Rick Wakeman

I always say that it's about breaking the rules. But the secret of breaking rules in a way that works is understanding what the rules are in the first place.

My earliest professional musical experiences were really as a session player, and every day was an adventure. Three sessions a day, every day, and you never knew who you would be working with until you arrived at the studio.

I've been married three times and divorced three times.

The studio is not the place to write. You need to be 75% ready when you go into the studio, and then the music can develop to the next stage.

Coming back to Yes is like never having left. Even when I have not been in the band, I have always felt part of it.

But I listen to live recordings of things that I did back in the '70s and then how I've done things since. And there's no doubt about it: if I compare the two, it's like chalk and cheese.

I joined Yes in July 1971. I had heard Yes live, as Strawbs had supported them at a gig in Hull. I thought they were amazing - incredibly different.

I am a Yes fan, ultimately. I've been a member of the band, but I was always a fan of the band first.

Tales From Topographic Oceans' is like a woman's padded bra. The cover looks good, but when you peel off the padding, there's not a lot there.

I had just left Yes and had done a concert at Crystal Palace, South London, with a choir and orchestra playing my solo album 'Journey To The Centre Of The Earth' when I had my heart attack. That day, I hadn't been to bed for four days. I don't remember much. I felt very numb during the day and airy, which is the best way to describe it.

I'm a Freemason, and we love to celebrate Burns' night: piping in the haggis, the whole lot.

I was in and out of Yes six times. Someone once likened it to Liz Taylor and Richard Burton's marriage where we couldn't live with or without each other. There's an element of truth, and I last left in 2005.