ALBUM RELEASE DATE: 16th OCTOBER (MADFISH MUSIC)
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. Today, Wakeman has shared the album’s first single, ‘The Jezero Crater’, a spectacular synth-led ode to one of Mars’ most fascinating landscapes.
WATCH THE TRAILER FOR RETURN TO THE RED PLANET: https://youtu.be/zkO2P-VnBEA?si=K7TH90lTaUv6pGC1
STREAM/DOWNLOAD THE NEW SINGLE ‘THE JEZERO CRATER’: https://orcd.co/the_jezero_crater
WATCH THE TEASER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx0qe5B3wsc
Return To The Red Planet tracklist:
The Jezero Crater – 06:56
Bowie’s Vision – 05:45
Noctis Labyrinthus – 05:28
Noachis Terra (Land of Noah) – 06:23
Witch Hazel Hill – 04:02
St Paul’s Bay – 06:53
Martian Dust Devils – 04:53
Medusae Fossae – 04:26
The Epochs of Mars – 07:45
“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
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.
RETURN TO THE RED PLANET WILL BE RELEASED EVERYWHERE ON THE FOLLOWING FORMATS:
- Crystal Clear Gatefold Vinyl LP
- Classic Black Gatefold Vinyl LP
- Digipack CD With 20-page booklet
- 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
- Digital
PRE-ORDER RETURN TO THE RED PLANET
RETURN TO THE 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 VIA RICK WAKEMAN’S OFFICIAL STORE
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 astonishing return to form…Wakeman at his most imaginative” – Prog Magazine
“A richly detailed symphonic rock journey” – Classic Rock
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.
RETURN TO THE RED PLANET WILL BE RELEASED ON MADFISH ON 16th OCTOBER, PRE-ORDER HERE: https://rickwakemanmadfish.lnk.to/Return_To_The_Red_Planet
For more information:
https://www.rickwakemansmusicemporium.com/
www.rwcc.com
www.instagram.com/rickwakemanmusic
https://www.facebook.com/RickWakemanMusic
https://twitter.com/GrumpyOldRick
For more high-res images please see: https://www.madfishmusic.com/media/rickwakeman/
Press inquiries: Keith James, Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com
