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{{short description|English musician (1949–2017)}}{{distinguish|text = John Whetton (runner)}}{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}{{EngvarB|date=May 2014}}{{refimprove|date=January 2017}}

factoids

| birth_place = Willington, Derbyshire, England| origin = Bournemouth, Dorset, Englanddf=yes01194912}}| death_place = Bournemouth, Dorset, EnglandProgressive rockhard rock>pop rockjazz fusion>classic rockAlbum-oriented rock>AOR}}Musiciansongwriter|producer}}Bassguitar|keyboards}}| years_active = 1965–2017E.G. Records>Atlantic RecordsUniversal RecordsIsland Records>IslandEagle Records>EagleEMIFrontiers}}Mogul ThrashFamily (band)>FamilyKing Crimson>Roxy MusicUriah Heep (band)>Uriah Heep|U.K.|Wishbone Ash|Steve Hackett Band|Asia|Renaissance|Qango}}| website = Official website}}John Kenneth Wetton (12 June 1949 – 31 January 2017) was an English musician, singer and songwriter.BOOK, Dancha, Kim, My Own Time: The Authorized Biography of John Wetton,weblink Northern Line Publishers, 1997, 9780965484718, Although he was left handed he was known as a dexterous right handed bass player and had a booming baritone voiceWEB, Curtiss, Ron, Weiner, Aaron, John Wetton (King Crimson, U.K., Asia): The Complete Boffomundo Interview,weblink YouTube, 3 June 2016, 3 June 2022, Wetton joined the band Family in 1971 for a short time before joining King Crimson in 1972.NEWS, Slotnik, Daniel E., John Wetton, Rocker with King Crimson and Asia, Dies at 67,weblink The New York Times, February 2017, After the breakup of King Crimson at the end of 1974, Wetton spent the next seven years as a member of other progressive rock and hard rock bands which included Roxy Music (1974–1975), Uriah Heep (1975–1976), U.K. (1977–1980) and Wishbone Ash (1980–1981).In 1981 he co-founded Asia as singer and principal song writer, which was considered a super group. Their debut album "Asia" which was released in 1982 sold 10 million copies worldwide and was listed as Billboard magazine's number one album of 1982.MAGAZINE,weblink The Billboard 200 – Year-end albums – 1982, Billboard, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090205011206weblink">weblink 5 February 2009, He later formed the duo "Icon" with his Asia bandmate and songwriting partner Geoff Downes and went onto to have a successful solo career. Wetton died on 24 January 2017.

Career

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,WEB,weblink John Wetton's Family: 5 Facts You Need to Know, 31 January 2017, 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 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 with 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.WEB,weblink Biography, Johnwetton.co.uk, 5 June 2014, A key early band was the jazzy Mogul Thrash; after live work with Renaissance, he joined Family and also did various recording sessions.Wetton's big break came when his fellow Dorset native Robert Fripp invited him to join King Crimson in late 1972. This incarnation of the band also included violinist David Cross, former Yes drummer Bill Bruford, 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.WEB, {{Allmusic, artist, p4682, yes, |title=King Crimson Biography|access-date=19 August 2007 |website=Allmusic |author=Eder, Bruce}} 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 sound, led by Wetton's thunderous, melodic bass lines – whose "roaring and crunching" sound (enhanced with effects pedals and a rotating Leslie speaker cabinet, the latter of which was traditionally used with a Hammond organ) often verged on heavy metal.WEB, 25 July 2019,weblink Treblezine.com, Langdon, Hickman, 24 June 2019, A Beginner's Guide to the epic music of King Crimson, live, 24 June 2019,weblink MAGAZINE, Sid, Smith, Sid Smith (author),weblink An extraordinary life: John Wetton, 1949-2017, LouderSound.com, Prog (magazine), Prog, 20 March 2017, 24 July 2019, live, 25 July 2019,weblink 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 Roxy MusicStump, Paul – Unknown Pleasures: A Cultural biography of Roxy Music, Thunder's Mouth Press, New York, 1998, pps. 72, 154 and two albums with Uriah Heep.WEB,weblink Uriah Heep Story p.6, Kirk Blows, www.uriah-heep.com, 15 March 2011, 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,"U.K. Humbled in the U.S.A.", Rolling Stone, Sept. 21, 1978 Wetton formed U.K. with his King Crimson rhythm section partner Bill Bruford. Wetton recruited Roxy Music keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson, 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' boss 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), this band would become Asia, and they produced one of the bestselling 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. 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 the Alpha (1983) album. He returned to Asia in 1985 (with Mandy Meyer replacing Steve Howe on guitar) to complete Astra (1985)."Asia: Continental Drift?", CREEM Magazine, April 1986In the late 1980s, a collaboration between Wetton and Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera 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 and Dave Kilminster. Qango performed several shows in the UK, and recorded a live album, Live in the Hood, before disbanding.(File:John Wetton and Geoff Downes 7070.jpg|thumb|John Wetton (left) and Geoff Downes performing in 2005)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 (2008), 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.Billboard magazine, April 2008 The original line-up released 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 of 2014.In 2013, Wetton 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 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.

