Asia (band)

Asia
Steve Howe and Carl Palmer live (2006)
General information
Genre (s)	Rock , stadium rock
founding	1981, 1989
resolution	1985
Website	www.originalasia.com
Founding members
Keyboard , vocals	Geoff Downes (1981–1985, 1987, since 1990)
Vocals, bass	John Wetton † (1981–1983, 1984–1991, 1998–1999, 2006–2017)
guitar	Steve Howe (1981-1984, 1992, 2006-2013)
Drums	Carl Palmer (1981–1992, 1998–1999, since 2006)
Current occupation
Keyboard, vocals	Geoff Downes (1981–1985, 1987, since 1990)
Drums	Carl Palmer (1981–1992, 1998–1999, since 2006)
Bass, vocals (2017-2019)	Billy Sherwood (since 2017)
Vocals, guitar	Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (since 2019)
former members
Vocals, bass	Greg Lake † (1983)
guitar	Mandy Meyer (1985)
guitar	Scott Gorham (1990-1991)
guitar	Pat Thrall (1990-1991)
Vocals, bass, guitar	John Payne (1991-2006)
guitar	Keith More (1993)
guitar	Tomoyasu Hotei (1994)
guitar	Ian Crichton (1997-1999)
Drums	Chris Slade (1999-2005)
guitar	Sam Coulson (2013-2018)

Asia is a British supergroup that was formed in 1981 from musicians who had played with Yes , Emerson, Lake and Palmer , Saga , King Crimson , Uriah Heep , the Buggles and UK , among others .

history

Prehistory (1980–1981)

After the decline of progressive rock at the end of the 1970s, most of the well-known music groups in the genre had disbanded, which is why many musicians suddenly found themselves without their own band or record deal. Since 1980 several attempts have been made to found a supergroup. They were arranged by managers and record companies and mostly revolved around the South African guitarist and singer Trevor Rabin , who had recently come to London.

A possible new lineup , which did not materialize, consisted of the former Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman , the former King Crimson, Uriah Heep and UK member John Wetton and the drummer Carl Palmer von Emerson, in addition to Rabin . Lake and Palmer.

However, at the suggestion of Yes manager Brian Lane, John Wetton teamed up with guitarist Steve Howe , who had just ended his collaboration with the progressive rock pioneers of Yes . Together, early versions of the later Asia songs Cutting It Fine , Without You and Here Comes the Feeling were developed, all of which were based on ideas by John Wetton. John Kalodner , then at Atlantic Records, had been trying to do something with Wetton since the end of King Crimson. He brought together a team around Wetton and Howe, which consisted of managers Brian Lane and David Geffen , (who later co-founded the Dreamworks film studios). The latter had just founded his own record label Geffen Records . Kalodner also brought in Queen producer Mike Stone .

At first, Wetton and Howe rehearsed with the drummer Simon Phillips , but the collaboration didn't work. In addition, Phillips demanded too high a financial contribution. Then the Yes drummer Alan White was discussed. Next they turned to drummer Carl Palmer, previously with Emerson, Lake and Palmer and PM . He agreed and suggested adding a keyboard player to the band, as he saw keyboard-oriented rock music coming in the 80s. Initially, Wakeman involvement was discussed again, but Howe suggested the author of the hit video Killed the Radio Star ( The Buggles , 1980), Geoff Downes , with whom he had recently worked on Yes. For some time it was thought of hiring a second singer and a number of musicians were invited, again including Trevor Rabin, but in the end the decision was made against it, mainly because Wetton did not want to split the vocals and Howe the guitar work. Rabin had played the songs Here Comes the Feeling and Starry Eyes (later Only Time Will Tell ) with the band .

The band name "Asia" goes back to a suggestion by Brian Lane. MI5 , the name of the British secret service , had previously been thought of.

Debut album (1981-1982)

The newly founded label Geffens had already signed Asia before a single note of the new pieces was heard. Work began in the summer of 1981 in London's Townhouse Studios . From the beginning it was clear to everyone involved that, despite the musicians' past, they did not want to make a progressive rock album. More concise songs and a uniform, closed band sound should characterize the new band. The Wetton / Howe songs ( Cutting It Fine , Without You , Here Comes the Feeling and One Step Closer ) were joined by more and more pieces that Wetton wrote together with Downes, including Wildest Dreams , Sole Survivor , Only Time Will Tell and Heat of the moment . With the two musicians, a very successful and creative songwriting team came together, which was to determine the output of the band in the next few years. The two quickly became friends, something Wetton would never succeed with Howe. They also had a very good relationship with Mike Stone. The progressive rock elements that Howe stood for gradually receded. Work on the debut album progressed rapidly and in November 1981 the recording sessions were completed.

For the cover design Howe suggested the fantasy artist Roger Dean , who had already designed many covers for Yes. Roger Dean designed a triangular Asia logo that was as dissimilar as possible to the round Yes logo. It still graces all of the band's official releases to this day.

Supported by a large-scale advertising campaign, the debut album Asia , released on March 8, 1982, surprisingly made it into the top chart regions , despite not too positive reviews . The single Heat of the Moment became a hit. The video for the single was shot by Kevin Godley and Lol Creme (formerly at 10cc ). It allowed the band, supported by the then still relatively new music channel MTV , to conquer television as well.

Asia played bombastic " stadium rock " on their debut album with an emphasis on catchy melodies. The new mix found its audience and Asia were one of the most successful bands of 1982 with a debut album sold seven million times (other source: nine million times). Six singles were released from the album: Heat of the Moment , Sole Survivor , Wildest Dreams , Here Comes the Feeling , Only Time Will Tell and Time Again .

After the band rehearsed in Pennsylvania in the spring, they went on tour. However, the organizers were surprised by the band's success, so that a tour that was too short from April to October 1982 was booked in too small halls. It was decided, against the will of Wetton, Downes and Palmer, to return to the studio as soon as possible at the end of this tour in order to work on an even more successful follow-up album. In retrospect, however, this decision turned out to be unwise.

Alpha (1982-1983)

Some reviews of the first album criticized the smoothness of the production, others referred to the four musicians' progressive / bombast rock past, which was revealed in songs like Here Comes the Feeling . Management and the record company urged to completely eliminate these progressive rock elements on the successor and to shift the style further towards the mainstream . A market study showed that the Wetton / Downes songs ( Heat of the Moment , Only Time Will Tell , Sole Survivor and Wildest Dreams ) were the more successful, so the band was found to have Wetton and Downes as sole songwriters for the next album to use.

This decision caused tension in the band: Howe felt put in the second row, while Wetton and Downes felt the pressure to write an even more successful follow-up to the hit single Heat of the Moment . For tax reasons, the band did not work in England, but in Morin Heights, Canada, a town in the Laurentine Mountains with about 3500 inhabitants. Morin Heights turned out to be so lonely that the band members got on each other's nerves during the wintry recordings. Howe and Wetton fell out in such a way that the two could hardly work together: Howe wanted to keep the progressive elements of the first album, Wetton wanted to go in a more commercial direction and had the support of the record company and thus the producer Mike Stone. The pressure exerted on him to write another hit album and his alcoholism also did not contribute to the success of the album: Wetton could only sing for an hour and a half on some days, so that the recording work often had to be stopped too early. In addition, Geoffrey Downes was ill for a long time. Howe was no longer involved in the songwriting, with the exception of the piece Lying to Yourself , which was only released as a single B-side. When technical problems arose and the studio was down for three weeks, the band members, who had spent as little time as possible together anyway, left Canada.

