2006 News

15th December

Oliver to appear on Rick's Place on the digital radio station Planet Rock on Saturday16th December. 

The show starts at 10 and runs until 1pm and can be found on Sky chanel 0110 or Cable channel 924.
 

10th December

We are delighted to announce that Oliver won the Classic Rock Society Best Keyboard Player Award at last nights CRS Awards show. 

These awards are voted for by the members of the Classic Rock Society and Oliver is very honoured to have been voted for and even more honoured to have won!

The awards were presented by the MD of the CRS, Martin Hudson and Carl Palmer of Aisa and ELP fame. 

Oliver and Paul Manzi were both in attendance, Paul just missing out on the best vocalist award but coming a very respectable 2nd place. The guys had a great night hanging out with Luke and Ben of Thunder, John Mitchell (new singer/guitarist of It Bites), the guys from Strangefish, Nick Barrett (Pendragon) and many others.

A great night was had by all and the award now has pride of place on top of Oliver's piano!

The Mother's Ruin album did very well, coming 7th in the best Album category and the title track came 5th in the best song category.

The rest of the band did very well for themselves, Paul coming second in the vocalist category, Dave Pearce coming 12th in the Guitarist category, Paul Brown came 7th in the Bass Player category and Dave Wagstaffe came 6th in the Drummer category. 

The band also appeared 6th in the Best Band category, 8th in the Best Gig category and 7th in the Best New Band category! All in all a good evenings work!

Many thanks to all who attended and who voted for Oliver and the guys - it means a lot to us all.
 

10th November

All to often we hear about radio play of Oliver's after the event - we are lucky to be able to warn you in advance of the following rock show which is to feature some of Oliver's music!

The show is a a full "1-hour special" rock radio show featuring ..

BOB CATLEY interview
SPIRIT OF MAN tracks
DAVE THOMPSON/PAUL UTTLEY (LOST WEEKEND) interview
FOREVER MOVING ON tracks
OLIVER WAKEMAN (track from MOTHER'S RUIN)

and is set to be aired on BRADFORD ROCKS on BCB 106.6 FM in West Yorkshire and via Realaudio feed from the station website www.bcbradio.co.uk

Date: Thursday 23rd November 2006
Time: 9-10 pm GMT (4-5 pm EST)
 

6th November

Saturday night saw Oliver and Paul Manzi travel up to Rotherham to play a short half hour set for the Classic Rock Society. The set was extremely well received, so much so that it looks like Oliver and Paul may do a few more together! 

Watch out for dates involving the whole band for next year!

The set list for the show on Saturday was as follows....

Glimmer of Light - Jabberwocky
If you're Leaving - Mother's Ruin
Picture of a Lady - Hound 
Busy going nowhere - New
Mother's Ruin - Mother's Ruin
Walk Away - Mother's Ruin


Thanks to those of you who travelled to see the show, much appreciated as always! Keep visiting the site for a review of the set soon.
 

17th October

Some of you may remember that earlier in the year Oliver and the band were due to perform for the Classic Rock Society and that Paul Manzi suffered a back problem and was unable to perform.

You may also remember that the guys still went on and pulled of a great - albeit shorter - set for the fans who had come to the show.

Oliver and Paul discussed their disapointment about not being able to perform together for the CRS at some length! However - an opportunity recently presented itself when Martin Hudson of the CRS suggested that Oliver and Paul made a visit to Rotherham to open the CRS 'Thank you to the Fans Free* Show' on the 4th November.

Oliver and Paul will be performing a short half hour set to open the show and will perform tracks from Mother's Ruin, Hound of the Baskervilles and Jabberwocky as well as the possibility of a new track!

The deal for the show is this (courtesy of the CRS magazine):

*This is a free show to say thank you to those who keep the CRS cogs turning. If you have been to a CRS gig this year and have a ticket to prove it (and your membership card) you will get FREE entrance. 

All others are £10 on the door. Also appearing are Credo and Anemo. Tickets available from the CRS ticket office on 01709 702575 or from the Classic Rock Society website .

We hope to see you there! 

The full band are also due to return to the CRS stage at some point next year.
 

16th October

Well the guys had a great time at the Grey Horse last month on the 29th September with a short set which was performed to an extremely receptive crowd! Everybody seemed to really enjoy themselves with Wall of Water being particularly well received. This was the full version including Oliver and Paul's comedy routine at the beginning - you had to be there!

