I came across Rick Wakeman through his radio show that when I listened to I was impressed… I knew him from his music and YES, when he played with them, because he quit five times, but I wasn’t expecting that a prog musician and specifically a keyboardist was so fun! Maybe it was my own preconception or ignorance but I honestly I enjoyed every moment of his radio shows. Not thanks to the music he was playing but for the jokes and life stories that he was narrating in between songs.

Usually, musicians’ book start off with childhood, growing up, influences, what made them follow their dream. Then they describe the rough start that led them to stardom and finally they tell us what they do now… well, not Rick Wakeman! He does what he knows best: tells the stories which are most of the time hilarious. Within those there are some historical information about his school shenanigans, his first car, his first bands, but all these without a strict chronological order. There is no timeline here, just stories sprinkled with great British humor and wit. The highlights are a lot from a musician that has released more than 100(!) albums, but only a few of them are mentioned since this is not a book about his music, but his “Spinal Tap” life as he calls it!