Mike Stone now mixed the album alone, which caused dissatisfaction among the musicians. The wall-of-sound production Stones standardized the sound of the album so much that the individual instruments could no longer be heard as differently as on the debut. Several mixes were even rejected by label boss Geffen, so that in the end a compromise was published.

The album was a success, but only sold about half as often as the debut album. The album and the singles Don't Cry and The Smile Has Left Your Eyes only reached top positions in the charts after the end of the Asian Invasion tour on September 10, 1983.

This tour started in the United States in the summer of 1983 before the new album was released. Many halls were booked in cities where the band had played before, so ticket sales were slow to start. For example, in Toledo, Ohio, only 2,500 tickets were sold for a 15,000-seat hall. So the second half of the tour was canceled. Because of this mismanagement, the band was only able to sell out half of the halls. The lack of great success and the difficult recording sessions led to further turmoil in the band. The musicians traveled separately and rarely spoke to each other. After a few weeks, the relationship between Wetton and Howe in particular had deteriorated further.

Asia in Asia (winter 1983)

Wetton then went on vacation to the south of France and did not show up for a meeting with Kalodner and Geffen. From there, he called Geoffrey Downes to discuss details of the next album and learned from this that Brian Lane wanted to replace him. The next day Wetton traveled to London, where it was revealed to him that the band, especially Howe and Palmer, but also the management and the record company, actually wanted to part with him. The reason was the failure of the second album, for which one blamed the songwriter Wetton and his alcoholism. At the same time, neither Lane nor Geffen would let Wetton go - he had to turn down a lucrative offer from Atlantic Records.

In this situation, a replacement for Wetton had to be found quickly. Brad Delp of Boston was first thought of , and even Trevor Horn , Downes' former partner with the Buggles , was mentioned. Ultimately, however, they agreed on Palmer's former ELP colleague Greg Lake , an idea that was obvious due to vocal similarities to Wetton. Palmer contacted him, and Lake agreed after talking to his friend Wetton.

Concerts in Japan had already been booked for December, including a worldwide live broadcast of a concert on December 6th in Tokyo on MTV television . In the summer, commercials and a documentary were shot for it, in which John Wetton had hardly been seen. Lake did the tour using a teleprompter . The songs had to be transposed a third lower to match his voice. Shortly after the concerts, a video cassette and a laser disc with the MTV recording were released under the title Asia in Asia . It wasn't until 2005 that the audio recording followed under the title Enso Kai - Live at the Budokan Tokyo . Lake wanted to steer the musical style of the band in a more sophisticated direction, but this was rejected by the other musicians. At Christmas it was clear that he would not stay with Asia.

Astra and the breakup of the band (winter 1983–1985)

In the meantime, Wetton had started work on a solo album. Then in January 1984 the management and the record company decided that he should return to the band. Downes and Palmer were also in favor. Wetton agreed, although initially hesitantly. He started writing new songs in collaboration with Downes. In April the band went to the studio to record their first demos . After a while, Wetton made it clear that he could no longer work with Howe. Since Wetton had just been brought back into the band, it was clear that Howe had to leave. He left Asia and founded, together with former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett , the band GTR to make progressive, guitar-driven rock music.

A replacement for Howe was difficult to find. At first they thought about hiring someone like Jeff Beck or David Gilmour as session guitarist . The Magnum guitarist Robin George was also contacted. Ultimately, Geffen Records suggested the Swiss Armand "Mandy" Meyer (formerly Krokus ), who through Kalodner's mediation finally became a new member of the band.

It was just as difficult to agree on a producer. At first one thought of Martin Rushent , who had previously produced Joy Division , XTC and The Stranglers . However, this canceled because he was busy with a Human League album. Finally they agreed again on Mike Stone - a decision that was quite controversial for the band.

The band then recorded ten of 25 prepared songs for the next album. The recordings took four months longer than planned and Mike Stone, who had already agreed to work on other projects, left the team in frustration. For a while Downes took over his duties until someone was found in Greg Ladanyi who should finally mix the album. However, this mix turned out to be completely unsuitable. Mike Stone, who had meanwhile finished his other projects, was brought back. Together with Downes, he was supposed to finish work on the album, initially called Arcadia . The entire project had taken almost two years to complete by its publication on November 15, 1985.

At the last minute, the title of the album, for the cover of which Roger Dean was again responsible, had to be changed to Astra , as a Duran-Duran offshoot wanted to name itself and its debut album Arcadia .

The album contains some very catchy tracks and is considered by some critics to be the best album of the early Asia. However, it no longer had any notable success. With the help of an elaborate video that told the story of a robot named Aza, which was to be continued in later videos, the single Go only came to number 46 in the US charts, which is now the most important market for Asia. Astra itself only reached number 67. A compilation EP called Aurora , only released in Japan, did little to help record sales. The planned tour to Astra never came about, after which the band fell apart.

After the dissolution (1986–1987)

Wetton and Palmer played two concerts with Phil Manzanera , Robin George and Don Airey in June 1986 as "John Wetton & Friends" in the Marquee Club in London , including some Asian pieces. This was seen by some fans as an attempt to revive Asia, but was never intended by either of them. In 1987, after a failed attempt by Palmer's manager Brian Lane , Emerson, Lake and Palmer to reunite, Palmer formed the band Three with Keith Emerson .

1987 appeared solo albums by Wetton ( Wetton / Manzanera ) and Downes ( The Light Program ). Another project with Wetton's sole participation was called "Asia": for the soundtrack to Sylvester Stallone's film Over the Top , the songwriter and producer Giorgio Moroder Wetton hired to sing Gypsy Soul and Winner Takes It All . These songs were subsequently used as contributions by the band Asia.

Restart attempts (1987–1989)

At the same time, Wetton and Downes continued to write songs together, mostly ballads, but without considering a new project.

After the debut album in 1986, Downes also produced the second, as yet unreleased album by Steve Howes' band GTR in 1987 . John Wetton then worked with Max Bacon , the GTR singer, when both of them worked on Tom and Mel Galley's rock music project through the mediation of “ Metal Hammer ” co-founder and “ Phenomena ” co-producer Wilfried F. Rimensberger involved. There Wetton also met the drummer Michael Sturgis and the guitarist Scott Gorham ( Thin Lizzy ).