Anyway, for those who missed it, here's the set List

1. Calling for you 
2. Don't Come Running 
3. In the Movies 
4. The Agent 
5. Mother's Ruin 
6. If You're Leaving 
7. Wall of Water 
8. I Don't Believe Angels 
9. Enlightenment 
10. Walk Away 
 

22nd August

Click here to be taken to the Sea of Tranquility website for an interview Oliver carried out regarding Mother's Ruin!
 

20th August

The Band had a great concert last night at The Cartoon in Croydon. The setlist for the show was as follows...

1. Calling for you 
2. At Home in the Mire 
3. In the Movies 
4. Don't Come Running 
5. Dangerous World 
6. The Enchanter 
7. Glimmer of Light 
8. The Agent
9. Mother's Ruin 
10. If You're Leaving 
11. Wall of Water 
12. I Don t Believe Angels 
13. Walk Away 

The band had finished for the evening but weren't being let off that easily - after much cheering from the crown they returned for....

14. Coming to Town 

We have found a mention about the show from melosprogbazaar.com which was as follows....

"Great gig, Oliver Wakeman Band are excellent live, Anyone has a chance to see them GO!, Even though only 90 people there, Standing ovation for the band that won the crowd over, Will go and see them again, and start buying their cd's, That's what gigging is about, attracting new fans, Me and Tina are now converts."

The band certainly enjoyed themselves and are looking forward to playing there again at some point in the future.

Other information....Oliver appeared on Mark Deren's dutch radio show this evening and discussed the band, Mother's Ruin and the 4 Wakeman's and a Christmas Tree show. He also was asked about playing in Holland which the guys are hoping for for 2007!
 

17th August

Don't Forget Oliver and the band are performing at the Cartoon in Croydon this Saturday. See the concerts page for more details. We look forward to seeing you there!

Other news - Oliver was played on LBC radio last Wednesday morning. 

Walk Away from Mother's Ruin was aired during the Steve Allen morning show to promote the Cartoon show and then on Saturday Oliver's father Rick played 'The Forest' from the Jabberwocky album.

If you are listening to the radio in Holland this weekend, you could catch Oliver on the radio there as he's the guest of Mark Deren's radio show. For more details click here!
 

2nd August

What a night that was.....!

Oliver has said that it was the hardest show he's ever had to do.... What happened.....find out by clicking here to read Phil Hudsons review!
 

13th July

Great News!!!!!

Oliver and his band will be headlining next Saturdays Classic Rock Society concert at the Boardwalk in Sheffield (22nd July).

The band will be:
Oliver Wakeman - Keyboards & Piano
Paul Manzi - Vocals
David Mark Pearce - Guitar
Paul Brown - Bass 
Dave Wagstaffe - Drums

Support is from Ashtar from Brazil and a great nights entertainment from the CRS is promised as usual!

Tickets are on sale from the Classic Rock Society website or you can order by phone by calling the CRS ticket line 01709 702575.

We hope to see you all there!
 

20th May

Updates!

Firstly, I thought it was a good idea to update you all on a few bits and pieces. Unfortunately the site has been un available for a few days due to the re-registering of the site but hopefully normal service has now been resumed.

The Bob Tour
Well it's finished! I returned from the European leg (well Spanish) of the tour on Sunday to end a thourally enjoyable experience with Bob and the band. 

For an insight to the tour click here..... You can also see some photos from the tour on the Photo album.

The Oliver Wakeman Band
I now have to start to organise myself for the shows that I have coming up with my band which are listed on the concerts page. We look forward to seeing you at the shows, be warned we may do a few new pieces......

Spiritual Enlightenment
A few years ago Oliver was commissioned to write an album for inclusion in a 3CD box set called divine Harmonies. Due to certain circumstances the box set never quite worked and has now been deleted. However, good news is that the album due to be released in June as a download album. Details to follow soon.

Oliver has also put new artwork together for the re-release and this can be seen on the albums page.

Interviews
Norways Scream magazine is now available and features an in depth interview with Oliver. Oliver has also done a couple of other interviews, Revelationz website and the Sea of Tranquility website. Click here to read them!
 

9th April

Oliver will be out on tour this coming Easter week as part of the Bob Catley band.

