John Kenneth Wetton (12 June 1949 – 31 January 2017) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. Known for his dexterous bass playing and booming baritone voice, Wetton first gained fame in the early 1970s. Wetton was the singer and principal songwriter of the supergroup

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

, which proved to be his biggest commercial success. The debut

album sold ten million copies worldwide, and was ''Billboard'' magazine's number one album of 1982. He also performed with many other

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

and hard rock bands, including

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

, U.K.,

Family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone ...

, Uriah Heep and

Wishbone Ash Wishbone Ash are a British rock band who achieved success in the early and mid-1970s. Their popular albums included '' Wishbone Ash'' (1970), ''Pilgrimage'' (1971), '' Argus'' (1972), '' Wishbone Four'' (1973), ''There's the Rub'' (1974), and ...

. He later formed the duo Icon with his Asia band mate (and songwriting partner) Geoff Downes. From the 1990s he had a successful solo career. Wetton signed his name with his left hand but played bass right handed.

Career

Wetton was born in Willington, Derbyshire, and grew up in Bournemouth, Dorset, where he attended Bournemouth School. His older brother Robert was a classical organist and choirmaster, and while practising organ would have John play the bass parts on a piano, since their home organ did not have a pedalboard. Wetton recalled that during these practices, "I got to like bass lines, because

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...

bass lines are incredibly interesting. So I thought, this is good, I like bass lines, that's me." 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. He played bass and sang in a number of early bands with Richard Palmer-James, including The Corvettes, The Palmer-James Group, Tetrad, and Ginger Man. A key early band was the jazzy Mogul Thrash; after live work with

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

, he joined Family and also did various recording sessions. Wetton's big break came when his fellow Dorset native

Robert Fripp Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is a British musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session ...

invited him to join King Crimson in late 1972. This incarnation of the band also included violinist David Cross, former Yes drummer

Bill Bruford William Scott Bruford (born 17 May 1949) is an English former drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. After leaving Yes in 1972, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s recording ...

, and percussionist Jamie Muir. His time in the band would allow Wetton to come into his own as a lead singer and writer. Wetton's old friend Richard Palmer-James also worked with the band as their primary lyricist. Wetton remained with the band until Fripp unexpectedly disbanded it in 1974. King Crimson maintained their interest in improvisation throughout this period, but moved away from the classical, jazz and English folk leanings of their earlier work. The 1972-1974 period featured a more aggressive fusion/

avant-rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

sound, led by Wetton's thunderous, melodic bass lines- whose "roaring and crunching" sound (enhanced with

effects pedals An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing. Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in ele ...

and a rotating Leslie speaker cabinet (traditionally used with a Hammond Organ) often verged on heavy metal. Fripp once compared playing onstage with Wetton and drummer Bill Bruford to working with "a flying brick wall". After the dissolution of King Crimson, Wetton continued to work on various projects, including a tour with

and two albums with Uriah Heep. 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. In 1977, after failed attempts to reunite King Crimson and to create a new band with Rick Wakeman, Wetton formed U.K. with his King Crimson rhythm section partner Bill Bruford. Wetton recruited Roxy Music keyboardist/violinist

Eddie Jobson Edwin "Eddie" Jobson (born 28 April 1955) is an English musician noted for his use of synthesizers. He has been a member of several progressive rock bands, including Curved Air, Roxy Music, U.K. and Jethro Tull. He was also part of Frank Zap ...

, while Bruford brought in innovative guitarist Allan Holdsworth from his solo group. U.K. adopted a more composition-driven approach than King Crimson, per Wetton's preference. After the break-up of U.K., Wetton released his first solo album, '' Caught in the Crossfire'' (1980). Later that year he had a brief stint in Wishbone Ash, appearing on their album '' Number the Brave'' (1981). In late 1981 he had a meeting with

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

' boss John Kalodner who took him to task for playing bass in

Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ''The Independent'', Ferry an ...

backing band A backup band or backing band is a musical ensemble that typically accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a recording session, and the group may or may not have its own name, such ...

, feeling he should be fronting a group himself. At Kalodner's insistence, Wetton started writing with former Yes guitarist

Steve Howe Stephen James Howe (born 8 April 1947) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist in the progressive rock band Yes across three stints since 1970. Born in Holloway, North London, Howe developed an interest in the guitar and began to le ...

