------------------------------------------------------- APRIL 26, 2005 ------------------------------------------------------- Source: Associated Press Havana Cuba Goes Crazy for Ex-Yes Star Wakeman By Vanessa Arrington HAVANA -- Cuban rockers and families alike went wild for Rick Wakeman in a seaside concert, rushing to the stage when the former Yes star grabbed a portable keyboard and started jamming in the crowd. Wakeman and the New English Rock Ensemble, or NERE, played a two-hour set late Sunday for several hundred Cubans in Havana's open-air Anti-imperialist Plaza on the Malecon, the city's famed seawall. "This is the best rock music that has ever been played on this island," said an enthusiastic Jose Negrin, 40, who came with his wife and 15-year-old son. Father and son looked on in fascination, playing their own imaginary keyboards in the air, as Wakeman's fingers flew around several pianos and electric synthesizers. Wakeman wore a sequined red, white and gold cape as he played center-stage, while the NERE's lead singer sported a traditional tropical shirt known as a guayabera. He traded the cape for a glittery purple jacket and a wizard's hat when he went down to play in the crowd, grabbing a Cuban girl to come onstage and hold his portable keyboard as he continued to play, without missing a beat. The 55-year-old rocker devoted most of the concert to classic tunes from the 1970s, including songs from his "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and "The Six Wives of Henry VIII." The crowd roared when he played "Arthur" -- the theme song for a weekly cultural program on Cuban television titled, "History of Cinema." Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, inquiries, corrections, or additions, contact yitp@yesservices.com