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Pop-Up Double. Limited edition orange vinyl album with booklet

THE EPIC RETURN TO MARS FROM RICK WAKEMAN

A NEW PROGRESSIVE ROCK SUITE INSPIRED BY BOTH PAST AND THE LATEST DISCOVERIES ON THE RED PLANET

FEATURING LEE POMEROY, DAVE COLQUHOUN, ADAM FALKNER & MOLLIE MARRIOTT

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.

At a time when space exploration has moved back to the forefront of human endeavour - with missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond once again capturing the world’s imagination - Return To The Red Planet feels both timely and visionary, rekindling the cosmic spirit that helped define progressive rock’s golden age.

Where its predecessor opened the story, this album explores the planet’s ancient lakes, vast canyon systems, shifting dust storms and geological epochs, drawing directly on the remarkable images and research that have transformed our understanding of Mars in recent years, Wakeman immersing himself in planetary research, data, and mission reports before a single note was written.

“Once I started looking at the new data and photographs, I realised there was an entirely new album waiting to be written. There was simply too much more to say about Mars - musically and spiritually - not to return.” – Rick Wakeman

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.

"This isn't just another Rick Wakeman album. It's a bloody good one!" Simon Heyworth - Producer of Tubular Bells

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.

Side one

The Jezero Crater: i. Shenandoah ii. Hogwallow Flats pt1 iii. The Yori Pass iv. Hogwallow Flats pt2 Bowie’s Vision

Side two

Noctis Labyrinthus Noachis Terra (Land of Noah)

Side three

Witch Hazel Hill St. Paul's Bay Martian Dust Devils

Side four

Medusae Fossae The Epochs of Mars: i. Noachian ii.Hesperian iii. Amazonian