A first attempt at reunification was made in 1987. Downes and Wetton began to practice old Asian pieces with Sturgis and Gorham. But a record deal with EG or Capitol never came off. Only JVC Japan wanted to sign the band. However, since the band wanted to release a possible next album worldwide, Wetton left the band. Later only the track Summer (Can't Last Too Long) appeared from this line-up , on the sampler Then and Now (1990) and a demo of the song Kari-Anne on the sampler Wetton / Downes from 2001. The song Boys from Diamond City , which was also composed during this time, was sung by Wetton. Later, however, a version with John Payne would be released on the Asia rarities album Archiva 1 . After Wetton's departure, Geoff Downes worked with him as part of his Rain project, which emerged from the failed Asia reunion:

Downes, Sturgis and Gorham had teamed up with Phil Spalding , former bassist, and Max Bacon, former GTR vocalist , at the suggestion of John Kalodner to write songs for a project called Rain . Also involved was songwriter Johnny Warman and, from the beginning of 1988, singer and bassist John Payne, whom Downes had met through Spalding. During these sessions, numerous songs were written that were sung by both Bacon and, later, Payne. Some of them were only released years later on albums by Downes, Bacon and Asia. The pieces later played by Asia included Who Will Stop the Rain? , after whom the project was named, and Someday , which are released in the versions sung by Bacon on Bacon's solo album From the Banks of the River Irwell (2002) (the former as Who Can Stop the Rain ). Revised versions sung by Payne appeared on the Asia album Aqua (1992). Boys from Diamond City (with Sturgis and Gorham, this piece was left over from the previous attempt to restart Asia and was sung by both Bacon and Payne after Wetton), Tears , Moon Under (the) Water (both by Bacon and sung by Payne), Satellite Blues ( sung by both Warman and Payne) and The Higher You Climb (with Sturgis and Gorham, initially sung by Bacon) were released on the Asian rarities albums Archiva 1 and Archiva 2 in 1996 .

Downes turned to a new project that brought him together with former King Crimson drummer Michael Giles and former Asia singer Greg Lake . The year-long collaboration under the project name Ride the Tiger resulted in eight new songs, some of which have remained unreleased to this day. Of these songs, Love Under Fire , sung by John Payne, can be found on the Asian album Aqua . An early version of the piece with Lake's vocals is later on From the Beginning. The Greg Lake Retrospective has been published.

In late 1989, four years after Astra was released , Palmer and Wetton reformed Asia . They toured with John Young (keyboards, ex- Uli Jon Roth ) and Alan Darby (guitar, previously Cado Belle, Fashion) and the background singers Zoe Nicholas and Susie Webb together with the English band It Bites for a short time in the opening act of Beach Boys . Since Palmer and Wetton had found a taste for Project Asia again, they extended the tour by two months. During this time they played in small halls and discos in Germany. For a short time, Geoff Downes' involvement seemed possible. In the end, Young had to step in again because Downes was busy with the Ride-the-Tiger project at the time. Alan Darby was, however, replaced by the German Holger Larisch . During these concerts a new Asia piece called Kari-Anne was presented. The positive response from the audience encouraged Wetton and Palmer to make a big comeback. Geoffrey Downes was brought back into the band.

The sampler Then and Now and Asia Live in MOCKBA (Wetton, Downes, Palmer, Thrall, 1990)

In the summer of 1990 the sampler Then and Now should appear on Geffen . The record company contacted Wetton with the question of whether he would be interested in contributing new material to this sampler. They opted for a holdover from the Astra sessions: for Am I in Love , for Summer (Can't Last Too Long) , which was created in 1987 with Michael Sturgis and Scott Gorham, for Days Like These by the American musician Steve Jones and for Prayin '4 a Miracle , which Wetton wrote with his friend, ex-teen star David Cassidy . Various guitarists recorded the songs, including Steve Lukather from Toto . At the suggestion of John Kalodner, Wetton, Palmer and Downes brought Pat Thrall , who had previously played with Meat Loaf and Pat Travers , into the band as permanent guitarists . Wetton had met him while working on the Phenomena project. With this line-up, the band went on tour. The first concert took place on June 17, 1990 in East Berlin . A concert in Nottingham on June 23 was later released on video.

A month later, on July 28th, Then and Now was released - with little success. The album only reached number 117 in the US. The single Days Like These , which initially reached number one in the AOR section of the US charts , also flopped - it only made it to number 64. A video for Days Like These , that had previously been filmed was never released.

While the tour continued to the USA in August and to Japan in September, the musicians worked on new songs, none of which ever appeared on an Asian album. A subsequent USA tour as a support band for The Moody Blues and Fleetwood Mac did not materialize because neither of the two bands wanted Asia in the opening act. However, the band was able to celebrate a triumph on November 17 and 18, 1990 in the Moscow Olympic Hall in front of 20,000 enthusiastic spectators. The concert was published under the title Asia Live in MOCKBA . A video for Prayin '4 a Miracle , which was slated to be the follow-up single to Days Like These , was also shot in Moscow . In view of the lack of success of the album and single, this was never released either. Prayin '4 a Miracle , already pressed, was withdrawn by Geffen.

In December the band toured Germany and Austria. In view of the lack of success of the album and single, the band members lost their interest in Asia. A final South America tour was just a duty for everyone involved, but especially for Wetton. After returning to England, he and Palmer left the band for good. Wetton focused on his solo career, Palmer had seized the opportunity to reform ELP .

New start with Aqua (1991–1993)

After the inglorious end of the last tour in April 1991, Geoff Downes decided, with the support of Sir Henry Cowell and the ARC management, to revamp Asia with a different concept. At first he considered getting Pat Thrall for a new line-up, but he had already returned to the USA. Wetton declined, the frustration towards the end of the last tour had been too great. Besides, he didn't get along with Cowell. Downes then teamed up with bassist and singer John Payne , whom he had previously met at the Rain sessions. Together they wrote the first songs for a new Asia album.

Downes was careful not to let the band get into the nostalgia corner and wanted to bring some younger musicians into the band. However, he did not want to carry out the generation change as abruptly as possible in order to alienate as few supporters of the old cast as possible. Because only Downes himself was left of the old lineup and not only had to replace singer John Wetton, but also a new drummer and a new guitarist had to be found, he was faced with the problem of being able to credibly introduce and market a new band as Asia. He therefore secured the collaboration of Carl Palmer and Steve Howe as guest musicians. Both were not thrilled to play for Asia again because they were working on other projects at the same time ( Palmer recorded the comeback album Black Moon with the reformed Emerson, Lake and Palmer , Howe worked on the Yes album Union and on his solo album Turbulence ), but agreed to support the new Asia. Not only should that make it easier for fans to change line-up, it would also boost the album's sales. Palmer also signed over his rights to the name "Asia" to his friend Downes in order to allow this a smooth restart with Aqua , since it was foreseeable that at least Wetton would otherwise take legal action against the continued use of the band name by only one founding member.

In addition to Downes, Payne, Howe and Palmer, the new Asia album featured heavy metal guitarist Al Pitrelli (formerly Alice Cooper ) and drummer Simon Phillips (who was already traded as the band's drummer in the early days of Asia ), Nigel Glockler (from Howe's former band GTR ) and Michael Sturgis , who briefly belonged to Asia in 1987.