, with a view to forming their own band. Joined by keyboardist Geoff Downes, and drummer

Carl Palmer Carl Frederick Kendall Palmer (born 20 March 1950) is an English drummer best known as founding member and the last surviving member of the progressive rock supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer. He was also a founding member of progressive rock s ...

(of

Emerson, Lake & Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitar, producer) and Carl Palmer (drums, percus ...

), this band would become Asia, and they produced one of the best selling albums of the 1980s. Their self-titled debut album "Asia" sold over 10 million copies worldwide, making the band a household name across the globe. John worked with Asia until 1983. In that year, Wetton was fired from Asia (at the insistence of Geffen Records) for then unknown reasons, but at least in part due to lower-than-expected sales of the '' Alpha'' (1983) album. He returned to Asia in 1985 (with

Mandy Meyer Armand "Mandy" Meyer (born August 29 1960) is a Swiss-Canadian guitarist best known for being a member of the hard rock band Gotthard, the progressive rock band Asia, and the heavy metal band Krokus. Meyer has also worked with Cobra, Stealin' H ...

replacing Steve Howe on guitar) to complete '' Astra'' (1985). In the late 1980s, a collaboration between Wetton and Roxy Music guitarist

Phil Manzanera Phillip Geoffrey Targett-Adams (born 31 January 1951), known professionally as Phil Manzanera, is an English guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music, and was the lead guitarist with 801, and Quiet Su ...

was released as ''Wetton/Manzanera'' (1986). Around this time, Wetton began working with Geoff Downes and Carl Palmer to restart Asia. Some of the material they recorded was featured on 1990's '' Then & Now'' CD, including a radio hit in "Days Like These." The 1990s saw Wetton mostly focusing on his solo career. In 1999, an aborted attempt to reform Asia resulted in Wetton and Carl Palmer forming a short-lived progressive group dubbed Qango with

John Young John Young may refer to: Academics * John Young (professor of Greek) (died 1820), Scottish professor of Greek at the University of Glasgow * John C. Young (college president) (1803–1857), American educator, pastor, and president of Centre Col ...

and Dave Kilminster. Qango performed several shows in the UK, and recorded a live album, ''Live in the Hood'', before disbanding. John Wetton and Geoff Downes 7070

In the early 2000s, Wetton reunited with Geoff Downes for Icon. In 2006, a reunion of the original Asia line-up (Wetton, Downes, Howe, Palmer) finally occurred. A studio album titled ''

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

'' (2008), the original band's first since 1983's '' Alpha'', was released in April 2008 and peaked at No. 73 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of ar ...

albums chart in the United States. The original line-up released two more studio albums, ''

Omega Omega (; capital: Ω, lowercase: ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and final letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system/ isopsephy ( gematria), it has a value of 800. The ...

'' (2010) and '' XXX'' (2012) before Howe departed in January 2013 to focus on Yes. With new guitarist Sam Coulson, Asia released ''

Gravitas ''Gravitas'' () was one of the ancient Roman virtues that denoted "seriousness". It is also translated variously as weight, dignity, and importance and connotes restraint and moral rigor. It also conveys a sense of responsibility and commitment ...

'' in March of 2014. In 2013, he guested on the album '' Grandine il vento'' with Renaissance, with whom he had played live 42 years before. That same year, he toured with ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' finalist Leslie Hunt's Chicago-based band District 97 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the King Crimson album '' Larks' Tongues In Aspic''. Wetton also worked extensively as a session musician with such musicians as Brian Eno, Bryan Ferry and

Ayreon Ayreon is a musical project by Dutch songwriter, singer, musician and record producer Arjen Anthony Lucassen. Ayreon's music is described as progressive rock, progressive metal and power metal sometimes combined with genres such as folk, elect ...

Death

Wetton died in his sleep from complications of colorectal cancer at the Macmillan Unit at

Christchurch Hospital Christchurch Hospital is the largest tertiary hospital in the South Island of New Zealand. The public hospital is in the centre of Christchurch city, on the edge of Hagley Park, and serves the wider Canterbury region. The Canterbury District He ...

Christchurch, Dorset Christchurch () is a town and civil parish in Dorset on the south coast of England. The town had a population of 31,372 in 2021. For the borough the population was 48,368. It adjoins Bournemouth to the west, with the New Forest to the east. Pa ...

