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RICK Wakeman, rock star, keyboard virtuoso, author, TV show host, radio DJ and raconteur, says he doesn't want to find himself in strange hotel rooms anymore.
After 40 years of concert tours with the likes of the Strawbs, Yes and on his own, he has called it quits.
Don't panic! He's not retiring, he simply means no more touring, no more traipsing from gig to gig, giving the same concert night after night, (sometimes as many as 140 in a year).
He said: "I wanted to do a lot more (musically). I want to be more (diverse) in the concerts I do."
What that means is cutting back to around 40 appearances a year. Next year, there are planned performances of another Wakeman classic - 1974's 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth' - in Australia and South America.
In addition to big-sound concerts, Wakeman also does one-man piano shows that involve telling anecdotes from the stage.
Which brings us to 'Grumpy Old Men', the hit BBC TV show that first aired in 2003 with Wakeman and other men of a certain age whingeing about anything and everything - road signs, mobile phones, modern life and technology.
The conversational television programme has a huge worldwide following and DVD copies have sold like hotcakes in Bahrain.
The first run of four programmes was repeated several times before a second series was aired in 2004 and a third series aired in April 2006. There were also 2003 and 2004 Christmas specials. An Irish version Gaybo's Grumpy Men was launched in 2005.
Regular contributors have included Jeremy Clarkson, Bob Geldof, John Humphrys, Nigel Havers, Tony Hawks, Simon Hoggart, John O'Farrell, Rory McGrath, Bill Nighy, John Peel, Will Self, Arthur Smith, Tim Rice as well at Wakeman.
Wakeman, who sported a 'Grumpy Old Cropredy Crew' T-shirt at his recent gig, said the impact of the TV show has been huge, placing him firmly on the after-dinner speech circuit.
It has also turned him into an author. First came some tales from topical notions in 'Grumpy Old Rock Star', followed by 'Further Adventures of a Grumpy Old Rock Star'.
As for the music, the Cropredy set soared, with Wakeman driving his various keyboards through a universe of electronic sound, accompanied by young bassist Lee Pomeroy and guitarist Dave Colquhoun as well as longer-term collaborators Tony Fernandez on drums and vocalist Ashley Holt.
Wakeman claims some progressive rock is still alive in bands such as Radiohead and Air, but he reckons the main thing is that just because it is old, it does not mean it can't also be new.
He recounted an encounter with a young man in South America who asked him to autograph a vinyl record of his seminal album 'Six Wives'.
Saying he was surprised to see the man listening to old music, he was immediately told that it may be old for him, but the autograph-seeker had only come across it a day or so earlier.
Wakeman now thinks of this at each performance. "There will always be someone who will hear it for the first time," he said.
