Keyboard player/composer/raconteur Rick Wakeman CBE’s Grumpy Christmas tours are now as traditional in the festive season as mince pies and pantomime (oh yes, they are…) and 2022 is no exception.

Audiences can expect music taken across the breadth of Rick’s career, from his work as keyboard player in legendary prog rock band YES to his solo career and session work, plus covers given an unexpected twist and festive tunes uniquely rearranged Wakeman style, performed on grand piano and electric keyboards. All of this musical virtuosity will, of course, be punctuated by Rick’s typically ridiculous stories, which, as he himself states, always contain an element of truth – it’s up to the audience to decide how much!

This year, Rick’s Grumpy Christmas Stocking Tour will be taking him to some cities of the UK that he hasn’t visited for several years, kicking off in Croydon on 24 November before visiting Dartford, Newcastle, Liverpool, Poole, Bath, Barnstaple, Swansea, Cheltenham, Birmingham, Cambridge, Stoke-on- Trent, York, Blackburn, Buxton and Ipswich before concluding in Worthing on 21 December.

“I love Christmas,” says Rick. “It’s just as well, as this will be my 74th Christmas. I will admit that I don’t remember 1949, 1950, 1951 and 1952 very well, but after that, little bits of memory start to trickle back. I’m hoping this will be my best Christmas ever, but if not – well, there’s always next year!”

Tickets and VIP packages for Rick Wakeman’s Grumpy Christmas Stocking Tour are available
at https://myticket.co.uk/artists/rick-wakeman