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Geoff Downes

Buggle. Yesman. Asia Founding Member.

Born and raised in Stockport, England, Geoff developed a passion for music early in life. While his father had been organist and choirmaster at a church in Stockport, as a young man Geoff quickly discovered a talent for the piano and a love of showmanship. His exposure to other musicians at college in Leeds led him in 1974 to She's French, his first real band. "Melody Maker used to run band contests, and we got to the finals. We played a lot of clubs in the north of England. We were playing very experimental stuff, jazz-fusion mixed with Yes and classical stuff - a real mish-mash of styles."

In 1975, he packed his bags and headed for London. An early band situation was to rehearse with Electric Light Orchestra founding member Roy Wood and his glam-rockers Wizzard. "I was in rehearsals with them for about three or four weeks, but it didn't really work out. Roy offered me the job of the keyboard player, so I rehearsed with them, but it didn't really seem as if it was going anywhere."

Shortly thereafter, fate intervened when he met a young bass player, Trevor Horn. The two met while playing in an English disco outfit, the Tina Charles Band. "About nine months after moving to London, I bumped into Trevor. He was living with Tina at the time and looking for people to play in her band. Whenever she did a tour, I'd go on the road with her." When the band split, Downes and Horn continued working together, producing other bands. Over the years, the duo perfected their own style of electro-pop music. By 1979, as 'The Buggles', they recorded Video Killed The Radio Star and stormed the pop charts.

Lightning struck twice when the two were invited to replace Rick Wakeman and Jon Anderson in YES in 1980. Alongside Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White, the DRAMA album added yet another illustriuos chapter to the YES saga.

Although a short-lived endeavor, Geoff cemented a friendship with Steve Howe that would manifest itself several times over the next 25 years. ASIA grew out of the ashes of YES, as Downes & Howe joined together with Carl Palmer and John Wetton. "The success with ASIA came very quickly. It was if I had stepped off one bus and another came along right away." The Wetton/Downes writing team scored a number of major hit singles, propelling the band to the top of the charts.

After three record-breaking albums (ASIA, ALPHA & ASTRA) and a series of lineup changes, Asia was laid to rest in 1985. Geoff accepted an invitation from Steve Howe to produce the first GTR album, a project between Howe and former Genesis axeman Steve Hackett. GTR obtained a modest amount of success with the single, When The Heart Rules The Mind, after which Geoff returned to the studio to work on his first solo album, The Light Programme. His aim was to create a deep, textured sound through the use of keyboards, with one man at the helm. Calling upon his classical training, and by synthesizing a variety of cultural influences into the music, he managed to blend sound and technology in a revolutionary manner.

Unknown to most fans, Wetton and Downes continued to write in the months and years after the failure of ASTRA. Meeting at various studios around London, the partners churned out dozens of demos with no particular project in mind. Geoff recalls that the songwriting sessions were essentially for Asia material, but that the results were not always appropriate. "It's basically stuff that John and I were writing that we didn't think was suitable for Asia at the time. Mostly middle-of-the-road stuff. Mostly ballads." One of the songs, We Move As One, found a home on former ABBA singer Agnetha F‰ltskog's solo album, Eyes of a Woman.

With GTR finished and Asia still on hold, Geoff turned his attention to his solo material in Advision Studios. At the time, he began working on a new project, "Rain", at the suggestion of Geffen's John Kalodner. "John Wetton went off and started writing with a few other people, and I ensconced myself in Advision Studios in London. This is when I started building up a series of tracks by myself and working with other writers, as an alternative project. Rain started from the fact that Kalodner was quite interested in my doing some stuff with Max Bacon."

In 1989, Geoff began working with former Asia and ELP alumnus Greg Lake on a collection of songs. Looking to form a partnership, they went to work under the title "Ride The Tiger". "Myself and Greg set up a studio for about a year, after I had been at Advision. Because it was two people coming together from very different directions, Greg said it was like 'riding the tiger'. We wrote about eight songs altogether. There was a lot of stuff that never saw the light of day."

