Adam Wakeman

Wakeman was born into a musical family as the younger brother of Oliver Wakeman and the son of long-term Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman. He started playing classical piano at the age of eight. He cites Dr. John, Monty Alexander, Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater and Mark Kelly of Marillion as influences, with the solo from Marillion's "Incommunicado" one of the first he learned to play as a child.[2] By the age of seventeen he had obtained grade eight from the ABRSM and had recorded the first album with his father.[3] Father and son toured extensively, the two of them sitting at grand pianos to full scale rock performances with orchestra and choir. At the age of 24, Adam won the Keyboard Magazine Best New Talent award and promptly started a session career of his own in London.[3]

In the mid-1990s, Wakeman formed Jeronimo Road with Fraser Thorneycroft-Smith. An album, Live at the Orange, was released after the band broke up on the Explore Multimedia label. In 2000 and 2001, he toured with his father's old band the Strawbs.

In 2006, he put together the progressive rock band Headspace, with vocalist Damian Wilson, guitarist Pete Rinaldi, bass player Lee Pomeroy and drummer Richard Brook. Their EP entitled I am... was released in 2007 to coincide with support shows at Wembley Arena, Birmingham's NIA and Dublin's The Point with Ozzy Osbourne. They released their debut concept album I Am Anonymous worldwide on 22 May 2012 on the Inside Out / Century Media record label.

He recorded several albums with Rick, as Wakeman with Wakeman, and he also participated on three of his father's solo albums. He also participated in Rick's tours from 1992, and he appeared in the Border TV's 1996 broadcast and VHS presentation of The New Gospels from the Isle of Man,[4] the DVD from the Gran Rex, Argentina as well as 2009's Six Wives of Henry VIII at Hampton Court Palace. The 2010 release, Scream, from Ozzy Osbourne featured five songs co-written by Adam Wakeman, although an error in the liner notes means the track "I Want It More" was wrongly credited to only Osbourne and Kevin Churko.[5]

Wakeman (right) performing in 2011

With over 200 pieces of music composed for several production music libraries, Wakeman started www.theperfectmusiclibrary in 2010 representing and creating music for film, television and media. As director of the company, he has placed music across most major TV networks including the BBC, ITV and Sky.

On 2 July 2011, Wakeman started his own radio show on TotalRock radio in London along with fellow members of Headspace, where he (once a month, every first Saturday) playing "the best rock, metal and prog over the last 30 years".[3]

Also in 2011, Wakeman joined with original Whitesnake members Micky Moody and Neil Murray, Laurie Wisefield (Wishbone Ash), Harry James (Thunder, Magnum), and Chris Ousey (Heartland) to form the band Snakecharmer.

In November 2012, Wakeman joined the Strawbs, a band which also previously featured his brother and father, for their tour of that year, he toured with them again in 2015.

In 2020, Adam Wakeman joined Martin Barre for his Latin-American tour.[6]

In February 2020, Wakeman released an album under the moniker Jazz Sabbath, playing songs by Black Sabbath in a jazz style. He is credited as "Milton Keanes".[7]

• Official website
• Official Headspace website
• Adam Wakeman discography at Discogs