The John Wetton Interview

When Asia reunited this year for their 25th Anniversary, no one quite knew what to make of it. Here was a band of high caliber, seasoned musicians who decided to fall in with the mainstream to create a leaner grade of progressive rock in the early 80s. It was a radio-friendly, visually enhanced approach, but not without its shortcomings. Guitarist Steve Howe and drummer Carl Palmer eventually returned to the comfortable confines of Yes and ELP. Through it all, keyboardist Geoff Downes has remained the sole survivor of Asia, while John Wetton, the band's vocalist and bassist, came and left twice without much fuss or fanfare. Of all the members of Asia, he was the one who seemed destined for bigger and better things.

Wetton more than paid his dues as a member of several prominent British bands of the 70s. He made two albums with Family before accepting an invitation from old friend Robert Fripp to join King Crimson. From 1972’s Larks' Tongues In Aspic through 1974’s Red, Wetton sang, played bass, and wrote much of the material for Crimson during an extremely fertile period in their lumpy history. When Fripp announced that he was disbanding the group for good in the mid 70s, Wetton quickly found work as a bassist with Roxy Music and Uriah Heep. It wasn't long until he felt compelled to step out from the shadows and lead a group of his own. With former Crimson band mate and drummer Bill Bruford, He co-founded UK, a sleek progressive unit of the late 70s that also featured guitarist Allan Holdsworth and keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson. As luck would have it, the timing was ill-conceived as new wave, disco, and punk moved in, and the whole shooting match was swallowed up by MTV and behemoth record companies.

Wetton, who’d always favored short and simple melodies over the esoteric, lengthy strains of progressive rock, reinvented himself for the role of lead singer of Asia. In 1982, they would become first "supergroup" of the decade to enjoy the best of both worlds — the love of the record-buying public and the respect of their peers. As often is the case, Asia collapsed under its own weight and never quite regained its composure. Wetton remained prolific with several solo and collaborative efforts over the years, but he began to feel the tug of past glories when he reunited with Downes for two albums. It worked out so well between the two that they called Howe and Palmer, proffering the notion of mounting the mighty Asia ship for another round. Once everyone’s prior commitments were honored, the original Asia regrouped for a late summer, month-long tour of America. The venues were smaller and the crowd was older and grayer, but the response was overwhelming. Presently on a short break, Asia is scheduled to play more shows in England and Scotland in late November and early December, with plans in place for a DVD and subsequent tours in 2007.

In addition to regaining his artistry with Asia, Wetton recently overcame a long battle with the bottle. At 57, he is sober, happy and extremely optimistic. This was all apparent when I saw him fronting Asia for a breath-taking set the night before the following interview. When we spoke the next morning, Wetton was a bit hoarse, but openly and honestly upbeat about his colorful history, as well as his present dalliance with Asia. While it’s hard to say what lies over the horizon, one can’t help but think of the group’s song that breezily proclaims, “Only time will tell…”

~

Let's start off with the obvious: the Asia reunion. I caught the show in Long Beach, and was blown away by how good it all sounded. What are your impressions of the tour so far?

It’s been absolutely wonderful. The closest thing I can think of is the very first tour we did back in 1982. We were playing in smaller venues and colleges, like we are now. The reaction has been fantastic. We’re playing better than we were then. This tour is a bit more comprehensive and possibly more feasible. We have more material to draw from and we’re not afraid of playing stuff from our pasts. That was a no-no 25 years ago.

I think there was a lot of paranoia in those days that we couldn’t play stuff from our pasts. We’ve kind of gotten over that now and realized there’s no reason to shut the door on the past. A lot of people enjoy hearing those songs again, and certainly in the case of “Video Killed The Radio Star,” it adds a little sparkle toward the end of the set. We’re playing a fairly good representation of our material from when we were together as a recording band. The audience’s reaction is beyond what we possibly could have imagined. It’s been great. We knew within three or four dates that we’d be able to gauge what the reaction would be, and it hasn’t really varied from place to place. It’s been pretty unanimous. We’re really pleased and couldn’t be more happy.

