Asia

Asia are a British progressive art rock supergroup formed by John Wetton of King Crimson with the help of his manager Brian Lane. The two recruited Yes guitarist Steve Howe, Geoff Downes of Yes/The Buggles, and Carl Palmer of ELP to complete the lineup.

The band signed to Geffen Records in the summer of 1981 and their eponymous debut album was released in March of 1982. Asia embarked on a 30-stop US tour beginning in April as their debut single “Heat Of The Moment” topped the US Rock Chart. Asia quickly reached #11 in the UK and topped the US albums chart. By June, “Heat Of The Moment” had crossed over to the pop charts, reaching the top 10 in the US, Germany and Switzerland, and becoming a minor hit in New Zealand, The UK and The Netherlands. The album racked up six total Rock Chart entries in the US, including another pop crossover hit with “Only Time Will Tell” as the album was quickly certified multi-platinum. The group’s music videos were also in heavy rotation throughout 1982 on MTV and they were nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist.

When the band submitted their sophomore album to the record company, Wetton recalled the reaction:

I heard this voice behind me that said, ‘Mmm, I don’t hear a single.’

That day, he and Downes wrote “Don’t Cry”, which was released as the first single. It gave the band its second Rock Chart #1 and pop crossover top 10 hit in the US. It also remains their highest charter in the UK at #33. Ultimately Alpha was almost as successful as their debut, reaching #6 in the US. Its second single “The Smile Has Left Your Eyes” became the band’s fourth US top 40 and was also a minor hit in the UK and Germany. Five songs in total from Alpha reached the US Rock Chart top 30 that year.

However, tensions had been growing in the band even before the release of Alpha. Geffen had been pressuring the band to follow up their radio-friendly hits with more of the same and personal conflicts began tearing the band apart. Cracks began to show when Wetton left the band weeks before a sold-out December 1983 show in Tokyo, forcing the band to replace him quickly with Palmer’s ex-bandmate Greg Lake.

Wetton returned in 1984, but soon after starting work on a third album, Howe left to form GTR with Steve Hackett of Genesis. Krokus guitarist Mandy Meyer replaced him and Astra came out in late 1985, but its success paled in comparison to the two previous albums. Its lead single “Go” was a #7 US Rock Chart hit and almost made the pop top 40. Two further singles would find little success on rock radio. Soon after, the members of Asia all moved on to other projects.

After a failed 1987 attempt to reunite by Wetton and Downes (the demos of which were later released in 2001), Wetton, Palmer and Downes officially reunited in 1989, adding guitarist Pat Thrall, and recorded four new songs that made up most of the ‘Now’ section of the 1990 compilation Then & Now – their final album for Geffen. “Days Like These”, a new track, became a #2 US Rock Chart hit and reached #64 on the pop chart – their final single to chart worldwide. Asia followed the release up with a tour, notably performing two sold-out dates in Moscow for 20,000 fans.

When Wetton left the band again, Downes invited John Payne to replace him in 1991. Over the next thirteen years, Asia saw ever-changing membership during the release of eight studio albums that found moderate success in Germany and Japan, and occasional chart entries in the UK and US.

In 2005, the original Asia lineup reunited and released three studio albums which all found various chart success in the US, UK, Germany and Japan. Meanwhile, Payne formed ‘Asia featuring John Payne’, released a live album in 2007 and began touring in 2008.

Howe again retired from Asia in 2013 and was replaced by Sam Coulson. Gravitas was released in 2014 – the band’s final album before Wetton’s death in 2017. In 2022, the band (with original members Palmer & Downes) announced a 40th anniversary tour with new frontman Marc Bonilla.