Work on Aqua began in June 1991. Initially, five or six new songs were created, which supplemented four or five Rain and Ride-the-Tiger pieces. The rest of the songs were written by October and then recorded in the winter.

The album was released on March 10, 1992 in Japan (by Warner Music Japan), where it quickly reached number 1 in the charts. In Europe it was released on June 8th (on Musidisc), in the USA (there without the song Little Rich Boy ) on July 22nd (on Great Pyramid). The cover was designed by the fantasy artist Rodney Matthews .

However, Japan remained the only country in which the album sold well (there alone 60,000 times). The first single was Who Will Stop the Rain? , for which a video was even planned, but it turned out that the record company Great Pyramid couldn't afford to shoot it. Instead, ARC secured the use of the play Lay Down Your Arms in the film Freddie as FR 0. 7 / Freddie, the Super Frog , the most expensive British animated film to date.

A new lineup had to be put together for a tour. Downes, Payne and Cowell brought the guitarist Vinny Burns into the band, who had previously played in the rock band Dare of former Thin Lizzy musician Darren Wharton . Since Palmer was not available and Sturgis was now playing at 21 Guns , they hired Trevor Thornton as a drummer. Steve Howe went on tour as a special guest.

The Aqua Tour started on May 30, 1992 in England. She moved on to Japan, back to England, then on to Europe, the United States, and Canada, where it ended in February 1993. While on tour it looked like the four band members would stay together, towards the end it became clear that Downes and Payne saw Asia as their only project. Then Burns left the band. He was replaced by Keith More of the progressive rock band Arena for some festival appearances . Then he and Thornton left too.

At the end of the tour it turned out that the new phase of the band had got off to a somewhat successful start: Aqua had sold about as well as Astra or Then and Now and the tour, although mainly in small halls, had been well attended. A downer, however, were the remarks by John Wetton, who spoke to many fans of the old lineup from the soul when he publicly did not accept the new band as Asia.

Aria (1993-1994)

After the Aqua tour ended, Downes and Payne changed management. Harry Cowell had new projects in mind and Asia switched to Huge & Jolly.

In November 1993, Downes and Payne returned to the studio. After Aqua had included pieces from different years, by seven different authors and different line-ups, the new album should actually be the first album of the new Asia line-up. The songs have now been specially tailored to Payne's voice. Most of the pieces were made within a month. Few songs had been written before, including Desire , Aria, and Military Man . Desire and Aria , like some of Aqua’s songs, go back to Paynes’s collaboration with keyboardist Andy Nye in Payne’s band The Passion .

Musicians had to be looked for again for the recordings. Since Al Pitrelli was only unavailable for the Aqua tour due to scheduling reasons , he was contacted and he agreed to cooperate. As a drummer they initially had their eye on Level 42 drummer Gary Husband , but the collaboration was not satisfactory and it was decided to bring Michael Sturgis back. At the end of 1993 he joined the band for three days and recorded his drum tracks in the Maison Rouge studios (which were often used by Jethro Tull ). Then Downes, Payne and sound engineer Andy Reilly moved to Parkgate Studios in Hastings to record Pitrelli's contributions.

Geoff Downes was able to win Roger Dean again for the cover. He created a surreal landscape with overhanging rocks, bridges and pagodas .

The finished album had become a concept album, as it were by chance: During the recording, it gradually became apparent that the individual pieces addressed important phases in a person's life, so they were arranged in such a way that they could represent these phases in chronological order , from Anytime , a childhood memory , to Aria , which stands for death.

Some pieces from the Aria sessions did not make it onto the album, but were released on the Archiva 1 and Archiva 2 archive compilations in 1996 : ALO (Asiatic Light Orchestra) , which was actually called Quest for the Key and originally by Payne and Andy Nye in 1989 for an Electric Light Orchestra project was written, as well as Reality (Downes / Payne).

Aria was released on May 31, 1994 in Europe (on Bullet Proof Label) and in Japan (on Warner Music Japan). However, no record company in the US had any interest in releasing the album. Without Howe, Palmer, or Wetton, the audience's expected interest was as little as actual. Even a music video for the single Anytime didn't help get the record into the charts.

At the beginning of June 1994 preparations began for a tour of Japan (June 15-21, four concerts). Asia toured with the cast Downes, Payne, Stugis, Pitrelli. Another tour did not take place and the band found it difficult to organize further concerts. After four appearances in Germany in October, the Aria tour was over, it had only included 13 concerts. In view of the lack of success, Pitrelli had left in August for financial reasons, Downes had replaced him at short notice for the last concerts by Aziz Ibrahim, a guitarist of Pakistani descent who had previously played at Simply Red .

Due to the catastrophic course of the tour, English and American promoters withdrew from Asia. The only England concert was canceled because the band refused to perform unless the concert was advertised. Thereupon the band separated from their management.

Arena (1994-1996)

Back in England, Downes and Payne also changed studios. They left the Parkgate Studios where Aria was recorded and brought their gear to Joe's Garage studio in Chelsea. While they were working on new songs, Downes and Payne again gathered other musicians around themselves and Ibrahim. First, Downes turned again to Steve Howe, whose Ginger contribution was completed too late to include him on the album. When Downes mentioned the name of former Steely Dan member Elliott Randall to a sound engineer , he put the guitarist in touch. Then Randall joined the band as well as Sturgis, who returned to Asia after an engagement with Andy Powell and Wishbone Ash . Sturgis' rhythm work was complemented by the well-known percussionist Luis Jardim , whom Downes knew from his time with Tina Charles . Carl Palmer was also wanted as a guest musician, he should record the song The Smoke that Thunders , which was one of the first demos for Arena . But Palmer's schedule did not allow a collaboration and the song did not appear on the album. Palmer's drum track, however, was sampled by Downes and Payne, and The Smoke That Thunders was released on the archive compilation Archiva 2 in 1996 . The Japanese star Tomoyasu Hotei , who was supposed to promote record sales in Japan (he can be heard on the song Into the Arena ) , joined for a short time .

For the new album, Downes and Payne expanded the stylistic breadth of the band. Progressive elements were also integrated ( The Day Before the War , U Bring Me Down ) as well as reggae ( Two Sides of the Moon ). However, greater difficulties arose as the release date for the album, which was now to bear the title Arena , approached. The final mix couldn't be done as meticulously as the musicians were used to. Still, Downes and Payne were happy with the album in the end. As a cover artist they won again Rodney Matthews .

Arena was released on February 17, 1996 on Warner Music Japan, Music for Nations followed with a European release on March 4. This album was never released in the USA either. A planned summer tour with Jethro Tull wascanceledwhen Emerson, Lake and Palmer took Asia's place. Therefore the arena album was never promoted live.

