Rick Wakeman has just returned from his Grumpy Old Rock Star tour of America, which he described as “phenomenal”.

“They’ve not really heard my anecdotal and comedy stuff before,” he tells me.

“I did have to make a few adaptations for the US because some of my show is very UK-based, but it went down really well. So much so that they’ve booked me for 30 more dates next year.”

Before returning to America, Rick, 70, will be playing a number of Grumpy Old Christmas Shows at a UK venues including Brighton’s Theatre Royal. What will that involve?

“It’s basically me and a piano and a Christmas tree somewhere on stage to give people a clue as to what time of year it is. I’ll be playing some music from the new Christmas Portraits album. There’s 22 Christmas pieces on it, whittled down from an original 44, which I do variations on the piano on. It’s something I love doing.

“There will also be the pieces that, in the nicest sense, if I don’t do, firstly I don’t think it’s right, but also I’ll get an onslaught online for not playing them. So I’ll be throwing in some what I politely call ‘old favourites’. I love playing them anyway.”

The old favourites include songs such as Cat Stevens’ rendition of Morning Has Broken and David Bowie’s Life On Mars – Rick played on the original recordings.

A manic period after the recording of Life On Mars saw Rick faced with a difficult decision when he was asked to join David Bowie’s backing band The Spiders From Mars on the same day he was asked to join Yes.

“The truth is David was much bigger than Yes at the time, but it would have always been playing David’s music, which I love, but it means there is a ceiling as to how far you can go,” he said.

“Whereas with a band there was a much higher ceiling because you’re creating with each other.

“Many times afterwards David said I made the right choice. Besides, he hated could haves. If anyone ever said to him ‘well I could have done that,’ he’s just say ‘Why didn’t you?’ and then walk away.”

“And I’m the same”

Rick and David remained close after the rejection, becoming neighbours for four years in Switzerland, which Rick said were “great times”.

It was this friendship which, in the aftermath of David Bowie’s death, brought about the first of Rick’s recent piano albums, which contain reimagined versions of classic rock and pop songs for solo piano.

“After David Bowie died I did the Simon Mayo programme and to finish it off I played Life On Mars [Rick plays the piano on the original track] as a tribute. Lots of people said I should release it as a charity single. I wasn’t sure, but we did release it in aid of Macmillan, who had looked after my mum as well.

“To my amazement, the single was number one for about eight weeks, so eventually Universal asked me to do an album of piano pieces of music I’ve been associated with like David Bowie and Cat Stevens.”

And it is the success of these albums that has brought about Rick’s latest album of Christmas songs.

“I did it with Piano Odyssey and Piano Portraits, both of which did pretty well, so the record company asked if I would do a similar thing with Christmas tunes,” he says.

Pretty well is something of an understatement. Piano Portraits and Piano Odyssey, both reached the UK top ten, making them Rick’s highest charting albums since 1975.

Christmas Portraits was released last week, an album of elaborate piano renditions of old favourites like Silent Night and The First Noel. The record marks the third consecutive collection of piano reworks that Rick has released. “I wasn’t convinced it would work when I first tried it,” he says. “But I had forgotten how lovely some of the Christmas tunes are and it gives you a great opportunity to play around with them. You’ll recognise all the tunes, though you might find it difficult to sing along.”

Despite initial reluctance, he seems to have enjoyed the recording process.

“The strange thing was we recorded it in August. When I arrived for the first day my engineer had put up a moth-eaten Christmas tree, scattered presents all over the piano, tinsel everywhere, and when I walked in they said ‘happy Christmas’.

“It was really funny, after a little while we would get into the Christmas mood and everything, until we’d go outside and it was 85 degrees.”

The latest release, Christmas songs and classically inspired piano tunes, are far removed from the celebrated progressive rock albums that Rick made as a member of Yes in the 1970s.

But he said: “I still do the prog stuff. In March next year I’m playing the prog festival in Sheffield and London with my band, English Rock Ensemble, and then I’m off to Switzerland for another one.”

So is there any chance of a full Yes reunion tour?

“I think you’ve got more chance of Donald Trump sleeping with Hilary Clinton,” Rick says with a laugh. I told that to someone in America last year and he said, ‘he probably already has’.”

A straightforward answer. But does Rick look back on those days fondly, before splits and the various different versions of Yes emerged

“Oh yeah,” Rick says immediately. “Absolutely. Jon, Trevor and I went out last year and we had a good time. Don’t get me wrong, not all the times were great, but I’m on look back on the good times. It’s like my schooldays, not all of them were great, in fact 80 per cent of them were horrible, but I remember the 20 per cent that I liked.”

“I’m not one for looking at the morbid side of things, I look at the times I enjoyed.”

That doesn’t sound like a very grumpy old man. “Oh I can be grumpy! Trust me. If you want to get me going just mention the Greater Anglia train line and I’m off.”