Early life and musical beginnings Wetton was born in
Willington, Derbyshire, and grew up in
Bournemouth, Dorset, where he attended
Bournemouth School. His elder brother Robert was a classical organist and
choirmaster. While practising organ, Robert would have John play the bass parts on a piano, since their home organ did not have a
pedalboard. John recalled that during the practices, "I got to like bass lines, because
Bach bass lines are incredibly interesting. So I thought, this is good, I like bass lines, that's me." Though an enthusiast of classical music since childhood, he decided to explore rock music instead in order to avoid being compared to his brother. A key early band he was in was the jazzy
Mogul Thrash. After live work with
Renaissance, he joined
Family and also featured in various recording sessions. He has credited
J.S. Bach,
Brian Wilson,
Paul McCartney,
James Jamerson,
Jack Bruce,
Ace Kefford,
Chris Squire,
John Entwistle,
Harvey Brooks,
Ron Carter, and
Miroslav Vitouš as musical influences.
King Crimson In late 1972, Wetton's fellow Dorset native
Robert Fripp invited him to join
King Crimson. The band's lineup also included violinist
David Cross, former
Yes drummer
Bill Bruford, and percussionist
Jamie Muir. Wetton also gained experience as the lead singer and songwriter. His friend Palmer-James also worked with the band as their primary lyricist. Wetton remained with King Crimson until Fripp unexpectedly disbanded the group in 1974. After the dissolution of King Crimson, Wetton continued to work on various projects, including a tour with
Roxy Music and two albums with
Uriah Heep, for whom he occasionally provided vocals as well as bass parts—examples of his vocal style can be heard on the 1976 album
High and Mighty. While still with King Crimson, Wetton had been asked by Roxy Music to sit in on their auditions for a replacement bass player and give his recommendations. Dissatisfied with all the applicants, he offered to do the 1975 tour with the group himself so as to give them time to find a good bassist. Wetton formed
U.K. with Bill Bruford. Wetton recruited
Curved Air and Roxy Music keyboardist/violinist
Eddie Jobson; Later that year, he had a brief stint with
Wishbone Ash, appearing on their 1981 album,
Number the Brave. In late 1981, he had a meeting with
Geffen Records' president
John Kalodner, who took him to task for playing bass in
Bryan Ferry's
backing band, feeling he should be fronting a group himself. At Kalodner's insistence, Wetton started writing with former Yes guitarist
Steve Howe, with a view to forming their own band. Joined by keyboardist
Geoff Downes and drummer
Carl Palmer (of
Emerson, Lake & Palmer), the band became
Asia. In 1986, a collaboration between Wetton and Roxy Music guitarist
Phil Manzanera was released as
Wetton/Manzanera. Around that time, Wetton began working with Downes and Palmer to restart Asia. Some of the material they recorded was featured on 1990's
Then & Now, including the radio hit "Days Like These".
Return to solo work In the 1990s, Wetton focused on his solo career and collaborations. He featured on the Phil Manzanera solo album
Southern Cross, released in 1990. In 1995, he released his second solo album,
Battlelines, which had previously been issued as
Voicemail (1994) in Japan only. In 1999, an aborted attempt to reform Asia resulted in Wetton and Palmer forming a short-lived progressive group dubbed
Qango, with
John Young and
Dave Kilminster. Qango performed several shows in the UK and recorded a live album,
Live in the Hood, before disbanding. In the early 2000s, Wetton reunited with Downes, and the duo released several albums. In 2006, a reunion of the original Asia lineup (Wetton, Downes, Howe, Palmer) finally occurred. A studio album titled
Phoenix, the original band's first since 1983's
Alpha, was released in April 2008 and peaked at No. 73 on the
Billboard 200 albums chart in the United States. They issued two more studio albums,
Omega (2010) and
XXX (2012), before Howe departed in January 2013 to focus on Yes. With new guitarist
Sam Coulson, Asia released
Gravitas in March 2014. In 2013, Wetton guested on the album
Grandine il vento by Renaissance, with whom he had played live 42 years before. In the same year, he toured with
American Idol finalist Leslie Hunt's group District 97, based in
Chicago, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the King Crimson album ''
Larks' Tongues in Aspic''. Wetton also worked extensively as a
session musician with artists including
Brian Eno (appearing on
Here Come the Warm Jets),
Bryan Ferry, and
Ayreon. ==Death==