Many pieces from the Arena sessions did not make it onto the album, but were released on the archive compilations Archiva 1 and Archiva 2 in 1996 : We Fall Apart (Downes / Payne), I Can't Wait a Lifetime (Payne / Nye), das had already been a candidate for Aqua , Ginger (Downes / Payne / Howe), Don't Come to Me (Schwartz), which dates back to 1988 and was recorded by Downes and Payne in 1995, The Smoke That Thunders (Downes / Payne / Palmer), a demo with a sampled drum track by Carl Palmer, Showdown ( Jeff Lynne ), That Season (Downes / Payne), Can't Tell These Walls (Payne / Nye) and Right to Cry (Downes / Payne).

Archiva 1, Archiva 2, Anthology and the Official Bootleg Series (1995–1997)

Over the Christmas holidays of 1995, a burst water pipe at Asia's Clapham Studios had destroyed or made unusable instruments and mixers valued at several thousand pounds. With the insurance company's insistence that once the equipment was dry, everything would work again, in addition to finding a new studio, Downes and Payne had to consider a way to make up for the financial loss. They quickly chose the Loco studios in south wales , which they bought. Downes had at this time the opportunity to re-release his solo albums on the English label Voiceprint; the company boss Rob Ayling then suggested that he also bring out unpublished Asian material. Downes and Payne saw a way to get the lost money back and agreed. As a result, the two compilations Archiva 1 and Archiva 2 appeared in June 1996 , which contained material that had not made it onto the studio albums Aqua , Aria and Arena . These songs were supplemented by some pieces from the 1987 line-up with Sturgis and Gorham, some Rain songs ( Tears , The Higher You Climb ) and music that Payne originally wrote in 1987 for his band The Passion ( Love Like the Video ) or for a new Electric Light Orchestra Lineup launched by Bev Bevan , in which Jim Steinman had also been involved, but which had failed due to judicial interventions by Jeff Lynnes ( Quest for the Key / Asiatic Light Orchestra ). In addition to the numerous lineups around Downes and Payne, Steve Howe and Carl Palmer can also be heard on the Archiva albums.

After that, Downes and Payne turned to film music. First they wrote music for the David Attenborough film Salmon: Against the Tide , a planned project for Sony - PlayStation game however, did not materialize. The music created for both projects was later released on the compilation album Rare (Voiceprint 1999).

In September, Stuart Watson of MCA / Geffen approached Downes and Payne with the suggestion of producing another best-of album. Since Then and Now was published seven years ago, the two of them agreed. Since John Wetton intervened in court, the original recordings from the Wetton era could not be used, so Only Time Will Tell , Don't Cry , The Heat Goes On , Go , Heat of the Moment and Time Again had to be re-recorded. This caused displeasure among the band and the fans alike, which a cover version of GTR's The Hunter and a new track called Different World couldn't get rid of . Anthology was forced to appear on the Japanese independent label DML on June 25, 1997 and on December 1st in Europe on Snapper Records.

Due to the success of the Archiva albums, Ayling suggested releasing a series of live recordings. Downes and Payne seized this opportunity to earn money for a possible new studio album and selected four concerts from Nottingham (1990), Osaka (1992), Philadelphia (1992) and Cologne (1994). The recordings were released from April to July 1997 under the title Official Bootleg Series . In accordance with this title, they contained revised bootlegs , i.e. unauthorized recordings of inferior quality made by fans. In this way, Asia wanted to face the growing bootleg market.

Shortly thereafter, another best-of compilation appeared on the Cameo label, it was entitled Asia: Greatest Hits Live .

The years 1997 and 1998

Then Downes and Payne retired to Wales to start work on their next studio album. Not much was heard from the band during that year and the following. In 1997, Payne and Downes played a single concert, unplugged at the Progressive Rock Festival in Bruchsal , as co-headliners with Saga (September 20/21). Downes' acquaintance with the Saga guitarist Ian Crichton was renewed and expanded into a collaboration in the following months. In the meantime, Downes and Payne were negotiating with Snapper Records for the re-releases of Aqua , Aria and Arena , which came out in March 1998 (including some bonus tracks from the Archiva albums).

Work with Crichton began that same month. Before he went on tour with Saga at the end of April, a few hours of jointly written music were recorded. For the summer there were even negotiations with a promoter about some concerts in the USA that would have included Crichton, but the time until the planned dates turned out to be too short and the concerts had to be canceled. Problems in coordinating the calendar of the three musicians then led to the fact that the further collaboration with Crichton planned for summer and autumn no longer came about. Asia performed again in December at a charity event at the Newport Center in Wales.

Attempt at reunification (1998–1999)

In July 1998 there were unexpected new contacts between Downes and Wetton, who in the meantime had pursued his solo career. The two decided to tackle new projects together, the first to be the publication of archive material from the 1980s and 1990s. After some legal difficulties concerning the property rights to the songs and the question of whether they could be released under the name "Asia", the album was finally released three years later under the title Wetton / Downes . It contains demo recordings from 1982 to 1995, including some demos for Asian pieces such as Oh! Carolann / Kari-Anne and Summer (including Rock and Roll Dream Intro) . At Kari-Anne also the drummer are Michael Sturgis and guitarist Scott Gorham to hear, which had tried unsuccessfully to revive Asia 1987 Wetton and Downes. The CD was initially only released in Japan and was also available in the USA for a short time. For legal reasons, it will no longer be re-pressed.

The renewed friendship between Downes and Wetton sparked speculation that the original cast would be reunited. In fact, this moved into the realm of possibility in December 1998 when Greg Lake Emerson left Lake and Palmer and Carl Palmer , who was now without commitments, immediately contacted Downes about a renewed collaboration. However, Steve Howe remained a permanent Yes member and was unwilling to join Asia, so they had to look for a replacement (thought of Dave Kilminster). Further difficulties arose from Wetton's persistent alcohol addiction and from Palmer's insistence that the new project take place without Payne's involvement. Downes, on the other hand, insisted on his participation because he had in mind a merger of the two Asian occupations. He had little choice: Downes had transferred his rights to the name "Asia" Payne a few years earlier due to a legal matter. This held his share in Downes and Palmer, as Palmer had overwritten his share in Downes in 1991 in order to enable him to restart without legal problems (Wetton would otherwise have prevented Aqua with judicial intervention). With the overwriting of Downes' share, the Palmers had also passed to Payne. Payne also did not accept the financial severance payment that was offered to him. In addition, the founding members' financial expectations (50,000 US dollars per concert for a tour planned for 1999) were excessive in the eyes of promoter Nick Caris. In his opinion, a comeback tour should only have taken place in small halls and on US Army bases, which the musicians rejected. Downes now realized that the risk of putting the collaboration with Payne (and thus the band Asia) on the line because of a few reunion concerts was too great, and backed down. Wetton and Palmer then announced that they regretted that a reunification had failed due to financial difficulties. They then decided to work together. Together with Kilminster and the former Asian keyboardist John Young they founded the cover band Qango , which gave a few concerts in England in early 2000 and broke up that same year. Downes initially worked on his fourth solo album.