Death

Wetton died in his sleep from complications of colorectal cancer at the Macmillan Unit at Christchurch Hospital in Christchurch, Dorset, on 31 January 2017, at the age of 67. He was survived by his wife Lisa, son Dylan, brother Robert and mother Margaret (Peggy).NEWS,weblink Asia frontman, ex-King Crimson bassist John Wetton dies – NME, 2017-01-31, NME, en-US, 2017-01-31, NEWS,weblink John Wetton dies aged 67, 2017-01-31, Prog, en-GB, 2017-01-31, WEB,weblink John Wetton, frontman for Asia and key prog rock figure, dies aged 67, Josh, Robbins, 31 January 2017, Geoff Downes stated: {{cbignore}}}}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 Phoenix; fan-submitted performances were shown on a large video screen above the stage. Some King Crimson songs were also performed at the event.WEB,weblink "An Extraordinary Life" Celebration, 8 March 2017, 4 June 2019, Asteroid 72802 Wetton, discovered by Marc Buie at Kitt Peak National Observatory in 2001, was named in his memory. The official {{MoMP|72802|naming citation}} was published by the Minor Planet Center on 18 May 2019 ({{small|M.P.C. 114955}}).

Influence

Artists who have cited Wetton as an influence, or have expressed their admiration for him, include Billy Sheehan,WEB, 7 March 2017,weblink Billy Sheehan: 10 Live Albums That Changed My Life, 21 November 2015, Joe, Bosso, [...] 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.’, TeamRock.com, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160406133558weblink">weblink 6 April 2016, Juan Alderete of The Mars Volta and Racer X,MAGAZINE, Bill, Murphy, JUAN ALDERETE {{!, Slouching Towards Bedlam |quote=[...] 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) [...] |magazine=Bass Player |date=2008}} Michael Sweet of Stryper,WEB, 15 July 2017,weblink Michael Sweet's Facebook, Facebook, 19 May 2017, live,weblink 15 July 2017, dmy-all, Ron Anderson,WEB,weblink Remembering John Wetton King Crimson's Greatest Bass Player., Anderson, Ron, 31 January 2017, YouTube, Brooklyn, New York, video, 14 November 2017, and Joseph D. Rowland of Pallbearer.WEB, 7 March 2017, Interview: Joseph D. Rowland (Pallbearer),weblink 14 August 2014, Dan, Lawrence, Invisible Oranges, [...] John Wetton from King Crimson and Asia is another person that I really look up to as a player. [...], live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20170308045140weblink">weblink 8 March 2017, Following Wetton's death, Eric Clapton published a short instrumental tribute entitled, "For John W."WEB,weblink Eric Clapton Releases Song for John Wetton, Lifton, Dave, Ultimate Classic Rock, 3 February 2017, en, 2019-02-06,

Band timeline

{{div col}}

• Mogul Thrash (1971)
• Gordon Haskell (1971)
• Family (1971–1972)
• Larry Norman (1972)
• King Crimson (1972–1974)
• Roxy Music (1974–1975)
• Uriah Heep (1975–1976)
• U.K. (1977–1980, 2011–2015)
• Jack-Knife (1979)
• Wishbone Ash (1980)
• Solo (1980–2017, his death)
• Asia (1981–1983, 1984–1986, 1989–1991, 2006–2017, his death)
• Qango (1999–2000)
• Icon (Wetton/Downes) (2002, 2005–2009)