The dates are

Friday 14th April - Rock Café 2000 - Stourbridge
Saturday 15th April - The Boardwalk - Sheffield
Sunday 16th April - The Underworld - London
Monday 17th April - The Joiners - Southampton
Tuesday 18th April - The Limelight - Crewe
Wednesday 19th April - Club Phoenix - Ilfracombe, Devon
Saturday 22nd April - Celtic Warriors - Huntington, Cambs 

May dates....
12th May - Nemelrock 4 Madrid - Spain
13th May - Nemelrock 4 Santander - Spain 

For more details please visit the Bob Catley website.
 

1st February

Well the show in Rotherham at the weekend was a great success. Oliver and the Guys played a great half hour set which consisted of:

Don't Come Running, In the Movies, Calling for You, Mother's Ruin, I Don't Believe in Angels and Walk Away

Oliver then joined Damian Wilson on stage for an acoustic rendition of Damian's 'Homegrown'. Oliver and Damian were then joined by the rest of Oliver's band for a rousing version of the classic 'Hard to Handle'!

You can see a photo of Oliver, Arjen , Dave Pearce and Paul Manzi in the photo album section of the site.

Hardrockhouse.com had this to say about Oliver and the band:

Review & Photos - Dougie & Steve Cummings

Saturday the 28th January 2006 was another day of first's for this reviewer, My first visit to Rotherham and the Classic Rock Society and the completion of  a first “hat trick” for the site, i.e. review the album, interview the band and finally see the band live. It also happened to be the very first UK gig for Stream Of Passion.  

Opening this particular show was the Oliver Wakeman Band. Their gig consisted of a short sharp set of Prog/AOR style numbers. Opening with 'Don't Come Running including a great re-arranged version of Mother's Ruin which like all the tracks featured great vocals from Paul Manzi, who has a voice with great range and power. The entire set was punctuated with great keyboard & guitar work from Oliver Wakeman and David Mark Pearce respectively  and at times the interplay between the two was very much Deep Purple inspired. The set ended with excellent AOR sounding  Walkaway and I have to say that I enjoyed what was on offer and hope at some point to see the band do a full set with a better sound.

Next on stage was one Damian Wilson with a very short acoustic set. Wilson is obviously a favourite with Classic Rock Society members as he has been voted best vocalist six times in total in their annual polls and judging on the this evidence it's easy to see why. Damian is blessed with a very strong, “ pure” voice and a good line in on stage patter.  After four or five Songs with just a acoustic guitar he was joined on stage by Oliver Wakeman for run through of “ Homegrown” which resulted in the obligatory audience sing along. The rest of the Oliver Wakeman band then returned to the stage for a riotous version of the Otis Redding classic  'Hard to Handle' with the two vocalist trading lines and the guitarist and keyboardist at each others musical throats. However as things were on  a tight schedule this ended all to soon but it certainly proved that Damian Wilson has to be the best “unknown” vocalist around at the moment. 

The full review of the gig and photos can be found by clicking here.
 

24th JanuaryDon't forget that Oliver and the band will be the special guest band supporting Arjen Lucassen's new band 'Stream of Passion' when they play at the Oakwood Theatre in Rotherham this Saturday!!
 

23rd JanuaryMagnum singer Bob Catley has announced some changes in his band's line-up prior to the start of the UK tour in support of the release of his brand new solo album Spirit of Man :- Oliver Wakeman (son of Yes legendary keyboard maestro Rick) on keyboards and Gavin Cooper on bass from Statetrooper .

Also joining Bob on stage from many previous tours will be Vince O'Regan on guitar and Jamie Little on drums 

Check out Bob Catley on stage:
14/4/06 Rock Café 2000, Stourbridge
15/4/06 The Boardwalk, Sheffield
16/4/06 The Underworld, London
17/4/06 The Joiners, Southampton
18/4/06 The Limelight, Crewe
19/4/06 Club Phoenix Ilfracombe, Devon
22/4/06 Celtic Warriors, Huntington, Cambs
 

22nd January

Oliver's Review of 2005

Firstly may I wish all visitors to the site a very happy New Year! I hope that 2006 is a great year for you all!

I felt that, as things had been a little quiet on the website for a while (even thought behind the scenes it's been unbelievably busy with album launches and concerts!), I should write a review of the year to update everyone with what has been happening.

