Rick Wakeman

  In a Hurry for Curry

By late 1973, Rick Wakeman had reached his limit. Yes was touring behind Tales from Topographic Oceans, an ambitious double album consisting of just four sprawling pieces. Some fans adored it. Wakeman did not. He thought parts of the music were overlong, and he wasn't shy about saying so. Night after night, the band played the entire album from beginning to end, with little variation. As the tour rolled on, Wakeman's frustration only grew.

Then came a concert in Manchester. During one of the album's lengthy instrumental passages, Wakeman realized he had plenty of time before his next major keyboard part. So he quietly called over a roadie.

His request wasn't for another keyboard, a replacement cable, or a fresh cape.

He wanted an Indian takeaway. A short time later, the roadie returned carrying a full curry dinner. While Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, and Alan White continued navigating one of progressive rock's most elaborate musical epics, Wakeman calmly opened the containers and began eating.

Not backstage. Not after the show. Right there on stage.

Thousands of people watched one of the world's greatest keyboard players casually enjoy his meal between passages, then return to playing as though nothing unusual had happened. It wasn't meant as a comedy routine. It was a silent protest.

Years later, Wakeman explained that he had become so bored with portions of the performance that ordering dinner seemed like a perfectly reasonable use of the downtime. He also admitted that, despite his famous criticism of the album, there were musical moments he genuinely admired. His issue wasn't with everything. He simply felt the material had been stretched further than it needed to be.

The curry incident quickly became one of rock's favorite backstage stories, retold so often that some assumed it had been exaggerated.

It wasn't.

Only in a progressive rock concert could someone order dinner in the middle of the performance, eat it under the stage lights in front of thousands of fans, and still make it back to the keyboards in time for the next impossible solo.

For Rick Wakeman, it was apparently just another night at work. 

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