, on 31 January 2017. He was survived by his wife Lisa, son Dylan, brother Robert and mother Margaret (Peggy). Geoff Downes stated: 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 June 17, 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 Asia album ''

''; Fan-submitted performances were shown on a large video screen above the stage. Some King Crimson songs were also performed at the event. Asteroid 72802 Wetton, discovered by

Marc Buie Marc William Buie (; born 1958) is an American astronomer and prolific discoverer of minor planets who works at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado in the Space Science Department. Formerly he worked at the Lowell Observatory ...

Kitt Peak National Observatory The Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) is a United States astronomical observatory located on Kitt Peak of the Quinlan Mountains in the Arizona-Sonoran Desert on the Tohono Oʼodham Nation, west-southwest of Tucson, Arizona. With more than ...

in 2001, was named in his memory. The official was published by the Minor Planet Center on 18 May 2019 ().

Influence

Artists who have cited Wetton as an influence, or have expressed their admiration for him, include

Billy Sheehan William Sheehan (born March 19, 1953) is an American musician. He is best known for playing the bass guitar with acts such as Talas, Steve Vai, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, Niacin, and The Winery Dogs. He is also known for his "lead bass" playing ...

Juan Alderete Juan Alderete de la Peña (born September 5, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the longtime bassist of Racer X, the Mars Volta and Marilyn Manson. Biography Alderete was born in Los Angeles, California the fourth of five children. ...

The Mars Volta The Mars Volta is an American progressive rock band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 2001. The band's only constant members are Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, producer, direction) and Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals, lyrics), whose partnership for ...

and Racer X,

Michael Sweet Michael Harrison Sweet (born July 4, 1963) is a singer and guitarist from Whittier, California; he is the co-founder, songwriter, guitarist and lead singer of the Christian metal band Stryper. He's also had a successful solo career, and briefly ...

of Stryper, Ron Anderson, and Joseph D. Rowland of

Pallbearer A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the casket at a funeral. They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person. Some traditions distinguish between the roles o ...

. Following Wetton's death, Eric Clapton published a short instrumental tribute entitled, "For John W."

Band timeline

* Mogul Thrash (1971) * Gordon Haskell (1971) *

(1971–1972) * Larry Norman (1972) *

(1972–1974) *

(1974–1975) * Uriah Heep (1975–1976) *

U.K. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

(1977–1980, 2011–2015) * Jack-Knife (1979) *

(1980) * John Wetton (1980–2017) *

(1981–1983, 1984–1986, 1989–1991, 2006–2017) * Qango (1999–2000) *

Icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

( Wetton/Downes) (2002, 2005–2009)

Discography

Solo

Studio albums

Live albums

; Compilations * ''King's Road, 1972–1980'' (1987) E'G/

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...

* ''Anthology'' (2001) NMC * ''...Caught in the Crossfire...'' (2002) Digimode Entertainment UK. Not to be confused with Wetton's 1980 first solo album. 17 tracks from various Wetton projects including ''Wetton/Manzanera'' (1987) and ''Battle Lines'' (1994). * ''The Studio Recordings Anthology'' (2015)

As band member

Session Work

; With Gordon Haskell * ''It Is and It Isn't'' (1971) Wetton plays organ, bass, keyboards, vocals, gut string guitar & vocal harmony. ; With Larry Norman * '' Only Visiting This Planet'' (1972) ; With Malcolm and Alwyn * ''Fool's Wisdom'' (1973) ; With

Peter Banks Peter William Brockbanks (15 July 1947 – 7 March 2013), known professionally as Peter Banks, was a British guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and producer. He was the original guitarist in the rock band Yes, and also the Syn, Flash, and Empire. ...

* '' Two Sides of Peter Banks'' (1973): plays bass on track 5 ("Knights") with album covers crediting John Whetton ; With Brian Eno * ''

Here Come the Warm Jets ''Here Come the Warm Jets'' is the debut solo album by British musician Brian Eno, released on Island Records in January 1974. It was recorded and produced by Eno following his departure from Roxy Music, and blends glam and pop stylings with a ...

'' (September 1973): Wetton plays bass on track 3 ("Baby's on Fire") and track 5 ("Driving Me Backwards") ; With Pete Sinfield * ''

Still A still is an apparatus used to distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively boil and then cooling to condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic distillation apparatus, but on a much larger scale. Stills have been use ...