Well, 2005, in terms of personal life and music life it was a great one! It started off well with my wife Lisa and I preparing for the birth of our son who was due in August. A lot of time was spent looking forward to this that a lot of music work was put on temporary hold although we still found time to get a show or two in!

In July after several months of searching I found a record company who shared my enthusiasm for the ' Mother's Ruin' album. The deal was organised and the release was arranged for November. Many of you may know that I trained in my student life as a Graphic Designer and I have been involved in the design and layout of the majority of my albums. The Mother's Ruin cover was a cover that I had spent a great deal of time creating and wanted it to look the best it could. Therefore as it was being released by a new label, I had to revisit it and get all the artwork finished and sent to them in time for the November release. On top of this work I also had a pre-arranged show for late August with a rehearsal just before. 

So even though I'd agreed not to do too much music work for the period around the birth of Arthur (August) the diary seemed pretty full! 

Arthur turned up on August the 4th, one day ahead of his expected due date, and he was welcomed to the world by two extremely happy parents! However, with the joy of a new baby as I'm sure many of you are aware, comes the sleepless nights and intense learning period. 

Looking back on those hectic months I'm not sure I can recommend organising an album release, having a baby, rehearsals and concert all in the same month. Probably best to try and stagger them! Full credit must go to my wife Lisa for putting up with all the usual nonsense that goes on with the music career and looking after Arthur at the same time.

Still, it keeps life interesting!

Following on from the birth of Arthur we performed our first show on a double header bill with the band Strangefish which was good fun which we will hopefully repeat in the future at some point. 

We then started preparing for the launch of the album with the launch concert that we had organised in association with the Classic Rock Society in Rotherham. We had a great time and everyone who attended had a great time. Guests in the audience included my dad, Rick, Dave Bainbridge (Iona), Strangefish, Guy Manning (The Tangent) and many others.

The band went on at about 9 and we played a full 2 and a half-hour set which included the majority of the new album. Only Wall of Water was omitted purely due to the time it's going to take to learn it!

One of the highlights for me was getting Dad up on stage to join in on the 'Wakeman Boogie'. A little jamming piece I had put together in rehearsals one day. Nothing was really planned it just seemed like a good idea and the crowd certainly seemed to enjoy it! Full credit must go to the band for playing like the professionals they are and it was very gratifying for me to have Lisa in attendance! Our first night away together from little Arthur!

The album was officially launched on the 25th (although the UK release didn't happen until early December and is now widely available) and the reviews started to come in. 

On the whole they have all been very complimentary. As usual there are a few people who hate what I do and seem to get immense pleasure by just being plain nasty but, in the majority of cases, people enjoyed the album and gave it glowing reviews, 'album of the week', 'must have album', 'one of 2005's late surprises' etc. From my perspective, I enjoy listening to my albums and all I hope for is that people hear what I do in the music and that it gives them pleasure.

I then started preparing for the 3 shows I had booked in December, the first being a band concert along with Credo and Also Eden at the Bierkeller in Bristol. It was great to meet up with a few people I hadn't seen for many years. 

Then I had 2 shows which Dad had organised called '4 Wakeman's and a Christmas Tree' which was a show involving Dad, myself and my brother Adam and my Sister Jemma. 

We played 2 sell out nights at the Marlborough College Memorial Theatre in Marlborough on Saturday and Sunday the 18th and 19th December. Part of the show involved each of us 'kids' getting a solo spot on the Colleges beautiful Steinway Grand. I played a medley of 'Heaven's Isle' and 'Montegues Wreck' from my Heaven's Isle album with accompaniment from Dad on Strings pads and Adam on Acoustic guitar which was really something! I just hope somebody videoed it! There is a full review of the Saturday show on the reviews section of the RWCC site if you wish to read more about it.

The Saturday show was preceded by a Christmas party for the members of Dad's fanclub, the RWCC. It was great to meet many of Dad's fans who had in turn become fan of my albums. A great way to put names to faces! I was also quite please with the tour programme which I put together to support the event.

So driving home after the Sunday show to my now extended family of Lisa, Myself, Arthur and Berta (the cat) I was really looking forward to a relaxing Christmas and spending some time with them all.

And so now it's the beginning of 2006 and I have high hopes from Mother's Ruin and the band. I also have a few other projects I'd like to work on as well as the follow up to Mother's Ruin but as with all good things in life, they come to those who wait, including me!

I hope you all have a great 2006.

Oliver Wakeman
January 2006

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