Before the duo could finalize their plans, Asia would surface once again in 1989. Although Wetton and Palmer toured parts of Europe with a string of guitar players and a new keyboard player, John Young, Geoff was brought back into the fold when Geffen got serious and authorized the release of a new best-of collection, THEN AND NOW. But the euphoria was short-lived, and eventually Carl Palmer departed for the ELP reunion and BLACK MOON album, and John Wetton moved to LA to work on his first solo album.

Back in England, Geoff found himself in a unique position. Asia had always been the perfect venue for his keyboard talents, and this would be the ideal opportunity to re-form the band in his image. Recruiting singer John Payne, whom he had met during the GTR sessions, they went to work on the album AQUA. With the return of Steve Howe once again, a world tour ensued in 1992 on the heels of the hit song, Who Will Stop The Rain.

The following years brought many more lineup changes, and a series of studio releases - ARIA, ARENA, AURA and SILENT NATION.

Yet Geoff was always able to find time for his own solo endeavours. VOX HUMANA displayed a more melodic side to his writing, with the album featuring several co-writes with a friend, Johnny Warman. From the beautiful rendition of Ave Maria (vocals by Emma Stace) to the instrumental Howe-like Concerto, it clearly showed the keyboardist's maturity as a composer and musician. A third album, EVOLUTION, contained no original compositions, consisting entirely of instrumental versions of Downes' favorite rock classics. "It's largely based on people asking me about my influences. I used to play some of them on my own, in a quiet moment, and some friends said that I should do my own versions. It started with groups like Moody Blues and Procol Harum. I wanted to do a cataloguing of groups that had impressed me with keyboards over the years."

With Asia on hold in 1999, Geoff returned to the studio to record his new solo album, THE WORLD SERVICE, in 1999. Based on his early encounters with the BBC growing up in Manchester, the concept album explored the global sounds that emanated from the family radio. His next solo effort, SHADOWS & REFLECTIONS, was released in 2002.

To coincide with the release, the keyboardist scheduled his first ever live solo show, performing in London at St. Cyprian's Church. The concept of a solo show had actually been kicking around for quite some time. "I could actually turn the clock back seventeen years when I did my first solo album. I went to see Rob Dickens at Warner Records (Geffen distributors in the UK), and he had this idea about putting on this one-man show with all my keyboards at the (London) planetarium. So it was something that had been around for quite some time, but I never really had the chance to put it together and do specifically a one man show." The setlist for the 2002 show included glimpses from all aspects of his career. For many, the highlight of the night was Downes' solo performance of the Yes classic Tempus Fugit. Aside from the DRAMA tour of 1980, it had never been performed live until that night.

In addition to Video Killed The Radio Star and a number of Asia classics, Downes introduced a new piece especially for the evening, The Bridge. This extended piece was eventually released on CD.

After mending fences with his writing partner and original Asia founding member John Wetton, the two men recorded a new album, ICON, in 2005. The album was released in April on the Frontiers label to much acclaim from fans and reviewers alike. It would mark another significant turning point in the history of the band.

The dawn of 2006 brought earth-shattering announcement: Geoff Downes, John Wetton, Steve Howe and Carl Palmer made public their intention to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the formation of the band and the recording of their debut album. A reunion tour was promised, along with hints of a live DVD and the possibility of a CD of new material.

What else does the future hold for this talented musician? To coin a phrase, "Only Time Will Tell!"

John Wetton

Born in Derby, raised in Bournemouth, John Wetton first cut his musical teeth on church music at his family’s piano. He often played the bass parts to help his brother rehearse tunes for services…an experience that led to John’s love of bass melodies. In his teens, John focused those melodies on the bass guitar and honed his skills by playing and singing with local bands.