It’s interesting how you’re mixing Asia songs with songs from each of your previous bands. When it came to doing a King Crimson song, you went with “In The Court Of The Crimson King,” which, as you know, is one you did not originally appear on. Is there any reason you chose that one instead of say, “Easy Money” or “Red”?

We looked at all the material from our pasts. The frontrunners really were “Starless” and “In The Court Of The Crimson King.” We work as a democracy and the general consensus was for this tour, we’d do “In The Court Of The Crimson King,” even though I know I didn’t sing the original. I did sing it on stage, and it has an association with a band that I was with.

I think on subsequent tours, we might substitute “In The Court Of The Crimson King” with “Starless” maybe. “Red,” I don’t know if that would be appropriate. It was never noted as a possibility. But I certainly would never say never in that department.

I understand your question. I thought about it and I don’t really have any qualms about it. You could probably say the same thing about Carl Palmer — that he wasn’t on the original “Fanfare For The Common Man” and he didn’t write it either (laughs). It’s just whatever was associated with the band.

Greg Lake and I have juxtaposed at certain points in our careers. It’s not a touchy subject for me. He had to learn all my material when he joined Asia, and I had to learn his parts when I joined Crimson. And now again, 30 years later. It’s not a big deal to me. It’s something the rest of the band is happy with and I’m happy to go along with it. I didn’t want to be a terrible purist about it.

Asia might have pulled a first here in Los Angeles by appearing on KLOS, a classic rock station one day, and then KROQ, an alternative rock station the next day. Were there any noticeable differences between these two appearances?

The first one was with the full band, and the second one was with just me and Geoff (Downes). It’s a different atmosphere where I think the band operates better in pairs rather than all four. It tends to get a bit crazy. It’s too many cooks, if you like. With KROQ, it seemed less high energy than the Mark and Brian (KLOS morning DJs) one. We got a lot more information across. I certainly enjoyed doing both of them.

Carl Palmer told me the primary motivation behind the reunion is the 25th Anniversary of Asia’s debut album. But I also read that you’ve been talking about playing together for years, is that correct?

It came in bite-size chunks. In 2001, Geoff and I collaborated for the first time in awhile on a solo album called Rock Of Faith. We wrote two songs. We finished off one we had started writing 15 years previously, and then we wrote a completely new song. And Geoff played the keyboards on it. It was the first time we had gotten together in the studio in awhile. It went so well that we wanted to do another one. Last year, we recorded an album called Icon. And that meant we had to spend the fair part of two months in the studio together — working, writing, recording, doing what we always do. And it went really well. We said let’s make another one.

The more we sat and chewed the fat, we started talking about what it would be like to take the old girl out again — take it around the block once more for old time’s sake — and what the reaction of the other two would be. We didn’t know at that point if there would be any kind of interest from Steve (Howe) and Carl at all. On our web site, there was a lot of action in that department with people lobbying for us to get back together since we split up in 1984 or whenever it was. So, the real diehards have gone away in their lobbying.

We got together in a meeting in January with the four of us. It was the first time we were together like this in 23 years. We talked about whether or not we could fly this thing — really if we could stand together and we were willing to make that gesture to actually come to the table. That was all that was needed. And the rest was just logistics. We ended up talking for three or four hours and met on mutual territory. It was great. It was very constructive, no skeletons — it was a very good meeting. And nine months later, here we are.

You have just a few more dates to play here in States. What are your plans after that?

We have six dates in the U.K. Then in March of next year, we go to Japan where we’ll record a DVD. And then we’re back here in April, then to South America.

Are there any plans to make a new Asia record?

It’s certainly in the cards. If this tour had been an unmitigated disaster, in terms of fan reaction and the band’s willingness, then we would have to shelf any plans for an album. As it is, we have no plans to make an album, although it’s always in the back of our minds. It has to be right. The band is a unit and it’s working very well together. That was always the case, really. Any other combination is not going to work. A few of us tried it over the last 20 years or so, but the real kind of magic is only there with the four of us.

I will say it’s inevitable that we will record, but we’re not in a terrible hurry. We have all the time in the world. The biggest mistake of this whole band’s career was going in and making the second album too early. We were pushed into that by the industry and we weren’t ready. It wasn’t a disastrous album at all — it was very good, I think, in retrospect. But it could have been a little bit better. It was way too soon after the first album. So, this time, we’re going to just take it easy a bit and do it, hopefully, in a more mature fashion.