{{div col end}}{{#tag:timeline|ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20PlotArea = left:100 bottom:140 top:05 right:20Alignbars = justifyDateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy # isolate next tagPeriod = from:01/01/1971 till:31/01/2017TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyyLegend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:3ScaleMajor = increment:3 start:1971ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1971Colors = BackgroundColors = bars:barsLineData = BarData = PlotData =







}}

Discography

Solo

Studio albums {| class"wikitable"

!Years!Titles!Labels|1980Caught in the Crossfire (album)>Caught in the Crossfire|E'G/Polydor Records|1987|Wetton/Manzanera (with Phil Manzanera)|Geffen Records|1994Voice Mail (album)>Voice Mail / Battle Lines|Pony Canyon / Magnetic Air Records|1997|Arkangel|Eagle Records1998|Monkey Business 1972 - 1997 (with Richard Palmer-James)Blueprint|Chasing the Deer (Soundtrack EP)|2000|Welcome to Heaven / Sinister|Avalon Records|2003|Rock of Faith|Giant Electric Pea|2011|Raised in Captivity|Frontiers Records

Live albums {| class"wikitable"

!Years!Titles!Labels|1995|Chasing the Dragon (Live in Japan)|Eclipse Records|1996|Akustika: Live in AmericaBlueprint1998|Live in Tokyo 1997|Hazy Monet (Live in New York City USA, May 27, 1997)1999|No Mans Land (Live in Poland)|Giant Electric Pea|Sub Rosa (Live in Milan July 5, 1998)Blueprint|2000|Live at the Sun Plaza Tokyo 19992002|One Way or Another (with Ken Hensley)Classic Rock Legends|More Than Conquerors (with Ken Hensley) (CD/DVD)2003|Live in Argentina 1996|Trade Mark of Official Quality|Live in Stockholm 1998|Blueprint|Live in Osaka 1997|Trade Mark of Official Quality|Live in the Underworld (CD & DVD)|Classic Rock Legends2004|AmataMetal Mind Records|Agenda|2009|Amorata (DVD)|2014|One More Red Night – Live in Chicago (with District 97)Primary Purpose2015|Live via Satellite|New York Minute (with Les Paul Trio)

Compilations

• King's Road, 1972–1980 (1987) E'G/Virgin Records
• 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 {| class"wikitable sortable"