Aura (1999-2002)

Due to the failed reunification attempt in 1998/1999, the work on the new Asia album had been delayed. While Downes was still finishing his solo project, Payne was already working on the next Asian album. This included the fact that the band renewed their business relationships with the manager Harry Cowell, who had already looked after them during the Aqua period. Cowell immediately agreed and secured Asia a contract with Recognition Records in mid-1999, based on the demos for Under the Gun , Come Make My Day and Hands of Time . The contract made it possible to hire an experienced producer with Simon Hanhart ( Marillion , Arena , Tin Machine , Suicidal Tendencies ) and to invite a number of well-known musicians.

The recording sessions began in July at the band's Loco studios in Wales. Ian Crichton of Saga , who had already been involved in the songwriting, joined Payne and Downes for a while and played some guitar parts. Downes was also able to win over his friend Steve Howe for two tracks, he can be heard on Free and The Last Time . Also on Free played guitarist Pat Thrall , who had already been a member of the band, but had only been heard on the live album Asia Live in MOCKBA . And Elliott Randall also managed to contribute to the new Asia album. Queen guitarist Brian May and Totos Steve Lukather were also planned as special guests, but they could not arrange their participation with their schedules. The talented up-and-coming guitarist Guthrie Govan filled the last gaps .

Chris Slade was hired as the drummer (previously with Tom Jones , Manfred Mann's Earth Band , David Gilmour , The Firm , AC / DC and others). He recorded a few songs but then fell ill, and Vinnie Colaiuta , who had already played for Sting and Frank Zappa , stepped in on short notice. The Asia veterans Simon Phillips and Michael Sturgis can be heard on other tracks . A planned collaboration with Carl Palmer, however, did not materialize.

Another musician who can be heard on Aura is bassist Tony Levin .

In addition to this gathering of well-known musicians and former Asia members, Cowell hired Roger Dean to design the cover. He hesitated at first because his Asia logo had been used on these archive releases without having been paid for it, but then agreed to contribute to the new album.

Although neither Downes nor Payne were satisfied with Hanhart's production, they delivered the new album to Recognition in August 2000. Initially a release was planned for the fall, but this was postponed to 2001, which gave the two the opportunity to revise the demos for Under the Gun , Come Make My Day and Hands of Time and add them to the album as bonus tracks.

It wasn't until five years after Arena that the Downes / Payne team's fourth album, Aura , was released on January 31, 2001 in Japan and on February 12 in England. But despite the participation of so many well-known musicians, a cover by Roger Dean and a subsequent tour with the line-up Downes, Payne, Slade and Govan through Germany (with Kansas ), the rest of Europe, Japan and North America (with The Outfield , Berlin , The Motels and The Fixx ), Aura mainstream rock didn't become a huge hit. The contributions of the guest musicians sounded too anonymous and the great successes of Asia had been behind for too long.

In 2002, Downes and Payne took a hiatus as Asia. However, a 4-CD box called Quadra was released , containing the concert recordings from Pittsburg, April 4, 2002, Worcester, August 22, 1983, and Frankfurt, December 13, 1990.

Silent Nation (2003-2004) and Icon

It wasn't until 2003 that Downes and Payne started working as Asia again. Since they could not organize a tour, they turned to their fans, who put on Unplugged concerts in the USA in the summer - in small halls, pubs and cafes. In retrospect, this idea turned out to be a mistake because the band's public image had suffered as a result. Asia seemed to be finished for good.

In 2003 Downes and Payne went back to the studio with Govan and Slade to work on a new album. For Silent Nation , Downes left the sole production for the first time to Payne. But even Silent Nation (2004), recorded by the ultimately stable line-up around Downes and Payne, Govan and Slade, was unable to build on the great success of the early phase, even if the album tried to go back to the musical beginnings of the Beat group. The great success did not materialize.

John Wetton and Geoff Downes live (2006)

After the commercial failure of this album, Downes went on vacation and renewed the collaboration with John Wetton that had been established on the occasion of the Wetton / Downes album. This was also made possible because Wetton had been seriously fighting his alcoholism since June 2005. He was "dry" since June 2nd of this year. Since then, the two have released three studio and two live albums under the name Icon ; they saw this band project as musically completely independent of Asia.

Asia tour 2005 and Architect of Time (Downes, Payne, Govan, Slade)

In 2005, Asia went on tour again with Downes, Payne, Govan and Slade. The concert series started in January in Germany, after which the band played in other European countries and in North America. It was the longest tour in years, but many of the concerts were poorly attended. In the USA, sometimes only 50 fans came to the halls. The frustration, especially with Downes, peaked when the band played in a restaurant in Santa Barbara in front of 30 guests who had dinner during the concert.

After the tour ended, Asia went back to the studio to write songs for their next album, the name of which was given as Architect of Time . But work on this album was interrupted due to an unexpected development.

Reunification of the original cast (since 2005)

After the failed attempt in 1999, rumors of a reunification of the original Asian cast kept circulating. In 2005 Geoffrey Downes was to go on tour with the band White of Yes drummer Alan White , Steve Howe and the band The Syn of Yes bassist Chris Squire . It was planned to first play pieces from the individual bands and then songs from the Yes album Drama , on which Downes could also be heard. However, this tour never took place.

Nevertheless, through Downes' contacts to Howe and Wetton at the end of 2005 there was another chance to reform the band with the three other founding members. After a few preliminary telephone calls, the four founding members, Downes, Howe, Palmer and Wetton, met with Wetton's manager Martin Darvill on January 5, 2006 in a suite at the Paddington Hilton Hotel in London to discuss the possibility of a reunion. Initial doubts about Wetton's state of health were quickly dispelled. After a very emotional conversation, it was agreed to make a second attempt. The team around the four musicians complemented Darvill as manager, the experienced Phil Carson , Bruce Pilato, who had already worked with ELP, as PR manager and Barbara Skydel from the William Morris management agency, which represented Asia in the successful 80s would have. Carson was one of the most important people in the team: some time before he had organized the comebacks for Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Yes and Foreigner and, thanks to his good contacts in the USA, was predestined to establish Asia there a second time.

The reunification of the original cast meant the end of John Payne and the other members. The Asian project Architect of Time , which is currently in progress , has been put on hold. Payne, Govan and Jay Schellen (drums) - all part of the last Asian line-up - released the album Window to the Soul in August 2006 under the name GPS (the initials of the three surnames) . Since May 2007 Payne has been marketing his work with Asia (and with GPS) under the name Asia featuring John Payne . In October of the same year he released the live recording of an Asia concert from 2005 (with the line-up Payne, Downes, Govan and Schellen) under the title Extended Versions and planned to complete the album Architect of Time as a result . A publication was planned for spring 2011.

On August 7, 2006, rehearsals began for the world tour, which started on August 19 in the USA. In the meantime, Bruce Pilato organized a lot of media interest (with radio and television interviews) especially in the USA. A key to success was that the compilation The Definitive Collection of Walmart was advertised in brochures that were distributed to 75 million households.

