On 28 March 1970, Wakeman married his first wife Rosaline Woolford at twenty years of age and had two sons, Oliver (b. 26 February 1972) and Adam (b. 11 March 1974). Rick and Rosaline divorced in 1977, and Wakeman married studio secretary Danielle Corminboeuf in January 1980 in the West Indies, with whom he had one son, Benjamin (b. 1978). He had a daughter, Jemma Kiera (b. 12 February 1983), with former Page 3 model Nina Carter and the two married in 1984 followed by the birth of their son, Oscar (b. May 1986). He has had a renewal of his Christian faith, which began around the time of his marriage to Nina Carter. Nina and Rick divorced in December 2004.

Rick Wakeman had a daughter Manda (b. 9 May 1986) with his long time friend, designer and seamstress Denise Gandrup, whom he first met in 1972. Denise designed much of Wakeman's stage outfits including his famous capes.

In his twenties, Wakeman suffered three heart attacks. The first occurred after a performance of ''Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' at the Crystal Palace Bowl on 27 July 1974.

In 1980 he was mis-diagnosed as having rheumatoid arthritis in his hands. He only found out in 2008 that the pain he was suffering was just due to sudden overwork after a period of lack of keyboard practice.

A passionate football fan, Wakeman has supported Brentford F.C. since he was a child, and later on he also became a director of the West London club. After a disagreement with the board, he moved on to Manchester City F.C. but maintained his allegiance to Brentford. He was involved in the ownership of the American soccer club Philadelphia Fury in the late '70s, along with other rock celebrities such as Peter Frampton and Paul Simon.

He is a strong supporter of the UK's Conservative Party, and performed a concert in September 2004 for the benefit of the party.

Wakeman has been president of the show business charity The Heritage Foundation. The charity erects blue plaques on the homes and/or work-places of late entertainers and sportspeople. He is also Honorary President of the Classic Rock Society, a UK-based organisation helping to promote classic and progressive rock.

Discography[link]

Bibliography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Rick Wakeman's Communication Centre

Rick Wakeman's Official Press Photos

Category:English electronic musicians Category:English rock keyboardists Category:English session musicians Category:Yes (band) members Category:Alumni of the Royal College of Music Category:People from Ealing Category:People from Wembley Category:English Christians Category:1949 births Category:Living people Category:The Ozzy Osbourne Band members Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics Category:English heavy metal keyboardists Category:Progressive rock musicians Category:Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe members

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The word ''asshole'', a variant of ''arsehole'', which is still prevalent in British and Australian English, is a vulgar to describe the anus, often pejoratively used to refer to people.

History[link]

The word ''arse'' in English derives from the Germanic root *arsaz, which originated from the Proto-Indo-European root *ors — meaning ''buttocks'' or ''backside''. The combined form ''arsehole'' is first attested from 1500 in its literal use to refer to the anus. The metaphorical use of the word to refer to the worst place in a region, ''e.g.'', "the arsehole of the world") is first attested in print in 1865; the use to refer to a contemptible person is first attested in 1933. In the ninth chapter of his 1945 autobiography, ''Black Boy'', Richard Wright quotes a snippet of verse that uses the term: "All these white folks dressed so fine / Their ass-holes smell just like mine ...". Its first appearance as an insult term in a newspaper indexed by Google News is in 1965. As with other vulgarities, these uses of the word may have been common in oral speech for some time before their first print appearances. By the 1970s, ''Hustler'' magazine featured people they did not like as "Asshole of the Month." In 1972, Jonathan Richman's Modern Lovers recorded his song "Pablo Picasso," which includes the line "Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole."

Until the early 1990s, the word was considered one of a number of words that could not be uttered on commercial television in the United States. Comedian Andrew Dice Clay caused a major shock when he uttered the word during a televised MTV awards show in 1989. However, there were PG-13 and R rated films in the 1980s that featured use of the word, such as the R-rated ''The Terminator'' (1984), the PG-13-rated ''National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'' (1989), and the PG-rated ''Back to the Future'' (1985). By 1994, however, vulgarity had become more acceptable, and the word was featured in dialog on the long-running television series ''NYPD Blue'', though it has yet to become anything close to commonplace on network TV. In some broadcast edits (such as the syndication airings of ''South Park''), the word is partially bleeped out — ironically, as "assh—", with the profane half of the word intact.

Semantics[link]

The word is mainly used as a vulgarity, generally to describe people who are viewed as stupid or incompetent or detestable.

This word or its literal translation is found in colloquial speech in a number of cultures (in both English and other languages). This is because it describes an organ of elimination that is considered a taboo region (since it belongs to the intimate parts) of the body in many societies.

The English word ''ass'' (meaning donkey, a cognate of its zoological name ''Equus asinus'') may also be used as a term of contempt, referring to a silly or stupid person. In the United States, and, to a lesser degree, in Canada, the words ''arse'' and ''ass'' have become synonymous; however, in the rest of the English-speaking world, ''ass'' still only refers to the donkey, rather than the ''arse'' (buttocks). It is worth noting that speakers of some varieties of English "drop their Rs" before consonants, leading to a pronunciation of ''arse'' that is quite similar to ''ass''.

Political usage[link]

In 2000, during a Labor Day event, then candidate George W. Bush made an off-hand remark to his running mate, Dick Cheney, that ''New York Times'' reporter Adam Clymer was a "major league asshole." The gaffe was caught on microphone and led to a political advertisement chiding Bush for "using expletives ... in front of a crowd of families," produced for Democratic opponent Al Gore.

In February 2004, American media reported that during a rally of supporters, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called Bush "an asshole" for believing his aides in supporting a coup against Chavez in 2002. The word in the original Spanish was "pendejo", and in news coverage the word was widely, though incorrectly, translated as "asshole"; the meaning of the word varies substantially in Latin America, and in Venezuela its meaning is closer to "fool". The following year, in September, ''Nightline'' host Ted Koppel said to Chavez on national television, "I'm going to perhaps shock you a little, but these are your words. You called President Bush an asshole," to which Chavez replied, "I've said various things about him. I don't know if I actually used that word."

See also[link]

Arse

The No Asshole Rule

Sexual Slang

Profanity

References[link]

Category:Pejorative terms for people Category:Profanity

cs:Prdel de:Arschloch simple:Asshole zh-yue:屎忽鬼