Where are they
now? - Asia
and related projects
This page last updated: 18 Jul 2021
We were planning another album, but sadly he was not well enough to complete it. I feel heartbroken about this, as I knew John thought it was to be one of our finest albums to date. I remain as proud as ever of our Wetton/Downes writing partnership. I am hoping one day that I will be able to finish it, and that it will be appreciated by all those who loved his and our music, and most importantly, a legacy he would have been proud of.Final writing sessions with Wetton
Life will not be the same without him. And words are not really enough to describe the loss I feel right now, and the many friends and fans all over the World will also be feeling. It is the end of an era for all of us. But we will soldier on - the music of John Wetton needs to be heard loud and clear from the rooftops.
There's probably about half a dozen, but because John was too sick really to, at the time, to take them any further. [...] deep down, I know probably [...] the direction he would like them to go in. So I've got those, those elements, they're there, and I really hope to get them, y'know, completed one day.Work on this material may go back to Jul 2015. In a late Jan 2016 interview, Downes said he'd "been writing with John Wetton for another Asia album" and, on 11 Feb 2016, both Downes and Wetton tweeted about meeting up to work on a new album. Wetton said: "Looking forward to (yet) more writing today with @asiageoff Mr.Downes. Next ASIA record moves along apace." Downes later said: "Excellent day in Bomo with my old chum @arkangel2605 [Wetton's Twitter account] Very productive - new Asia album on the way!" On 3 Mar 2016, Wetton then travelled to meet Downes in Wales "to formalise new ASIA material", according to a tweet he made. Downes tweeted afterwards: "Excellent day with @arkangel2605 today at my studio. New Asia album en route!" In a Mar 2016 interview (possibly conducted in Feb), Downes said, "I've been working with John on some material since last year [2015] actually. John's been sick for the last year or so now and has been having some fairly extensive medical treatment. In between that we've been putting together some songs that we hope sooner or later we will actually go into the studio and do another Asia album." In an Apr 2016 interview, Downes said: "I have been working with him [Wetton] on some new material and hopefully we will get an album out in the not too distant future." In a later Apr 2016 interview, Downes said: "we are still writing and we [sic] be doing an album with John Wetton towards the end of [2016]." A May 2016 tweet by Wetton showed a CD-R and said, "next ASIA record is on here, now we just have to record it!" In an Oct 2016 interview, Downes said: "Asia, hopefully we'll get that back up and running soon. That's the idea. We've been working on new material, and we have a whole album planned." Wetton described the first song as 7.5 minutes long and as in 17/8. He also mentioned one song title was "Tattoo on Your Soul". Asked about that title by a fan in Jun 2019, Downes implied he called the piece "Indigo".
But the last 4 or 5 years have been pretty solid on the road with Yes particularly [...] it's been a lot of roadwork the last 10 years but the way it is at the moment, I think I'm going to have to spend a bit more time fishing around in the studio and see what I can come up with.
“We thought he’d make the March [2017] period for the tour, but he suddenly took a turn at the very end,” Palmer said. “Those last three weeks, he was very ill and he passed.”Shortly before Wetton's death, in comments in Jan 2017, Palmer said, "I wasn't going to be making the next Asia album anyway because I was a bit concerned about the direction of the band. It was getting a little bit too middle of the road. I didn't realize that John was this ill when I made this announcement to him, so obviously I'll review that. If he can record at all I'll look at the situation again." In comments to a fan on tour in Jun 2019, Palmer implied that Wetton's vocals would not be used on a new album.
Asia had already committed to opening for Journey, but Palmer wasn’t sure if they could continue or even if Journey [...] still wanted them [...]
But the band’s management said, “They still want you. Please find a bass player.”
As it happened, they had one in mind.
Before Wetton died, Palmer said the band had some difficult discussions about whether Asia would carry on.
The drummer said, “Before he did go, we asked Jo[h]n if we were to carry on, who would you want to take your place?”
