John Wetton: Fallen Angel
Another rock icon is gone with the passing of John Wetton, whose bass and vocals were most prominently displayed with King Crimson and Asia. His work was a part of no fewer than two dozen bands and artist collaborations during his 67-year career.
He started with Mogul and then played organ, bass, and keyboards and sang on Gordon Haskell’s excellent It Is and It Isn’t (1971). He played with Family for two albums, including Bandstand (1972).
1972 was also the year he joined King Crimson for a sparkling three years during which they created Larks’ Tongue in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black, and Red, and he was also on three live albums from that period.
His Roxy Music connection: He played on Brian Eno’s Here Come the Warm Jets (1974), Roxy Music’s Viva! (1976), three albums with Phil Manzanera, including 1974’s Diamond Head, and four Brian Ferry solo albums from 1974 to 1978.
Wetton recorded two albums with Uriah Heep, two with Wishbone Ash, and a 2011 album with Renaissance. He played on Pete Sinfield’s Still (1973). He joined Steve Hackett for several Genesis Revisited projects.
In 1977, a true supergroup was formed when Wetton and Crimson drummer Bill Bruford recruited Alan Holdsworth and Eddie Jobson for U.K. They recorded their eponymous album before Bruford and Holdsworth split; Terry Bozzio joined to make the group a trio for Danger Money. There were also two live albums at the time and two later live reunion concerts albums.
Wetton’s first solo album, Caught in the Crossfire, was released in 1980. He would record five more solo albums and at least a dozen live albums under his name, all between 1994 and 2015.
Asia was born in 1982, and the band had remarkable success with their debut album that year. After Alpha (1983) made it to just Number 6 on the charts, he was replaced, only to be called back for Astra (1985) and Then and Now (1990), plus one live album. Asia’s original lineup featured Wetton, Geoffrey Downes, Steve Howe, and Carl Palmer. The band’s reunion in 2007 spawned four more studio efforts and five live albums.
Wetton also collaborated with Downes beginning in 2002 for eight albums (three live recordings), calling themselves iCon.
John Wetton: Fallen Angel.
