John Kenneth Wetton (12 June 1949 – 31 January 2017) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter.[1] Although he was left-handed, he was known as a skilled right-handed bass player and had a booming baritone voice.[2] He was a member of the band Family in 1971 for a short time, before joining King Crimson in 1972.[3] After the breakup of King Crimson at the end of 1974, Wetton played in a number of progressive rock and hard rock bands, including Roxy Music (1974–1975), Uriah Heep (1975–1976), U.K. (1977–1980), and Wishbone Ash (1980–1981).[1]
In 1981, he co-founded Asia as lead vocalist and principal songwriter, which was considered to be a supergroup.[1] Their debut, self-titled album was released in 1982, selling ten million copies worldwide and becoming Billboard magazine's number one album of 1982.[4] Wetton later formed the duo Icon with his Asia bandmate and songwriting partner Geoff Downes, and he also had a successful solo career.
Life and career
Early life and musical beginnings
Wetton was born in Willington, Derbyshire, and grew up in Bournemouth, Dorset, where he attended Bournemouth School. His elder brother Robert was a classical organist and choirmaster.[5] While practising organ, Robert would have John play the bass parts on a piano, since their home organ did not have a pedalboard. John recalled that during the practices, "I got to like bass lines, because Bachbass lines are incredibly interesting. So I thought, this is good, I like bass lines, that's me."[2] Though an enthusiast of classical music since childhood, he opted to go into rock and roll instead in order to avoid being compared to his brother.[2] He played bass and sang in a number of bands with Richard Palmer-James, including the Corvettes, the Palmer-James Group, Tetrad, and Ginger Man.[6] A key early band he was in was the jazzy Mogul Thrash. After live work with Renaissance, he joined Family and also was in various recording sessions.[1]
Breakthrough: King Crimson
Wetton's big break came when his fellow Dorset native Robert Fripp invited him to join King Crimson in late 1972. The band's lineup also included violinist David Cross, former Yes drummer Bill Bruford, and percussionist Jamie Muir. Being in the band solidified Wetton's skills as a lead singer and writer. His friend Palmer-James also worked with the band as their primary lyricist. Wetton remained with King Crimson until Fripp unexpectedly disbanded it in 1974.[7][8]
After the dissolution of King Crimson, Wetton continued to work on various projects, including a tour with Roxy Music[9] and two albums with Uriah Heep, for whom he occasionally provided vocals as well as bass parts—examples of his vocal style can be heard on the 1976 album High and Mighty.[10] While still with King Crimson, Wetton had been asked by Roxy Music to sit in on their auditions for a replacement bass player and give his recommendations. Dissatisfied with all the applicants, he offered to do the 1975 tour with the group himself so as to give them time to find a good bassist.[2] In 1977, after failed attempts to reunite King Crimson and to create a new band with Rick Wakeman,[11] Wetton formed U.K. with Bill Bruford. Wetton recruited Curved Air and Roxy Music keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson;[1] Bruford brought in guitarist Allan Holdsworth from his solo group.
First solo music; Asia
After U.K.'s breakup in 1980, Wetton released his first solo album, Caught in the Crossfire, also in 1980. Later that year, he had a brief stint with Wishbone Ash, appearing on their 1981 album, Number the Brave. In late 1981, he had a meeting with Geffen Records' president John Kalodner, who took him to task for playing bass in Bryan Ferry's backing band, feeling he should be fronting a group himself. At Kalodner's insistence, Wetton started writing with former Yes guitarist Steve Howe, with a view to forming their own band. Joined by keyboardist Geoff Downes and drummer Carl Palmer (of Emerson, Lake & Palmer), the band became Asia.[1] Their self-titled, debut album sold over ten million copies worldwide, making them a household name. Wetton worked with Asia until 1983, when he was fired (at the insistence of Geffen Records) for then-unknown reasons, but at least in part due to lower-than-expected sales of 1983's Alpha. He returned to Asia in 1985 (with Mandy Meyer replacing Steve Howe on guitar), completing the band's third album, Astra.[12]
In 1986, a collaboration between Wetton and Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera was released as Wetton/Manzanera. Around that time, Wetton began working with Downes and Palmer to restart Asia. Some of the material they recorded was featured on 1990's Then & Now, including the radio hit "Days Like These".