Wetton chose Billy Sherwood [...]
Beyond this tour, Palmer doesn’t know what will happen next. He will keep playing music — that much is certain, but whether it’s with just his own band, with Asia or as part of another group, he’s not entirely sure.
I’m still working on those [final songs written with Wetton]. I’ve got some plans for them. It’s been difficult because there’s not a massive amount to deal with but at the same time, there’s enough for an album’s worth of material that will be significant. I’d like to get a lot of the people that worked with John and myself and all the people involved to offer some performances, which would be great. That’s really where I probably would see it going.Touring & live release
| Thal had originally been asked to tour on
guitar with the band in 2017, but wasn't available. He was
asked again in 2019, but originally just on guitar, with a
separate lead singer planned, but that plan didn't work out,
and Thal was asked to handle lead vocals too. He said to
fans on the 2019 tour that two vocalists under consideration
had been John Parr (worked with Roger
Daltrey) and Fran Cosmo (ex-Boston). Management is by Martin Darvill. Other news As a celebration of their 40th anniversary, Asia are re-releasing Phoenix (2008), Omega (2010) and XXX (2012), their three reunion studio albums, plus the 2007 live album Fantasia: Live in Tokyo as a 5CD boxset entitled The Reunion Albums: 2007-2012 (BMG Records) on 11 June 2021. (Howe and Wetton started working together in 1981, a few months after Yes split up.) The cover is a previously unseen artwork from Roger Dean, who has also updated the Fantasia art. An Extraordinary Life is a forthcoming box set commemorating Wetton's life and based around a re-release of his studio solo albums: see details on main page. Thal released an acoustic covers EP, Barefoot 3, on 5 Jun 2020 on Bandcamp. The 6 tracks include a cover of "Only Time will Tell" (YouTube video). Weezer sampled "Heat of the Moment" on "I Need Some of That", released 21 Apr 2021 as the fourth single from their album Van Weezer, released 7 May 2021. The album made #11 in the US (#1 Rock and #1 Alternative album), #11 in Hungary, #13 in Japan, #18 in Canada, #26 in Austria, #25 in Germany, #30 in the UK, #40 in Switzerland, #48 in Wallonia and #105 in Flanders (Belgium), and #83 in Australia. As part of the On track... book series, "Asia: Every Album, Every Song" (Sonicbond Publishing, 176 pages, ISBN: 9781789520996) by Peter Braidis covers the band, out 26 Nov 2020 in the UK. |
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Asia Featuring John Payne
In early 2006, Asia had consisted of Geoff
Downes (keys), John
Payne (bass, vocals, guitars), Guthrie Govan
(guitars) and Jay Schellen
(since worked with Yes; drums, backing
vocals), when Downes left for the reunion of the original band.
Payne/Govan/Schellen then formed GPS. The Asia Featuring
John Payne name was contractually agreed with the reunion band on
9 May 2006, but Payne did not assemble a band until later, after
GPS had failed to take off commercially. In May 2007,
Payne/Govan/Schellen announced the formation of Asia Featuring John Payne,
with Erik Norlander
later announced on keys. Since then, AFJP have played scattered US
dates with a set list covering both the Payne and Wetton eras of Asia. Their first show under
this name was in Jun 2008, but Govan soon left the band. From the
beginning, Asia Featuring John Payne were working on their debut
studio album. The project was initially trailed under the name Architect
of Time as a continuation or completion of the 2005/6 Asia
sessions (though some of that material was used on the GPS album Window
to the Soul). However, Payne was subsequently writing with
Norlander and no material was carried over from Architect of
Time (Payne also used the "Architect
of Time" name for an unrelated solo release). The album
name then changed to Americana. However, Payne's Vegas
show, Raiding the Rock Vault, kept him busy and the album
languished. Norlander left in 2014, and Schellen left in 2015.
Any news, additions or corrections, please e-mail Henry Potts. Thanks.