John Wetton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids John Wetton
Background information
Birth name	John Kenneth Wetton
Born	(1949-06-12)12 June 1949 Willington, Derbyshire, England
Origin	Bournemouth, Dorset, England
Died	31 January 2017(2017-01-31) (aged 67) Bournemouth, Dorset, England
Genres	Progressive rock hard rock pop rock jazz fusion classic rock AOR
Occupation(s)	Musician singer songwriter producer
Instruments	Vocals bass guitar keyboards
Years active	1965–2017
Labels	E.G. Atlantic Records Geffen Universal Records Island Eagle Avalon EMI King Records Frontiers

John Kenneth Wetton (born June 12, 1949 – died January 31, 2017) was an English musician. He was a talented singer and songwriter. John Wetton was famous for his amazing bass playing and strong, deep voice.

He first became well-known in the early 1970s when he joined the band King Crimson. Later, he was the main singer and songwriter for the supergroup Asia. This band brought him his biggest success. Their first album, Asia, sold ten million copies around the world. It was even Billboard magazine's number one album of 1982.

John Wetton also played with many other rock bands. These included U.K., Family, Roxy Music, Uriah Heep, and Wishbone Ash. He later started a music group called Icon with his Asia bandmate, Geoff Downes. From the 1990s, he also had a very successful solo career.

John Wetton's Music Journey

John Wetton was born in Willington, England. He grew up in Bournemouth, where he went to Bournemouth School. His older brother, Robert, was a classical organist. When Robert practiced the organ, John would play the bass parts on a piano. This was because their home organ did not have foot pedals.

John remembered that he started to love bass lines this way. He thought, "This is good, I like bass lines, that's me." Even though he loved classical music, he chose to play rock and roll. He played bass and sang in early bands like The Corvettes and The Palmer-James Group. A key early band was Mogul Thrash, which played jazz-rock music.

Joining King Crimson

John Wetton got his big chance when Robert Fripp asked him to join King Crimson. This happened in late 1972. Other members included David Cross (violin), Bill Bruford (drums), and Jamie Muir (percussion). Being in King Crimson helped John become a lead singer and songwriter. His old friend, Richard Palmer-James, wrote most of the lyrics for the band.

John stayed with King Crimson until 1974 when Robert Fripp decided to end the band. During this time, King Crimson played a more powerful rock sound. John's bass lines were strong and melodic. His bass sound was so powerful that it sometimes sounded like heavy metal music.

After King Crimson: New Bands

After King Crimson broke up, John Wetton worked on many different music projects. He toured with Roxy Music and recorded two albums with Uriah Heep. In 1977, John formed the band U.K. with Bill Bruford. They also had Eddie Jobson (keyboards/violin) and Allan Holdsworth (guitar). U.K. focused more on carefully written songs, which John preferred.

Starting a Solo Career

After U.K. broke up, John Wetton released his first solo album. It was called Caught in the Crossfire (1980). Later that year, he played with Wishbone Ash on their album Number the Brave (1981).

The Success of Asia

In 1981, John Wetton met John Kalodner from Geffen Records. Kalodner encouraged John to lead his own band. John then started writing songs with former Yes guitarist Steve Howe. They were joined by keyboardist Geoff Downes and drummer Carl Palmer. This group became the band Asia.

Asia released one of the best-selling albums of the 1980s. Their first album, "Asia," sold over 10 million copies. This made the band famous worldwide. John worked with Asia until 1983. He returned to Asia in 1985 to finish the album Astra.

Later Projects and Reunions

In the late 1980s, John Wetton worked with Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera. They released an album called Wetton/Manzanera (1986). Around this time, John also started working with Geoff Downes and Carl Palmer to bring Asia back together. Some of their new songs were on the 1990 CD Then & Now. This included a popular song called "Days Like These."

During the 1990s, John Wetton mostly focused on his solo music. In 1999, he tried to reform Asia, but it didn't work out. Instead, he and Carl Palmer formed a short-lived group called Qango.

