A new Progressive Rock suite inspired by both past and the latest discoveries on The Red Planet, featuring Lee Pomeroy, Dave Colquhoun, Adam Falkner, and Mollie Marriott.
“This isn’t just another Rick Wakeman album. It’s a bloody good one!” – Simon Heyworth, producer of Tubular Bells
Following his acclaimed 2020 album “The Red Planet,” Rick Wakeman makes a triumphant and inevitable return to Mars with “Return To The Red Planet,” a sweeping new Progressive work that fuses science, imagination and musical virtuosity into one of the most ambitious recordings of his career. “Return To The Red Planet” will be released on the Madfish label on October 16, 2026.
Watch the official trailer video for “Return To The Red Planet” via the YouTube player below:
“Return to Red Planet” will also be released on the following formats, exclusively through the official Rick Wakeman Store:
– CD/Blu-ray edition – Includes CD of the studio album + Blu-ray disc featuring Dolby Atmos, 5.1 Surround Sound & Hi-Res Stereo Mixes and The Making Of The ‘Return To The Red Planet’ Documentary + 20-page printed booklet. Features an immersive 3D pop-up of Wakeman’s spacecraft landed on Mars
– Gatefold 2LP edition – pressed on Transparent Orange Vinyl and features an immersive 3D pop-up Of Wakeman’s spacecraft landed on Mars.
Pre-Order “Return To Red Planet” via Rick Wakeman’s Official Store HERE.
Recorded between August 2025 and January 2026, the project also marks a welcome return to full band recording, with all musicians working together at Decoy Studios — a creative approach Wakeman considers essential to capturing the spontaneity and energy of Progressive Rock at its best.
The album is performed by Wakeman’s English Rock Ensemble, featuring bassist Lee Pomeroy, guitarist Dave Colquhoun, drummer Adam Falkner, and vocalist Mollie Marriott, daughter of legendary Steve Marriott. The album was mastered by renowned engineer Simon Heyworth.
Among the album’s centrepieces is “Bowie’s Vision,” a deeply personal homage to Wakeman’s friend David Bowie, whose fascination with Mars helped shape popular culture’s image of the planet. The connection is more than thematic: Wakeman performed the iconic piano on Bowie’s Life on Mars?, making this tribute both musical and autobiographical — a reflection on a shared history, a lasting friendship and one of Rock’s most celebrated recordings.
The music was initially composed as keyboard “templates” at Nursery Studios, before being expanded collaboratively by the band at Decoy Studios and engineered by Toby Wood. Final overdubs and mixing with producer/engineer Erik Jordan bring the vision into sharp focus – from sweeping symphonic passages to intricate rhythmic sequences and haunting choral textures.
Praise for “The Red Planet” (2020): “An album that will be pleasing to all lovers of 70’s Progressive sounds, especially Wakeman’s, but that will surely hit all Prog lovers. Another class chapter in the long discography of one of the main exponents of modern music and of the Progressive in particular.” – Jacopo Vigezzi (Progressive Rock Journal)
Read our full Review here: [Review] Rick Wakeman – The Red Planet
Wakeman needs little introduction. A central figure during his many years with YES, he is also one of the most successful solo artists in Progressive Rock history, with a catalogue of over one hundred albums and global sales in the tens of millions. His career as a session musician includes landmark recordings with David Bowie, Elton John, Cat Stevens and many more, establishing him as one of the most distinctive keyboard voices of his generation.