'' (1973) Also with Greg Lake, Gordon Haskell,

Mel Collins Melvyn Desmond Collins (born 5 September 1947, Isle of Man) is a British saxophonist, flautist and session musician. Collins has played in several progressive rock groups, having been a member of King Crimson on two occasions (the first from ...

, etc. ; With

* '' Another Time, Another Place'' (July 1974); UK No. 4 * '' Let's Stick Together'' (September 1976); UK No. 19, US No. 160 * '' In Your Mind'' (February 1977); UK No. 5, US No. 126, Aust No. 1 * '' The Bride Stripped Bare'' (September 1978) ; With

* '' Diamond Head'' (1975) * '' K-Scope'' (1978) * ''Round in Circles/ Talk to Me'' (Singles) (Limited Edition vinyl) (2020) ; With Duncan Mackay * '' Score'' (1977) ; With

Atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...

* ''Rock Puzzle'' (1979) ; With

Roger Chapman Roger Maxwell Chapman (born 8 April 1942 in Leicester), also known as Chappo, is an English rock vocalist. He is best known as a member of the progressive rock band Family, which he joined along with Charlie Whitney, in 1966 and also the rock ...

* '' Mail Order Magic'' (1980) * '' Hyenas Only Laugh for Fun'' (1981) ; With Phenomena * ''Did It All For Love (Single)'' (1987) ; With David Cross * ''Exiles'' (1997) ; With

Steve Hackett Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis ...

* '' Genesis Revisited'' (1997): Wetton sings on tracks 1 and 5 and also plays bass on track 5. * ''

The Tokyo Tapes ''The Tokyo Tapes'' is a live and studio album by English guitarist Steve Hackett, released in April 1998 by Camino Records. It documents two concerts performed by a supergroup line-up of Hackett, John Wetton, Chester Thompson, Ian McDonald ...

'' (1998) * '' Genesis Revisited II'' (2012): Wetton sings and plays guitar and bass on track "Afterglow". * ''Genesis Revisited: Live at Hammersmith'' (2013): Wetton sings on track "Afterglow". * ''Genesis Revisited: Live at the Royal Albert Hall'' (2014): Wetton sings on track "Firth of Fifth". ; With Martin Orford * ''Classical Music And Popular Songs'' (2000): lead vocals on track 2. * ''The Old Road'' (2008): lead vocals on tracks 4 and 8, bass guitar on tracks 4 and 6. ; With Daniele Liverani * ''Genius A Rock Opera – Episode 1'' (2002) ; With Billy Sherwood * ''Back Against the Wall'' (2005): lead vocals on "Mother" and "Hey You". * ''Return to the Dark Side of the Moon'' (2006): lead vocals on "Us and Them". ; With Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash * ''Argus Through The Looking Glass'' (2008)

Mystic Records Mystic Records is an American record label and music production company specializing in hardcore punk, crossover thrash, underground music, vintage and cult records. It is owned and operated by Doug Moody. The label was first established in Hollywo ...

; With Alan Simon * '' Excalibur II: The Celtic Ring'' * ''Excalibur III'' ; With

* '' Ultimate Zero – The Best of the U-Z Project Live'' (2010) * ''

Four Decades ''Four Decades'' is a live album by Eddie Jobson, celebrating the 40th anniversary of his recording career. The album was recorded during one single night in Kawasaki, Japan. The set list is made up by songs from his solo albums and by the artis ...

'' (2015) ; With

* '' The Theory of Everything'' (2013)

InsideOut Music Inside Out Music is a German independent record label originally based in Kleve, North Rhine-Westphalia, and dedicated to the publication of progressive rock, progressive metal and related styles. In 2009, it formed a partnership with Century Med ...

- Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson and

also play on this album. ; With

* '' Grandine il vento'' (2013)

References

External links

Official site

Official Asia Reunion Website

John Wetton's credits on different albums
at Discogs.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Wetton, John 1949 births 2017 deaths English rock bass guitarists Male bass guitarists English baritones English operatic baritones English rock singers Asia (band) members King Crimson members Uriah Heep (band) members Wishbone Ash members Family (band) members Musicians from Bournemouth People from Willington, Derbyshire Deaths from cancer in England Metal Mind Productions artists Deaths from colorectal cancer Progressive rock musicians Progressive rock bass guitarists Renaissance (band) members U.K. (band) members Qango (band) members Roxy Music members Frontiers Records artists