In the 1990s, Wetton focused on his solo career. In 1999, an aborted attempt to reform Asia resulted in him and Palmer forming a short-lived progressive group dubbed Qango, with John Young and Dave Kilminster. Qango performed several shows in the UK and recorded a live album, Live in the Hood, before disbanding.
John Wetton (left) and Geoff Downes performing in 2005
In the early 2000s, Wetton reunited with Downes, and the duo released several albums. In 2006, a reunion of the original Asia lineup (Wetton, Downes, Howe, Palmer) finally occurred. A studio album titled Phoenix, the original band's first since 1983's Alpha, was released in April 2008 and peaked at No. 73 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in the United States.[13] They issued two more studio albums, Omega (2010) and XXX (2012), before Howe departed in January 2013 to focus on Yes. With new guitarist Sam Coulson, Asia released Gravitas in March 2014.
In 2013, Wetton guested on the album Grandine il vento by Renaissance, with whom he had played live 42 years before. In the same year, he toured with American Idol finalist Leslie Hunt's group District 97, based in Chicago, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the King Crimson album Larks' Tongues in Aspic.
Wetton died in his sleep from complications of colorectal cancer at the Macmillan Unit of Christchurch Hospital in Christchurch, Dorset, on 31 January 2017, at the age of 67.[2] He was surrounded by his wife, son, brother, and mother.[14][15][16]
Geoff Downes:
It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I have to report we have lost my dearest friend, brother, bandmate and long term musical collaborator [...] He will be remembered as one of the world's finest musical talents, and I for one of many was wholly blessed by his influence [...] Life will not be the same without him. And words are not really enough to describe the loss I feel right now.[17]
Billy Sherwood, who was Wetton's producer, co-songwriter, and co-performer on his 2011 solo album, Raised in Captivity, replaced him in Asia. On 17 June 2017, Asia performed a special concert in Wetton's memory, titled An Extraordinary Life (full title: An Extraordinary Life – An Interactive Celebration of the Life & Music of John Wetton), in reference to the eponymous song from the 2008 Asia album, Phoenix; fan-submitted performances were shown on a large video screen above the stage. Some King Crimson songs were also performed at the event.[18]
Classical Music and Popular Songs (2000): Wetton sings lead vocals on track 2 ("A Part of Me").
The Old Road (2008): Wetton sings lead vocals on tracks 4 ("Take It to the Sun") and 8 ("The Time and the Season") and plays bass on tracks 4 and 6 ("The Old Road").
^Not to be confused with Wetton's 1980 debut solo album. 17 tracks from various Wetton projects, including Wetton/Manzanera (1987) and Battle Lines (1994).
^Jack-Knife was a project in which John Wetton and his Tetrad bandmate W.J. Hutcheson visited Richard Palmer-James at his home in Munich, Germany. As Jack-Knife, they recorded an album with German drummer Curt Cress, titled I Wish You Would.
^Bosso, Joe (21 November 2015). "Billy Sheehan: 10 Live Albums That Changed My Life". TeamRock.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2017. [...] John Wetton is the singer here, and man, what a voice he has. And his bass tone! I love John Entwistle's tone – I got a lot from him, and from Jack Bruce, too – but John Wetton is what I was going for. I remember playing a couple of gigs with Marshalls, and I thought, 'Yeah, this is John Wetton's tone'.
^Murphy, Bill (2008). "Juan Alderete | Slouching Towards Bedlam". Bass Player. [...] On the funk-flavored screamer "Ilyena", he dials in a distortion-kissed tone that lies somewhere between the Jesus Lizard's David Sims and Brit Legend John Wetton (he acknowledges both as influences) [...]
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