Rock
music legend John Wetton sadly passed away in the early hours of this
morning, Tuesday 31st
January 2017, after a long and courageous battle against colon
cancer.
John
rose to fame with King Crimson in the early 70s during the iconic Red
era and later formed the band UK. In the early 1980s he was a
founder member of supergroup ASIA which was his biggest commercial
success. The band’s 1982 self-titled debut album was the biggest
selling album in the world that year and gave fans and mainstream
radio the mega-hit Heat of the Moment.
John
also enjoyed a successful solo career, including the seminal album
Battle Lines, and formed iCon with ASIA bandmate Geoff Downes. In
2006 the original line-up of ASIA reformed and toured the world
several times to promote four new studio albums.
John
had been planning to tour with ASIA for the band’s forthcoming US
arena tour with Journey and following the success of his solo Studio
Recordings Anthology, to continue working on the ongoing re-issue
programme of his solo albums, via his own Primary Purpose label.
John
valued his over 11 years of sobriety and volunteered time in
fellowship with other alcoholics to share his experience, strength
and hope with them. John is survived by his recently wed wife Lisa
and 18 year old son Dylan, brother Robert and mother Peggy.
The
very last studio song of John Wetton’s career was the closing track
on the most recent and indeed final ASIA album “Gravitas” and
included the profound lyrics “Think
the best of me, till we meet again."
A statement by Geoff Downes:
It
is with great sadness and a heavy heart, that I have to report we have
lost my dearest friend, brother, bandmate and long term musical
collaborator, John Wetton, who has passed away after a long and
tenacious battle with cancer. He will be remembered as one of the
world’s finest musical talents, and I for one of many was wholly blessed
by his influence. It was a massive privilege for me to have worked with
this genius so closely on our numerous projects together over the
years. His bass playing was revolutionary. His voice was from the gods.
His compositions - out of this world. His sense of melody and harmony -
unreal. He was literally a 'special one'.
But
John was much more than a gigantic and unique musical talent. He was a
supremely intelligent man, marked with his great observations and wisdom
about life; all couched within his wicked sense of humour. The wit was
dark and deep, only fully perceptible to those on his same wavelength. I
was fortunate enough to be able to be on that wavelength, and discover
that we had much in common. Many of his personal life experiences were
reflected in his lyrical contributions to the songs. His heart was
always in the music. That was John, through and through. It was always
about - the music.
As
a person, he was fiercely loyal, loving and generous, particularly to
those he cared about. But he could be as stubborn as a mule or as
gracious as a nobleman, depending on the mood that grabbed him on any
particular day. There were some who couldn't read his brilliant mind and
complex personality. Some found him charming, others infuriating. But
however you found John, there was no denying his rare talent as a
musician and songwriter was second to none.
Both
of us having been brought up with similar backgrounds in provincial
England, we shared a love of many things - sport, and in particular -
football, English church music, current affairs, comedy, literature, you
name it....pretty much everything that 2 kids from the sticks were
exposed to in our youth.
Our
planets seemed to be immediately in alignment when we first met in
early 1981. There was a laddish camaraderie that grew between us as we
became as close as two non-related brothers could be. He was an avid
reader and film enthusiast, something he pursued with great interest.
This helped inspire him to some wonderful lyrics to the literally
hundreds of songs we composed together. Back then, we immediately hit
the ground running as we composed much of the debut ASIA album together
and forged a formidable partnership which lasted right up until now. It
was a wholly natural process for us, whereby we could knock out 2 or 3
songs in an afternoon. They were always greeted with our gentlemanly
handshake and smiles once we had wrapped up another one in the bag.
Above
all else though, his passion for life was to the fore. The battles he
endured throughout were immense and well documented. Firstly with
alcohol, which he so resolutely overcame, then open heart surgery and
finally cancer, which sadly was to take his life in the end. He once
observed to me that this disease is a "merciless assassin". Just another
example of his perception and the descriptive language that he was so
richly blessed with. He took all of these battles on board with great
bravery and almost a 'laissez-faire' attitude, tinged with his
inimitable wry wit.
To
say I will miss my him greatly is beyond understatement. He was such an
inspiration to me. We were planning another album, but sadly he was not
well enough to complete it. I feel heartbroken about this, as I knew
John thought it was to be one of our finest albums to date. I remain as
proud as ever of our Wetton/Downes writing partnership. I am hoping one
day that I will be able to finish it, and that it will be appreciated by
all those who loved his and our music, and most importantly, a legacy
he would have been proud of.
Life
will not be the same without him. And words are not really enough to
describe the loss I feel right now, and the many friends and fans all
over the World will also be feeling. It is the end of an era for all of
us. But we will soldier on - the music of John Wetton needs to be heard
loud and clear from the rooftops.
Dearest John, may you rest in peace brother.
X
Geoffrey
Please join me in sending our sincerest thoughts and prayers to Lisa, Dylan and the entire Wetton family at this difficult time.
A statement by Carl Palmer:
With
the passing of my good friend and musical collaborator, John Wetton,
the world loses yet another musical giant. John was a gentle person who
created some of the most lasting melodies and lyrics in modern popular
music. As a musician, he was both brave and innovative, with a voice
that took the music of ASIA to the top of the charts around the world.
His ability to triumph over alcohol abuse made him an inspiration to
many who have also fought that battle. For those of us who knew him and
worked with him, his valiant struggle against cancer was a further
inspiration. I will miss his talent, his sense of humor and his
infectious smile. May you ride easy, my old friend. - Carl Palmer
Official
Website: www.johnwetton.com
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