Rick Wakeman Wakeman later called it "dreadful" as contractual disputes between Atlantic Records, who had signed Yes, and A&M prevented him from writing his own composition. Wakeman claimed his contributions to the group written tracks were not credited, that management had agreed to "sort something out on the publishing side" but never took care of it. Wakeman "enjoyed the music too much" to cause a rift about the issue, but said it amounts to "a fair bit of money." "Fragile" reached the top ten in the UK and the US; the Fragile Tour marked Wakeman's first visit to North America. Its commercial
1984 (Rick Wakeman album) 1984 (Rick Wakeman album) 1984 is a studio album by the English keyboardist Rick Wakeman, released in June 1981 on Charisma Records. After reforming his band The English Rock Ensemble in 1980 and completing a European tour, Wakeman entered a recording deal with Charisma and began preparing material for a studio album. He decided on a concept album based on the dystopian novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four" by George Orwell. The lyrics are by Tim Rice. The album received a warm reception, and peaked at No. 24 on the UK Albums Chart. Wakeman promoted it further with a world tour throughout 1981.