The comeback tour took the group through the United States in August and September 2006 and the UK in November and December. In 2007 the band played again in their home country, as well as in Japan, South America and Germany. At the Night of the Prog Festival on the Loreley Openair stage, Asia, among others, played Fish, Jethro Tull and IQ. At their concerts the band played the entire debut album, supplemented by some songs from Alpha and pieces from their previous bands: Roundabout (Yes ), Fanfare for the Common Man (ELP), In the Court of the Crimson King (King Crimson) and Video Killed the Radio Star (The Buggles). A special addition was Ride Easy , the B-side of the first single Heat of the Moment .

Comeback albums (Fantasia, Phoenix)

In May 2007, work began on a new studio album by the band. However, one of the long-term effects of Wetton's alcoholism had resulted in an accidentally discovered coronary artery disease caused by arteriosclerosis in the spring of 2007 , which, after a period of uncertainty, required heart surgery in August of that year. The triple bypass went well, but Asia and Icon appearances in North America and Europe announced for autumn had to be canceled until further notice.

In July 2007 the live double CD Fantasia was released with recordings that had been recorded on the comeback tour in Tokyo. The corresponding DVD of the same name was released in September of the same year.

By the fall elaborated Wetton and Downes new song material and in October began the first recording sessions for the twelve songs of the new album, including An Extraordinary Life , where Wetton his experiences processed in recent years, the rock pieces Never Again and Nothing's Forever , which Ballads Heroine and I Will Remember You and some pieces beyond the 8-minute limit. In early 2008 the last work on the new album was completed.

At the beginning of 2008, Carl Palmer also had a heart operation; Angioplasty was performed as a precautionary measure because of hereditary constricted blood vessels .

The new album Phoenix , which the band produced after Mike Stone's death , was released on April 11, 2008. It was released by the Italian record company Frontiers Records , the cover was again designed by Roger Dean . In addition, from March to May of the same year, further concerts took place in England, the USA, Japan and Europe.

After the comeback

After the release of Phoenix and the end of the comeback tour in May 2008, the Asian musicians first turned to their other projects. Carl Palmer toured with his Carl Palmer Band that summer, Steve Howe reformed the Steve Howe Trio (with his son Dylan Howe on drums and Ross Stanley on the Hammond organ , who had toured England in 2007) for another tour through his homeland. After the concerts Howe returned to his main band Yes, which announced a new album for 2009. On August 29, 2009 Asia came to Germany to perform at the 7th Hammer Summer in Hamm (Westphalia).

In April 2010 the album Omega was released . The European tour, also starting in April 2010, took Asia through Italy, Switzerland, Austria, France, the Netherlands and Germany. After a third album with XXX was released in 2012 , the band released the album Gravitas in 2014 , on which the new guitarist Sam Coulson played for the first time. Guitarist Steve Howe left Asia again in January 2013.

John Wetton's health

For three years, John Wetton's cancer affected the band's activities. At the beginning of December 2016, the band announced twelve concerts with Journey in the USA from mid-March 2017. The live album Symfonia: Live in Bulgaria 2013 , which includes a concert with the Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra, was also announced. On January 11, 2017, John Wetton stated that he could not participate in the tour due to his chemotherapy and would be represented by Billy Sherwood . Like Geoff Downes, Sherwood is a member of Yes and was part of Wetton's solo album Raised in Captivity . Wetton succumbed to cancer on January 31, 2017.

Four Asia concerts in Great Britain were planned for the end of November 2017. Downes and Sherwood were part of the current cast. Steve Howe made a brief comeback at the concerts. His son Dylan Howe represented drummer Carl Palmer. Appearances by Foreigner and John Parr were also planned.

style

The entire work of the band Asia moves within the framework of rock music . Hints of pop and hard rock are there, but rarely remain. The stylistic development is, however, characterized by a gradual change on the first three albums and a break between Astra (1985) and Aqua (1992).

The first Asian album was, due to Geffen's strategy, strongly oriented towards the American mainstream rock market. Especially Wetton, Downes and Stone, who supported this line, turned their attention to catchy, radio-friendly melodies. Howe's contributions, on the other hand, were even more oriented towards progressive rock of the 1970s (see Here comes the feeling , which structurally has little to do with pop / rock of the time). Asia played on their first three albums so-called “Stadium Rock” or “ Arena Rock ”, which was very successful in America in the 1980s. What is striking is the great pathos of some melody inventions, which can be traced back to John Wetton ( Without You , My Own Time (I'll Do What I Want) , Go , Voice of America , Rock 'n' Roll Dream , After the War ) and similar pieces by the Queen group. Strongly distorted guitar sounds, aggressive drumming and other style elements oriented towards hard rock or heavy metal are missing. The guitar sounds are clear and Downes' various keyboard sounds dominate.

The songs on the first album were most strongly influenced by progressive rock of the 1970s. Some of his style elements can be heard here, such as odd bars, rhythmic ambiguity, numerous rhythm changes in a short time, technical virtuosity and an unusual variety of (especially guitar and keyboard) sounds (see Asia ). Compared to the band's later albums without Howe, the guitarist's many ornamental accents, which he usually placed between Wetton's verses, stand out.

These style elements gradually receded on Alpha (1983) and Astra (1985). It was speculated whether this and the associated de-individualization of Asia's music was the reason for the steady decline in the band's success; but this cannot be proven. However, the pathetic melodies have been preserved. The overall sound of the band developed more and more towards a cohesion that gradually receded differentiated arrangements like on the debut album.

The Asia albums of the Downes Payne era sound very different in comparison. Even if Downes made a point of emphasizing the continuity to the first phase of the band with Steve Howe and Carl Palmer on Aqua (1992), Wetton's absence as a songwriter was clearly significant. The pieces, now mainly written by Downes and Payne, were more in the direction of mainstream hard rock with American influences. For the first time at Asia blues and rhythm and blues elements could be heard, albeit cautiously. Pathos reminiscent of Wetton was seldom heard ( e.g. on Anytime by Aria , 1994). The numerous line-up changes were hardly reflected in the overall sound of the band; this was due to the dominance of Downes' and Paynes, who saw Asia increasingly as a duo project. The numerous guest musicians mostly played previously noted parts, which barely let their individual style come into play.

With the reunification of the original line-up in 2006, a new stylistic change was to be expected. The songs on Phoenix , however, lack the melancholy as well as the pathetic melodies of the classic Asian pieces. Instead of bombast rock and power ballads, the reunion album contains rather calm mid-tempo songs without excessive pathos. After Mike Stone's death, Asia also acted as their own producers on Phoenix . The wall-of-sound production Stones was not taken up again. The massively duplicated vocal lines as well as the strong reverb of the keyboard and drum sounds are missing. The sound of the band is much closer to the albums of the 1990s than to that of the classic Asian albums.