!Years!Bands!Titles!Notes|1971|Mogul ThrashMogul Thrash (album)>Mogul Thrash||1971FamilyFearless (Family album)>Fearless| UK No. 14, US No. 177|1972Bandstand (album)>Bandstand|UK No. 15, US No. 183|1973King Crimson|Larks' Tongues in Aspic |UK No. 20, US No. 61 |2012Larks' Tongues in Aspic (box set)>Larks' Tongues in Aspic – 40th Anniversary edition – box set||1992The Great Deceiver (King Crimson album)>The Great Deceiver|Live, Recorded 1973–1974|1997The Night Watch (album)>The Night Watch|Live, Recorded 23 November 1973|1974|Starless and Bible Black|UK No. 28, US No. 64|2014Starless (box set)>Starless – 40th Anniversary edition – box set||2013The Road to Red>The Road to Red – 40th Anniversary edition – box set||1974Red (King Crimson album)>Red|UK No. 45, US No. 66 |1975USA (King Crimson album)>USA|Live, Recorded June 1974|1975Uriah Heep|Return to Fantasy|UK No. 7, US No. 85|1976High and Mighty (album)>High and Mighty|UK No. 56, US No. 161|1976|Roxy MusicViva! (Roxy Music album)>Viva!|UK No. 6, US No. 81|1978U.K.U.K. (album)>U.K.|UK No. 43|1999|Concert Classics, Vol. 4|Live, recorded 1978|1979|Danger Money|US No. 45|1979Night After Night (U.K. album)>Night After Night|US No. 109|1979I Wish You Would (album)>Jack-KnifeI Wish You Would (album)>I Wish You Wouldnotes=Jack-Knife was a project in which John Wetton and W.J. Hutcheson, who were his bandmates in Tetrad, visited Richard Palmer-James at his home in Munich. They recorded, as Jack-Knife, an album with the German drummer Curt Cress in 10 days, titled I Wish You Would, performing songs from the early days.}}|1981|Wishbone Ash|Number the Brave|UK No. 61|1982AsiaAsia (Asia album)>Asia|UK No. 11, US No. 1|1983Alpha (Asia album)>Alpha|UK No. 5, US No. 6|1985Astra (album)>Astra|UK No. 68, US No. 67|1987Over the Top (1987 film)>Over the Top - 'Gypsy Soul'|Soundtrack|1990Then & Now (Asia album)>Then & Now|US No. 114|1991|Live in Moscow 1990|Live|2000Qango (band)>Qango|Live in the Hood|Live|2002Icon (Wetton/Downes)Wetton Downes>Wetton Downes (Demo Collection)/Icon Zero (2017 Reissue)|Stallion Records/Epicon Records (2017 Reissue)|2005Icon (Wetton and Downes album)>Icon|Frontiers Records/UMe Digital (US)|2005Icon (Wetton and Downes album)>Heat of the Moment '05 EP|Frontiers Records|2006|Icon II: Rubicon|Frontiers Records|2006|Icon Live: Never in a Million Years|Frontiers Records|2006|Icon: Acoustic TV Broadcast|Frontiers Records (also released as DVD)|2007Asia|(Fantasia: Live in Tokyo)|Live|2008Phoenix (Asia album)>Phoenix|US No. 73|2009Icon (Wetton/Downes)|Icon 3|Frontiers Records|2009|Icon: Urban Psalm|Live CD&DVD, Asia Icon Ltd.|2012|Icon: Heat of the Rising Sun|Live, The Store for Music|2010Asia|Spirit of the Night – Live in Cambridge 09|Live|2010Omega (Asia album)>Omega||2012|Resonance – The Omega Tour 2010|Live, Recorded 2010|2014|High Voltage – Live|Live, Recorded 2010|2013|U.K.|Reunion – Live in Tokyo|Live CD&DVD, Recorded 2011|2012AsiaXXX (Asia album)>XXX|US No. 134|2015|Axis XXX Live San Francisco|Live, Recorded 2012|2017|Symfonia: Live in Bulgaria 2013|Live, Recorded 2013|2015|U.K.Curtain Call (UK album)>Curtain Call|Live CD&DVD, Recorded 2013|2014|AsiaGravitas (Asia album)>Gravitas|US No. 159|2016|Icon (Wetton/Downes)|Action Moves People United - 'The Wake Bhind|Various artists|2016|U.K.|UK: Ultimate Collector's Edition|

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

• 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 (September 1973): Wetton plays bass on track 3 ("Baby's on Fire") and track 5 ("Driving Me Backwards")

With Pete Sinfield

• Still (1973) Also with Greg Lake, Gordon Haskell, Mel Collins, etc.

With Bryan Ferry

• 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)
• Live At The Royal Albert Hall 1974 (2020)

With Phil Manzanera

• Diamond Head (1975)
• K-Scope (1978)
• Round in Circles/ Talk to Me (Singles) (Limited Edition vinyl) (2020)

With Duncan Mackay

• Score (1977)

With Atoll

• Rock Puzzle (1979)

With Roger Chapman

• 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

• Genesis Revisited (1997): Wetton sings on tracks 1 and 5 and also plays bass on track 5.
• The Tokyo Tapes (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 Galahad

• Year Zero (2002): Joint lead vocals on "Belt Up" and "Take a Deep Breath and Hold on Tight".

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

With Alan Simon

• (Excalibur II: The Celtic Ring)
• Excalibur III

With Eddie Jobson

• Ultimate Zero – The Best of the U-Z Project Live (2010)
• Four Decades (2015)

With Ayreon

• The Theory of Everything (2013) InsideOut Music - Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson and Steve Hackett also play on this album.

With Renaissance

• Grandine il vento (2013)

Writing

With David Cassidy

• David Cassidy (1990)

References

{{reflist|30em|refs=WEB WEB }}

External links

{{commons category|John Wetton}}

• Official site
• Official Asia Reunion Website
• John Wetton's credits on different albums at Discogs.com

{{John Wetton}}{{Asiaband}}{{Wishbone Ash}}{{U.K.}}{{Uriah Heep}}{{Roxy Music}}{{King Crimson}}{{Family (band)}}{{Authority control}}