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Several days after publicly announcing his refusal to attend Yes‘ induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, keyboardist Rick Wakeman has reversed course.
The reason for Wakeman’s change of heart, as he explained in a post to his official website, has everything to do with the Hall opting to pay special tribute to deceased founding bassist Chris Squire — a decision he hopes signals an increased willingness to honor the growing ranks of band members who won’t survive to see themselves inducted.
“I am very pleased to announce that as the Hall of Fame have now agreed to present Chris Squire’s wife with a posthumous award acknowledging his massive contribution to Yes, I have agreed to attend the induction ceremony in New York to both stand proudly with my fellow bandmates Jon [Anderson] and Trevor [Rabin] and also to watch Chris’s wife, Scottie, collect this well deserved award on his behalf,” Wakeman writes on his site. “I also hope that this move to acknowledge members of bands who sadly did not live to receive their own honor means they can get them posthumously in the future.”
Wakeman’s decision represents a happy reversal for fans who’d seen their hopes for a Hall of Fame reunion dashed when he insisted that “under no circumstances” would he be joining the surviving inductees at the ceremony. “I find it hard to come to terms with the fact that so many bands are inducted into the Hall of Fame too late in their careers after key members have passed away,” he remarked. “Classic examples are the Who and John Entwistle, Deep Purple and Jon Lord and now Yes and there will be no Chris Squire.”
Read More: Rick Wakeman Agrees to Attend Yes' Rock Hall Induction | Rick Wakeman Agrees to Attend Yes' Rock Hall Induction
Several days after publicly announcing his refusal to attend Yes‘ induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, keyboardist Rick Wakeman has reversed course.
The reason for Wakeman’s change of heart, as he explained in a post to his official website, has everything to do with the Hall opting to pay special tribute to deceased founding bassist Chris Squire — a decision he hopes signals an increased willingness to honor the growing ranks of band members who won’t survive to see themselves inducted.
“I am very pleased to announce that as the Hall of Fame have now agreed to present Chris Squire’s wife with a posthumous award acknowledging his massive contribution to Yes, I have agreed to attend the induction ceremony in New York to both stand proudly with my fellow bandmates Jon [Anderson] and Trevor [Rabin] and also to watch Chris’s wife, Scottie, collect this well deserved award on his behalf,” Wakeman writes on his site. “I also hope that this move to acknowledge members of bands who sadly did not live to receive their own honor means they can get them posthumously in the future.”
Wakeman’s decision represents a happy reversal for fans who’d seen their hopes for a Hall of Fame reunion dashed when he insisted that “under no circumstances” would he be joining the surviving inductees at the ceremony. “I find it hard to come to terms with the fact that so many bands are inducted into the Hall of Fame too late in their careers after key members have passed away,” he remarked. “Classic examples are the Who and John Entwistle, Deep Purple and Jon Lord and now Yes and there will be no Chris Squire.”
Read More: Rick Wakeman Agrees to Attend Yes' Rock Hall Induction | Rick Wakeman Agrees to Attend Yes' Rock Hall Induction
