He has been a member of major bands "King Crimson", "Uriah Heep", "Asia", "UK", "Family", "Wishbone Ash", "Roxy Music" and more.
He has collaborated with artists such as Bryan Ferry, Brian Eno, Pete Sinfield, Phil Manzanera, Peter Banks, and more.
He is so versatile in his playing that he has touched on classical music, Jazz, Fusion, Hard Rock, Progressive rock, and even Pop.
He was a sought-after bassist, a singer with a unique voice and he also played guitar and keyboards.
(Photo: Fin Costello)
Today we want to tell you a little about the work of the amazing musician John Wetton:
1. He was born in a derby in England on June 12, 1949. His full name is John Kenneth Wetton.
2. His first experience with music was when he listened to his brother who was a choir boy and organist who played classical music. The brother let John play the bass roles on the piano and John immediately fell in love with playing the low notes.
3. Although he noted that the bass pieces in Bach's works really interested and challenged him, John was more attracted to rock music and focused on playing the bass guitar.
4. In 1962, John also began learning to play the guitar on which he played in a local band called "The Squires".
5. Later John returned to play bass guitar and sing in various bands such as "The Corvettes", "The Palmer-James Group", "Tetrad", "The Zoo", "Ginger Man" and more.
6. His first serious band was the jazz-rock band "Mogul Thrash" which also included the guitarist James Litherland from the band "Colosseum". Wetton will release with the band their first single in 1970 and a debut album bearing the band's name in 1971.
7. After the band disbanded in 1971, John moved into studios and became a session player.
8. In the same year, John will join the band "Family" and release the album "Fearless" with it. John will play the album on bass, guitar, keyboards and will sing background vocals. He will continue with the band for another album called "Bandstand" which was released in 1972.
9. Wetton's great opportunity came in 1972 when guitarist Robert Fripp invited him to join the band "King Crimson", where he will meet, among others, drummer Bill Bruford.
(Photo: Michael Ochs)
10. Wetton will record three masterpieces with the band: "Larks' Tongues in Aspic", "Starless and Bible Black" and one of the band's masterpieces - "Red". Wetton will play bass, be the lead singer, play the piano occasionally and be a full partner in the creation of these albums.
11. After the dissolution of "King Crimson", Wetton will move to play with the band "Roxy Music" and he will also be part of the live album "Viva!" Released in 1976.
12. In 1975 he joined "Uriah Heep" as a replacement for bassist Gary Thain. John will record two albums with the band: "Return to Fantasy" from 1975 and "High and Mighty" from 1976. He will serve as bassist, and keyboardist, play the Mellotron, sing background vocals, and will even take the lead in singing on "One Way or Another" from the album "High and Mighty".
13. In 1977, after attempts to bring "King Crimson" back into action failed, Wetton and drummer Bill Burford formed the band "U.K.", Together with keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson whom Wetton met in "Roxy Music" and guitarist Allan Holdsworth from "Soft Machine" and "Gong". The band will release two excellent albums: "UK" from 1978 and "Danger Money" from 1979 with Terry Bozzio on drums.
14. In 1980, Wetton released his first solo album "Caught in the Crossfire". Wetton will later release five more solo albums, the most recent being "Raised in Captivity" from 2011.
(Photo: Ebet Roberts)
15. In the same year he joined the band "Wishbone Ash" and released the album "Number the Brave" in 1981.
16. At the end of 1981 Wetton began writing new material together with guitarist Steve Howe, and the two began to talk about setting up a new band. They were joined by keyboardist Geoff Downes and drummer Carl Palmer, and the "Asia" supergroup was formed.
17. The band's debut album "Asia" was released in 1982 and was a great success. Between 1982 and 2014, John will release 8 studio albums with "Asia".
18. In 2002, Wetton will join keyboardist Geoff Downes and the two will form the band "Icon" and release 4 studio albums.
19. As we mentioned above, the number of collaborations and albums in which John Wetton has been part of is enormous, here are some worth mentioning collaborations: Brian Eno, Bryan Ferry, "Ayreon", "Renaissance", Steve Hackett, Eddie Jobson, Phil Manzanera, Peter Banks, Gordon Haskell, and more.
20. John Wetton passed away on January 31, 2017, as a result of complications from cancer.
Now let's listen to a playlist that reviews his glorious career that we have prepared especially for you: Click Here.
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