John Wetton (left) and Geoff Downes performing in 2005

In the early 2000s, John Wetton reunited with Geoff Downes for their project, Icon. In 2006, the original members of Asia (Wetton, Downes, Howe, Palmer) finally got back together. They released a new album called Phoenix in 2008. It was their first album together since 1983. The original group released two more albums, Omega (2010) and XXX (2012).

In 2013, John Wetton sang on the album Grandine il vento with the band Renaissance. He had played live with them 42 years before. He also toured with the band District 97 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the King Crimson album Larks' Tongues In Aspic. John Wetton also worked as a session musician for other artists. This means he played on their recordings.

John Wetton's Passing

John Wetton passed away in his sleep on January 31, 2017. He died from problems related to colorectal cancer. He was survived by his wife Lisa, his son Dylan, his brother Robert, and his mother Margaret.

Billy Sherwood, who worked with John on his 2011 solo album, took his place in Asia. On June 17, 2017, Asia held a special concert to remember John Wetton. It was called An Extraordinary Life, named after a song from Asia's Phoenix album. Fans sent in videos of themselves performing, which were shown on a big screen. Some King Crimson songs were also played at the event.

An asteroid, 72802 Wetton, was named in his memory. It was discovered in 2001.

Who John Wetton Inspired

Many artists have said that John Wetton influenced their music. Some of these include Billy Sheehan, Juan Alderete of The Mars Volta, and Michael Sweet of Stryper. After John Wetton's death, Eric Clapton released a short instrumental song called "For John W." as a tribute.

Bands John Wetton Played With

• 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)
• John Wetton (1980–2017)
• Asia (1981–1983, 1984–1986, 1989–1991, 2006–2017)
• Qango (1999–2000)
• Icon (Wetton/Downes) (2002, 2005–2009)

John Wetton's Albums

Solo Studio Albums

Solo Live Albums

• King's Road, 1972–1980 (1987) E'G/Virgin Records
• Anthology (2001) NMC
• ...Caught in the Crossfire... (2002) Digimode Entertainment UK. This is not the same as Wetton's 1980 first solo album. It has 17 songs from different Wetton projects.
• The Studio Recordings Anthology (2015)

Albums with Bands

Session Work

John Wetton also played on many other artists' albums as a session musician. This means he was hired to play on their recordings.

• It Is and It Isn't (1971)
• Only Visiting This Planet (1972)
• Fool's Wisdom (1973)
• Two Sides of Peter Banks (1973): played bass on "Knights."
• Here Come the Warm Jets (September 1973): played bass on "Baby's on Fire" and "Driving Me Backwards."
• Still (1973)
• Another Time, Another Place (July 1974)
• Let's Stick Together (September 1976)
• In Your Mind (February 1977)
• The Bride Stripped Bare (September 1978)
• Diamond Head (1975)
• K-Scope (1978)
• Round in Circles/ Talk to Me (Singles) (2020)
• Score (1977)
• Rock Puzzle (1979)
• Mail Order Magic (1980)
• Hyenas Only Laugh for Fun (1981)
• Did It All For Love (Single) (1987)
• Exiles (1997)
• Genesis Revisited (1997): sang on tracks 1 and 5, played bass on track 5.
• The Tokyo Tapes (1998)
• Genesis Revisited II (2012): sang and played guitar and bass on "Afterglow."
• Genesis Revisited: Live at Hammersmith (2013): sang on "Afterglow."
• Genesis Revisited: Live at the Royal Albert Hall (2014): sang on "Firth of Fifth."
• 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.
• Genius A Rock Opera – Episode 1 (2002)
• 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."
• Argus Through The Looking Glass (2008) Mystic Records
• Excalibur II: The Celtic Ring
• Excalibur III
• Ultimate Zero – The Best of the U-Z Project Live (2010)
• Four Decades (2015)
• The Theory of Everything (2013) InsideOut Music
• Grandine il vento (2013)

See also

In Spanish: John Wetton para niños