Discography

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Albums

Asia   DE 6th 05/17/1982 (34 weeks)   AT 13 07/15/1982 (2 weeks)   UK 11  gold 04/10/1982 (38 weeks)   US 1  × 4 Quadruple platinum 04/03/1982 (64 weeks) alpha   DE 11 08/29/1983 (16 weeks)   CH 18th 11/06/1983 (2 weeks)   UK 5  silver 08/20/1983 (11 weeks)   US 6th  platinum 08/27/1983 (25 weeks) Astra   DE 48 December 23, 1985 (9 weeks)   CH 10 December 8, 1985 (11 weeks)   UK 68 December 14, 1985 (1 week)   US 67 December 07, 1985 (17 weeks) Then and Now   CH 39 09/23/1990 (1 week)   US 114  gold 09/01/1990 (10 weeks) Aqua   DE 51 06/29/1992 (11 weeks)   CH 20th 06/21/1992 (9 weeks) Aria   DE 89 08/15/1994 (4 weeks)   CH 31 06/26/1994 (6 weeks) arena   CH 50 04/21/1996 (1 week) Silent Nation   DE 77 09/13/2004 (1 week) The Definitive Collection   US 183 09/30/2006 (1 week) Phoenix   DE 58 04/25/2008 (1 week)   CH 75 04/27/2008 (1 week)   US 73 05/03/2008 (1 week) omega   DE 56 07/05/2010 (1 week)   CH 55 05/09/2010 (2 weeks) XXX   DE 33 07/13/2012 (2 weeks)   CH 43 07/15/2012 (2 weeks)   UK 69 07/14/2012 (1 week)   US 134 07/21/2012 (1 week) Gravitas   DE 51 04/04/2014 (1 week)   CH 24 03/30/2014 (1 week)   UK 92 04/05/2014 (1 week)   US 159 04/12/2014 (1 week)

Singles

Heat of the moment   DE 7th 07/12/1982 (17 weeks)   CH 2 07/25/1982 (10 weeks)   UK 46 07/03/1982 (5 weeks)   US 4th 04/17/1982 (18 weeks) Only Time Will Tell   DE 50 09/13/1982 (7 weeks)   UK 54 09/18/1982 (3 weeks)   US 17th 07/24/1982 (14 weeks) Sole survivor   DE 75 12/27/1982 (1 week) Don't cry   DE 54 09/12/1983 (7 weeks)   UK 33 08/13/1983 (5 weeks)   US 10 07/30/1983 (13 weeks) The Smile Has Left Your Eyes   UK 81 10/22/1983 (2 weeks)   US 34 October 15, 1983 (13 weeks) Go   US 46 December 07, 1985 (11 weeks) Days Like These   US 64 09/29/1990 (7 weeks)

Studio albums

• 1982: Asia
• 1983: Alpha
• 1985: Astra
• 1992: Aqua
• 1994: Aria
• 1996: Arena
• 1997: Archiva
• 1999: Rare
• 2000: aura
• 2004: Silent Nation
• 2008: Phoenix
• 2010: Omega
• 2012: XXX
• 2014: Gravitas

Compilations and live albums

This list is a selection, there are several other live albums and best-of compilations.

• 1986: Aurora (compilation EP, only released in Japan)
• 1990: Then and Now (compilation with four new songs)
• 1991: Live in Moscow (Asia | Live | 09-XI-90 | Москва́) (Live)
• 1996: Archiva 1 (outtakes and demos)
• 1996: Archiva 2 (outtakes and demos)
• 1997: Live in Philadelphia
• 1997: Live in Osaka
• 1997: Live in Cologne
• 1997: Live at the Town & Country Club
• 1997: Anthology
• 1997: Greatest Hits Live
• 1997: Archives: Best of 1988-1997
• 1999: Live Acoustic
• 1999: Axioms
• 2000: The Collection
• 2001: Universal Masters Collection
• 2001: Best of Live
• 2002: America: Live in the USA (Live)
• 2002: Alive in Hallowed Halls
• 2002: Quadra (4-CD box containing concert recordings from Pittsburg, April 4, 2002, Worcester, August 22, 1983 and Frankfurt, December 13, 1990)
• 2003: Live in Buffalo
• 2004: Live in Massachusetts '83
• 2005: Enso Kai - Live at the Budokan Tokyo 1983
• 2005: Live in Zurich (CH)
• 2005: The Smile Has Left Your Eyes (2 CD set in digipak, ADD 24 Bit / 96 kHz high-end mastering, contains the live albums Live In Moscow 1990 and Live in Massachusetts '83 , Label: Eagle Rock / Membran)
• 2007: Fantasia: Live in Tokyo
• 2014: High Voltage Live
• 2017: Symfonia (Live in Bulgaria 2013 - With The Plovdiv Opera Orchestra)

Video albums

• 1983: Asia in Asia (VHS / Laser Disc)
• 1990: Andromeda (VHS / DVD / Laser Disc; re-released as Classic Rock Legends in 2002 )
• 1990: Live in Moscow | 1990 (DVD)
• 2003: America: Live in the USA (DVD)
• 2004: Asia: 20th Century Masters (DVD)
• 2004: Making of Silent Nation (DVD)
• 2007: Fantasia: Live in Tokyo

literature

• Kim Dancha: My own time. The authorized biography of John Wetton. Northern Line, Schnecksville PA 1997, ISBN 0-9654847-1-8 .
• George Forrester, Martyn Hanson, Frank Askew: Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The show that never ends. A musical biography. Helter Skelter, London 2001, ISBN 1-900924-17-X .
• David Gallant: Asia, the Heat Goes On. The Authorized Asia Biography. David Gallant Publishing, Summerside PEI Canada 2001, ISBN 0-9688584-0-6 .
• David Gallant: Asia. Heat of the moment. Asia Music Ltd et al., New York NY 2007, ISBN 978-0-9796881-0-2 .
• Edward Macan: Endless Enigma. A musical biography of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. (= Feedback. Vol. 4). Open Court, Chicago IL 2006, ISBN 0-8126-9596-8 .

swell

1. ↑ Asia Biography, Music News, Discography @ 100 XR - # 1 Rock Web Station !!!
2. ↑ MusicMight :: Artists :: ASIA ( Memento from June 17, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
3. ^ Wieland Harms: The Unplugged Guitar Book. 20 of the most beautiful songs for acoustic guitar. Gerig Music, ISBN 3-87252-249-3 , p. 102.
4. ↑ http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/british-supergroup-asia-to-release-gravitas-in-march/
5. ↑ http://stevehowe.com/biography/2010s/
6. ↑ Asia's John Wetton undergoes cancer surgery ( Memento from January 5, 2018 in the Internet Archive )
7. ↑ http://originalasia.com/journey-asia-2017-tour-dates/
8. ↑ http://originalasia.com/symfonia-live-in-bulgaria-2013/
9. ↑ http://www.johnwetton.com/index.html
10. ↑ http://ultimateclassicrock.com/steve-howe-asia-john-wetton-tribute/
11. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US1 US2
12. ↑ US albums: The Billboard Albums by Joel Whitburn , 6th Edition, Record Research 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7 .
13. ↑ ^{a b} Music Sales Awards: UK US
14. ↑ US singles: Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2006. Billboard Books, New York 2007, ISBN 0-89820-172-1 .

Web links

• Official website
• Asia Featuring John Payne
• Asia at laut.de
• Asia at Musik-Sammler.de
• ELP history website with lots of information about Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Carl Palmer and Asia