Rick Wakeman has announced that he will finally be able to undertake the follow-up to his 2019’s Grumpy Old Christmas sell-out tour in November and December.
Postponed from December 2020 due to the Covid-19 lockdown, Wakeman's new tour is appropriately titled The Not Quite As Grumpy As Last Xmas Tour and will see him performing in some of the cities he didn’t manage to visit in 2019.
"At last I can finally tour the UK again," Wakeman enthuses. "I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed it. I’m also looking forward to ringing the changes with the addition of keyboards, which is a bit of a departure from my traditional ‘piano shows’, but will give me the opportunity to vary the setlist. And hopefully, I can put smiles on all our faces with stories of some of the ludicrous things that have happened in my career. After the last 18 months, I think we all deserve a laugh!”
As Wakeman implies, the new show will be a mix of music, featuring Wakeman's own solo compositions, music he recorded with Yes, but also classics from David Bowie and The Beatles and a few festive songs for good measure, along with Wakeman's all interspersed with his tongue-in-cheek anecdotes from his lengthy career.
In a departure from his last tour, as well as playing a grand piano, Wakeman will also be bringing along a couple of electronic keyboards to add variety and texture to his set.
Rick Wakeman's Not Quite As Grumpy As Last Xmas Tour dates:
Nov 28: Basingstoke The Anvil
Dec 01: Leicester De Montfort Hall
Dec 03: Bexhill De La Warr Pavilion
Dec 04: High Wycombe The Swan
Dec 05: Dorking The Halls
Dec 06: Cambridge Corn Exchange
Dec 09: Birmingham Town Hall
Dec 10: London Cadogan Hall
Dec 11: Southampton Central Hall
Dec 14: Southend Palace Theatre
Dec 15: Manchester Bridgewater Hall
Dec 16: Gateshead The Sage
Dec 17: Middlesbrough Town Hall
Dec 18: Edinburgh Queen’s Hall
Dec 20: Bradford St George’s Hall
Dec 21: Hull City Hall
