Yes – rick out, oliver in?

it seems to be (almost) official that rick wakeman,
on grounds of retirement from extensive touring
has indeed been replaced by his eldest son oliver,
as reported on the “YES where are they now“ site.

any thoughts?

i've just been to his website – no official word yet of course but he's all vintage young rick
on the photos! guess we'll have to cut the gossip for the moment and just wait and see.
seeing yes on an 40th anniversary tour isn't that high on my priority list.

el böthy wrote: BaldJean wrote: since I have never heard his son play I don't have any. if his father taught him he had a good teacher though Exactly

¿Isn't there also an Adam Wakeman who toured with Rick Wakeman in the 90's?

Oliver knows his arse from his elbows when it comes to playing keyboards but I wonder if he will have the on-stage charisma of his father in the eyes of the wider world of Yes fans? Certainly bearing the familiy name lends him a certain amount of gravitas. I for one would love to see him up there with the band. Rick has said in the past that he'd like to see the band name of Yes passed down through the generations with new musicians replacing the old personnel entirely. A bit like E.R.






Edited by sigod - March 07 2008 at 11:40

Both are highly talented but I would be surprised if Rick stopped touring.Perhaps if poor health was given then I could understand.I attended Rick's Christmas party in November 1992 high up in the hills near Buxton in Derbyshire and Adam played with his dad and Adam's then girlfriend did the vocals on 'Starship Trooper'  but to those who haven't seen Yes since the 70's get a life if they tour again.Their shows throughout the early part of this decade were fantastic.Their last being the 35 the anniversary when they were outstandind in Glasgow and did possibly the best version of 'And you and i ' i have seen them on every tour they have done on these shores since 1972.

So good I posted twice.

Oliver also has charisma on stage - at the gig that I saw (31st October 2007, the world premiere of Caamora's she) he competed with the singer of his band on who will be the 'real frontman'.

Oliver, huh?   A disappointment, but not a major one.  I was hoping for Brislin if Rick wouldn't participate.  (Well, really I'd like to see Igor again, but I know Yes has closed that door for good.)

Now it's officially in www.yesworld.com

Yes Tour Planned for 2008

March 7, 2008 It's official—Yes is back! Jon, Steve, Chris, and Alan are planning a world tour, with Oliver Wakeman sitting in on keyboards. Tour dates to be announced here soon!


Rick and Keith have wanted to play together for a long time, but there has always been something (tours of one or both, record label prohibitions, etc) that kept them from that.