Rick Wakeman success allowed Wakeman to buy a new home in Gerrards Cross and start a collection of cars, which he rented out through his new business, the Fragile Carriage Company. In late 1971, Wakeman played two notable piano sessions, on "It Ain't Easy" on Bowie's album "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" and on "Orange" by Al Stewart. In the 1972 "Melody Maker" readers' poll, Wakeman ranked second in the Top Keyboardist category behind Keith Emerson. That year, Yes followed "Fragile" with "Close to the Edge". It became their best selling album since their formation
1984 (Rick Wakeman album) album, and was able to get his first choice each time. The album was recorded between 23 February–14 April 1981 at Morgan Studios in London, with Wakeman as the sole producer. It was then cut at Townhouse Studios. Upon completion, the album cost under £100,000 to make. At the time of recording Wakeman knew what keyboards he wanted to use and ordered some models from Korg, but they failed to arrive in time. Instead, he used a mix of his own instruments with rented or borrowed equipment. Wakeman said the finished product contains just one tape edit which occurs towards