While all members of other bands at the time, John Wetton, Steve Howe, Geoff Downes, and Carl Palmer joined forces to create the supergroup Asia. Hitting the stage during the 1980s, the band gained massive success as they released over a dozen studio albums. Their last, Gravitas, hit shelves back in 2014. Sadly, that marked the last album from the band as just three years later, Wetton passed away after battling cancer. While Asia prepared to hit the road once again, Downes discussed the possibility of completing unfinished songs.
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Speaking about the upcoming tour and what the future holds for Asia, Downes told Ultimate Classic Rock about the idea of new music and how Wetton’s death stopped the writing process. “They weren’t really fully developed. They were basic ideas. Then John’s health deteriorated quite rapidly and we never got the opportunity to get stuck in and take it further.”
The idea of a tour didn’t happen until Downes met Harry Whitley, Virgil Donati, and John Mitchell when at a Wetton memorial concert. With both Donati and Mitchell having a connection with Asia, it seemed the perfect fit. “There’s quite a bit of material. I’m looking to maybe bring in someone like John Mitchell to collaborate. Hopefully, we can put it together in a way that John would have liked us to.”
Geoff Downes Gives Details About Upcoming Tour
As for Whitley, Downes explained first watching the musician on YouTube. “I was really blown away by his attention to detail, particularly his vocal intonation. He did a version of ‘Heroine’ where he managed to get all these twists and turns that I thought only John was ever capable of.”
Seeing the massive talent behind Whitley, Downes noticed the connection between the musician and Wetton. “To hear Harry do that was really scary and quite chilling. because John’s voice could bring people to tears. So I got in touch with him when the tribute show was coming together. I thought, ‘If anyone’s going to put their stamp on these songs, here’s the man for the job.'”
As for the upcoming tour, Downes hinted at what fans should expect. “We’ll be playing quite a lot from [Asia’s] first album. That was the defining one really, the one that put it all into gear.”
(Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images)
