Rick Wakeman announces UK dates for Journey To The Centre of The Earth tour
Story by Jack Foley
2014 sees the 40th anniversary of the release of Rick Wakeman’s landmark concept album, Journey To The Centre Of The Earth based on the novel by Jules Verne.
To celebrate, Rick Wakeman and The Jules Verne Symphony Orchestra have announced a state of the art, dramatic, live arena presentation of this epochal, classical-rock crossover work touring the world.
The first Journey To The Centre Of The Earth dates to be announced this week are in the UK and take place in April and May 2014. They include a night at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
The dates are (all April and May 2014):
April
29 – Birmingham NIA
30 – London Royal Albert Hall
May
1 – Glasgow Clyde Auditorium
3 – Bournemouth Intl Centre
4 – Cardiff Arena
Tickets go on sale at 9am on Monday, July 1, 2013.
Designed by Roger Dean, the creative mastermind behind the distinctive artwork of million-selling albums by Yes and Uriah Heep, Journey To The Centre Of The Earth is a must-see show, a thrilling spectacle for all the family, to rival blockbuster presentations like Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds and Roger Waters’ touring production of Pink Floyd’s The Wall.
Rick Wakeman’s Journey To The Centre Of The Earth has sold over 15million copies worldwide. It sits alongside the most successful concept albums of the rock era alongside The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper, David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust and Meat Loaf’s Bat Out Of Hell.
Its release in 1974 was arguably the high watermark of the progressive rock genre, currently enjoying a well-documented revival, and hugely influential on the likes of Radiohead, Elbow and Muse.
2014 also marks the 150th anniversary of Jules Verne publishing the original, Voyage Au Centre De La Terre, the best loved of his 54 Voyages Extraordinaires novels which also included Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea and Around The World In Eighty Days, timeless works that have been adapted time and again for the big screen.