Asia began with the apparent demise of Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, the two flagship bands of British progressive rock. Under the auspices of David Geffen's record empire, a supergroup would form from these ashes. A few years later,
John Wetton and guitarist Steve Howe started working together, Howe having come out of the break-up of Yes in early
1981 and were soon joined by Buggles/Yes keyboardist Geoff Downes. Carl Palmer joined the band later in the process.
Asia's debut album enjoyed considerable success, spending nine weeks at number one in the U.S. album chart. The singles
"Only Time Will Tell" and "Heat of the Moment" became huge Top 40 hits, with the latter cracking the Top Ten, while remaining a stadium favorite at U.S. sporting events.
The band's second album Alpha contained the power ballad "Don't
Cry" that reached #10 and stayed there for 13 weeks.
However, it was not as commercially successful as their first album and
over the next few years, things fell apart for
Asia.
In 1989, Geoffrey Downes revived Asia and Pat Thrall joined Downes, Palmer, and Wetton. They toured the former Soviet Union in 1990, while
Then And Now featured their previous hits and new singles. "Days Like These" charted briefly in 1991, generating
some MTV airplay. John Wetton left in 1992 to focus on writing new albums.
Teaming up with vocalist/bassist John Payne, and enlisting new musician, Downes
has led Asia into the present day. The 1992 comeback album, Aqua
featured sessions from Steve Howe and Carl Palmer, as well as Downes' environmentalist single
"Who Will Stop The Rain?" .
After several years, Asia changed its direction, back towards the style of rock with progressive overtones that made them well-known in the first place.
In Silent Nation (a name influenced by the Howard Stern vs. FCC incident) picked up some unexpected exposure on the Internet. The band now had a more stable line-up of Geoff Downes, John Payne, drummer Chris Slade and guitarist Guthrie Govan. With a solid line-up for the first time in many years, Asia was able to give its sound more of a "band" feel. The album managed to chart better than 1992's
Aqua. There was an acoustic tour featuring only Downes and Payne. In early 2005, the full band toured in Europe and the Americas, performing in settings ranging from small clubs to medium-sized arenas. In August 2005, Slade left the group to be replaced by Jay Schellen.
Meanwhile, Wetton and Downes reunited to record an album under the name Wetton/Downes.
Icon was released in 2005. Downes and Payne plan to release a new studio album in 2006.
ASIA