Have you been writing anything together?

Geoff and I write all the time. It’s really what’s suitable, and with this band, what we want to portray. It’s not just a matter of going into a rehearsal room or studio and saying, “What have you got?” It has to be a little more planned than that. Particularly today — a lot has changed. I’ve made records with or without other people. I go by purely if this one was good enough to make another one. That’s my total judgment of whether it was successful or not. And being funded to make another one means the previous one was successful. I don’t think Asia would be like that. It would have to be more of a statement, so we better be careful. It will come when it feels like it. It’s not etched in stone as to when we’ll do it. If it feels right, we’ll do it.

We were talking about King Crimson, of which you were a member a little over 30 years ago. A lot of people believe the line-up you were part of was a definitive version. How do you look back at your experiences with Crimson?

With great fondness. It’s funny I was having a conversation with Steve Howe, and we were talking about the halcyon years of Yes, and, for my money, the best version of King Crimson ever. I have an attachment to that 72-74 incarnation. Steve said something I had to jump on. He asked, “What was it like working for Robert Fripp?” And I said that was never the case. And he would tell you that himself. He picked people like myself or Bill Bruford to work with because he knew we had very strong personalities. The rhythm section was so strong in King Crimson — sometimes it overpowered the lead instruments. I’m still very fond of Robert. We meet regularly and talk for four or five hours at a time.

It was very much a situation where ideas were thrown into a pot. Occasionally, Robert would come in with a change. But aside from that…”Starless” is a perfect example. It’s probably the best thing we did. The first part is my ballad, the intro was Robert’s, the harmonic riff, which everybody thinks is a bass player riff, is Bill Bruford’s. Things are never exactly the way you would like them to be. When you have four people in the ring and they start throwing ideas around, it comes out in several different ways. It’s never the way you envisioned. Bearing that in mind, much of the first and second (Crimson) albums were my ideas, which were given to the band. They were kind of synthesized by the band. I think I probably should have taken a more organic approach, but I don’t know. It depended on who came up with the best idea at the time.

When Crimson ended in 1975, you worked with a lot of different people — from Roxy Music to Uriah Heep — and then you formed UK.

UK was a Crimson afterthought. I was touring the world with Roxy Music. It was a gig I knew I didn’t want to do forever. They were friends, and we had the same management and record company. They were actually stuck and had no bass player. They asked me to come along and supervise at the auditions. When it came to the end of the day, they said, “What do you think?” And I said, “I don’t like any of them.” So they said, “Then why don’t you do it.” And I said, “OK, I’m not doing anything for the next few months (laughs).”

So I agreed to do the U.K. tour, which turned into a European tour, which turned into a Japanese tour, which turned into an Australian tour. And before I knew it, I was like a year into Roxy Music, and people were saying, “Why don’t you do something a little more with your life than playing bass with Roxy Music…” I remember writing to Bill (Bruford) from Australia, saying I think there’s still a lot we can do together. So he came back with, "If you want to do something, I’ll bring someone to the party if you bring someone to the party." I’d been on the road with Eddie Jobson in Roxy Music and we’d been talking about the possibility of doing something together. Bill had been working with Allan Holdsworth. So those are the two people we brought to the party. And UK formed.

UK came along at a time when new wave and punk were sort of taking over and the music business was changing. Did that dissuade you at all?

I’d had a pretty easy ride of it. I had great management: E.G. I’d been with one of the best record companies: Atlantic. You kind of get used to that idea, thinking it’s going to last forever. Atlantic had all the best British bands — Zeppelin, Yes, Genesis, Crimson — they had everybody. Plus they had all that great R&B. It was a very easy ride (laughs). I’ll make no bones about it — it was quite a shock when everything got turned on its head in 1976 and 1977. I think really that UK was one of the last bands from that era. Everything changed after that. What I think new wave did — it destroyed how everything was done in the 70s. It crystallized the record business into being a kind of a microcosm of the movie industry. People in the record business had such a shake-out where they said, “It can’t be run by hippies anymore; but now we’re gonna get serious; we gonna have it run by lawyers.” And that’s exactly what happened. From the end of 1979 well into the mid 80s, every major record that came out was attached to a movie. And if it wasn’t, it was treated like a movie. Instead of selling a 100,000 records and everybody being happy, no one was happy unless it went into multiple millions. And that’s the way the record industry worked in the 80s.

