He revealed that it will take form as an instrumental progressive rock album that is "keyboard heavy" in a similar style to his 1973 debut, The Six Wives of Henry VIII.

Wakeman posted a series of updates on his Twitter page in the week after the announcement, including the notice that recording started on 13 January in what turned out to be productive and inspirational sessions in the studio.

[3] It was released through R&D Media, a new business venture founded by Rob Ayling and rock music journalist and producer Doug Harr.

[5] It features two longtime members of his backing band, The English Rock Ensemble: bassist Lee Pomeroy and guitarist Dave Colquhoun, with drummer Ash Soan.

The Red Planet was scheduled for release on 3 April 2020, and a playback event was to take place at the National Space Centre in Leicester on the following day, limited to 150 people.