Rick Wakeman’s Yes harpsichord moments with James Gardner – 553

Produced by Ken Fuller, Wayne Hall and Jeffrey Crecelius This week we decided to postpone the second part of our Buggles episode because we had the chance to interview James Gardner about Rick Wakeman’s use of the harpsichord. It was a wide-ranging and fascinating discussion and we learned a lot about both the instrument and some of the characters involved with creating the actual instruments Rick used on recordings with Yes. James has an encyclopedic knowledge of the use of harpsichords in popular music and he mentions a large number of songs which have featured the instrument over the years. I’ve added YouTube videos of each song James refers to in the show notes for this episode. You might want to refer to those while you listen to the interview or come back to them at the end. I found they helped me a great deal. What kind of harpsichord did Rick use?Who made it?Where else can we hear harpsichords in popular music? Take a listen to the episode and then let us know what you think below! Mark Lang's setlist: Our guest, James Gardner: Radio NZ Thomas Goff - The Fall and Rise of Harpsichord 6 James' article about the origin of the VCS3 synth A James Gardner playlist (music mentioned in the episode) https://youtu.be/HOS86MCi29c https://youtu.be/E5tWBBcRYdM https://youtu.be/XqyQKdN6JtI https://youtu.be/3j4rUqgCeI4 Probably the first person to record on the harpsichord https://youtu.be/RhY1x8CpWeI https://youtu.be/z-GUjA67mdc https://youtu.be/IqlmGLr74dc https://youtu.be/4u6jYfJgj-o https://youtu.be/4B_M1KTMMIo https://youtu.be/bCTECXngCX0 https://youtu.be/sOI7P2UCArM https://youtu.be/JLcNRKAc2rQ https://youtu.be/iRFGgr4XIos https://youtu.be/saIhPu4fOR0 https://youtu.be/hWnrh40_2m4 https://youtu.be/XHOMoa8_yao https://youtu.be/aWl--jvU5A8 https://youtu.be/0GS5YUUkTi4 Facebook has just changed how pages work which means that I’ve had to establish a new place for us to post and discuss Yes-related happenings. It’s a new group entitled, rather creatively, YMP Discussion Group. For the moment it’s open to anyone to join but I’ll be adding rules and joining requirements when I have time. One of the advantages of the new format is that all members of the group have the same ability to post content, so it’s a bit more egalitarian, or somesuch. Please do search for the group and join in. https://www.facebook.com/groups/3216603008606331/ Not final artwork or title - just me messing about with one of my photos If you haven’t already done so, please sign up at tormatobook.com to the email newsletter. I’ve already shared 3 updates on the progress of the forthcoming book, TOO CLOSE TO THE EDGE? (not the final title) complete with short extracts from some of the chapters. If you sign up now, for free, you can have access to the newsletters you’ve missed. It really helps to know people are looking forward to reading the culmination of my decades of Tormato obsession. Become a Patron! YMP Patrons: Producers: Ken FullerJeffrey Crecelius andWayne Hall Patrons: Aaron SteelmanDave OwenMark James LangPaul TomeiJoost MaglevDavid HeydenMartin KjellbergPaul WilsonBob MartilottaLindMichael O'ConnorWilliam HayesBrian SullivanDavid PannellMiguel FalcãoLobate ScarpChris BandiniDavid WatkinsonNeal KaforeyRachel HadawayCraig EstenesDemPaul HailesMark 'Zarkol' BaggsDoug CurranRobert NasirFergus CubbageScott ColomboFred BarringerGary BettsGeoff BailieSimon BarrowGeoffrey MasonStephen LambeGuy R DeRomeSteve DillHenrik AntonssonSteve PerryHogne Bø PettersenSteve RodeDeclan LogueSteve ScottJamie McQuinnSteven RoehrAlan BeggTerence SadlerMichael HanderhanTim StannardJimTodd DudleyJohn CowanTony HandleyJohn HoldenJoseph CottrellJohn ParryKeith HoisingtonJohn ThomsonBarry Gorsky Robert and David Please follow/subscribe! If you are still listening to the podcast on the website, please consider subscribing so you don’t risk missing anything: Theme music The music I use is the last movement of Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. This has been used as introduction music at many Yes concerts. My theme music is not take from a live concert - I put it together from: archive.org