So then when Asia was formed, was there a concerted effort to commercialize your progressive rock roots?

Not intentionally. I just did what I did. If you look at what I’ve done with all of the bands that I’ve been in, I’m the one that provided the three-minute song. From Crimson to UK to my solo stuff, I was the one that came up with the three-minute song. And the bands I was in usually were the ones that would want to extend that into a mini opera. But I was the one who provided the aria. And that’s exactly what I did in Asia. The difference in Asia was there was no nine-minute extension. It was just a four-minute song.

I saw Asia a couple times back then and played your first record constantly. I’ve always wondered when in the midst of the band’s rising popularity, you were briefly replaced by Greg Lake for a big MTV gig in Tokyo. Then you came back. What happened?

I was out because I was drunk. But I came back. The unthinkable happened, and they decided they wanted me back. And I came back and my drinking just took off. It was like I never stopped. And I’ve had a major problem with that for many years. But I don’t anymore.

Well, you've come a long way, John. I understand you’re playing some gigs in Japan this fall with Geoff Downes. Could you elaborate a bit on what you’ll be playing?

Geoff and I are playing Icon at the end of October. That was already booked by the time the whole Asia thing came around. We want to honor those dates. We play a few Asia songs in the set. Some of them are different and they’re all Wetton-Downes compositions. That will be interesting. We’re just doing six shows, two in three major cities. We’re coming back five or six months later with the original band. The original Asia has never played Japan. In the past, the Greg Lake version did Asia In Asia in 83. And we played there without Steve in 1990. But the original band never played in Asia.

Amidst of all the bands you’ve worked with, you’ve also maintained a fairly prolific solo career. Do you have any plans to make another solo album any time soon?

Yes. I’m currently being lobbied by a European record company that’s based in Italy. They want me to do an updated Battle Lines. I told them they could have the original Battle Lines and they said they want a new one (laughs). So that’s in the cards some time in the next couple years. Battle Lines was an album I recorded right after Asia imploded for the third time in 1991. I moved to California and made it with (producer) Ron Nevison, here in Los Angeles. I lived here for three years and had a fantastic time. There were some many musicians and writers in Los Angeles. All day, every day was taken up with writing for about two years. It was great. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the musical climate in Los Angeles at that time. Anything was possible at that point. It was prog and alternative living side-by-side. You had bands like Smashing Pumpkins, who were really alternative, but their biggest influence was King Crimson. It was a good time to be here. It felt very creative. That comes around in cycles for me. There are bursts of activity when the muse is unveiled. I haven’t had one of those in awhile and I’m due one. I think it might be knocking at my door any moment.

A lot has changed in the music business since Asia first came out. How do you see the band fitting in today’s musical landscape?

The same question was asked in 1981. At that point it was all techno and keyboards and dance-oriented bands like Human League and Flock Of Seagulls. And we came along with a guitar-driven, prog sound with very fat layers of keyboards and fat layers of vocals and a big drum kit. And it actually sounded rather good, when you compared it to Flock Of Seagulls, in terms of aural satisfaction. I think it sounded pretty happening; it still does actually. Any of the Mike Stone hits from that era still sound really good on the radio. Sadly, he’s not with us anymore. In terms of looking at what the musical climate is at the moment, I think it’s due for a change. I’m not saying we’re going to achieve the same thing we did in 1982 if we come out with a record tomorrow. But someone’s gonna do it. It’s little devoid of any musicality at the moment.

Do you foresee other reunions with maybe King Crimson or UK?

I never say never. With UK, it’s unlikely. I don’t know about King Crimson. I certainly would never shy away from working with Robert Fripp. We’re still very good friends. He’s played on the last three solo albums I’ve done. We collaborate all the time, so I wouldn’t rule that out.

• Discuss this article