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John Wetton | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | John Kenneth Wetton |
Born | Willington, Derbyshire, England | 12 June 1949
Origin | Bournemouth, Dorset, England |
Died | 31 January 2017 Bournemouth, Dorset, England | (aged 67)
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Years active | 1965–2017 |
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Formerly of | |
Website | Official website |
John Kenneth Wetton (12 June 1949 – 31 January 2017) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter.[1] Although he was left handed, he was known as a dexterous right handed Bass player and had a booming Baritone voice.[2] He joined the band Family in 1971 for a short time before joining King Crimson in 1972.[3] After the breakup of King Crimson at the end of 1974, Wetton was in progressive rock and hard rock bands including Roxy Music (1974–1975), Uriah Heep (1975–1976), U.K. (1977–1980), and Wishbone Ash (1980–1981).[1]
In 1981 he co-founded Asia as lead vocalist and principal songwriter, which was considered to be a super group.[1] Their debut album Asia which was released in 1982 sold 10 million copies worldwide and was Billboard magazine's number one album of 1982.[4] He later formed the duo "Icon" with his Asia bandmate and songwriting partner Geoff Downes and had a successful solo career.