With several years of live experience under his belt, John managed to obtain work doing sessions and recording with a number of artists. This allowed him to show off his impressive bass talents, but did little to showcase his equally impressive singing and songwriting skills. Frustrated, John began to listen a bit closer to the sales pitch of an old friend, Robert Fripp, who set about to reform King Crimson in 1972. The eventual Crimson core of Wetton, Fripp, and Bill Bruford is often considered the “classic” line-up, releasing three studio albums (“Larks’ Tongues in Aspic,” “Starless and Bible Black,” and “Red”) that truly stretched the band to its imaginative limits. But after a blistering show in New York’s Central Park in 1974, the band took a hiatus that became permanent.

To keep up his chops, John became a musician for hire in a number of high-profile bands in the mid 1970s. But soon, comments from fans and even the media proved to John that there could still be some life in the Wetton/Bruford rhythm section of King Crimson. A series of phone calls and meetings proved to be all the momentum needed in getting U.K. off the ground. The line-up of Wetton, Bruford, Eddie Jobson, and Allan Holdsworth delivered a potent mix of jazzy fusion and progressive pop that brought great success, but also division in the band. After one album, Bruford and Holdsworth were out, and drummer Terry Bozzio in. The trio delivered one studio album and one live album before a demise similar to King Crimson…a hiatus that also turned permanent.

Soon after, John He dumped his old management, publisher, and record company, and joined forces with Brian Lane, who had just ended a successful run with Yes. Brian was working with rising A&R star John Kalodner and Geffen Records to assemble a group that would unleash a new sound across the musical landscape while preserving the finest elements of progressive rock. Lane found his dream line-up with Wetton, Geoff Downes, Steve Howe, and Carl Palmer. This “fab four” of progressive pop would rule radio and record sales for a scant year and a half before losing Wetton in an unceremonious shake-up just weeks before MTV’s heavily-promoted Asia in Asia concert broadcast. Not long after, John returned to the Asia fold as Steve Howe made his exit. The band entered the studio with new guitarist Mandy Meyer to record “Astra.” The album showcased a few Wetton/Downes classics such as “Rock and Roll Dream” and “Go,” but the changing line-ups and changing face of American music meant a loss of momentum and sluggish sales.

John put Asia on the back burner for a bit, and pursued a wide variety of projects. Among them, an album of original music with friend (and former Roxy Music member) Phil Manzanera. John also recorded a track for the soundtrack of the Sylvester Stallone film, “Over the Top,” which is credited as Asia. John continued his writing during this time as well, kicking back with former bandmate Downes while cultivating new writing relationships with former teen idol David Cassidy and wife Sue Shifrin. One song from the Wetton/Cassidy/Shifrin sessions, “Prayin’ 4 A Miracle,” would soon be added to the Asia catalog.

By the end of the 80s, interest in Asia reignited in Europe. John rejoined Carl Palmer, and eventually Geoff Downes, for a series of concerts that proved successful but left John empty. To him, Asia was sounding tired and he was ready for a break from it. Further enticing him was a solo deal with Virgin Records. So, after wrapping up a South American tour in 1991, John temporarily bid adieu to Asia… or so he thought.

With renewed energy, John moved to California and began work on his “Voice Mail” album, the first album to really show off his talents for emotional, autobiographical material. Two songs from the album, “Hold Me Now” and “Battle Lines,” have become classics among Wetton fans. In fact, “Battle Lines” eventually replaced “Voice Mail” as the album’s title when British producer Bob Carruthers selected it as the theme for his film “Chasing the Deer.” To promote the album, John embarked on his first solo tour and later released a live CD called “Akustika.”

Returning to the studio in the mid 90s, John contributed tracks to tribute albums featuring the works of Jethro Tull, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and Genesis. He furthered the link to Genesis by joining forces with Steve Hackett for his “Genesis Revisited” project, which culminated in several highly successful live performances in Japan.

Continued autobiographical songwriting led to 1997’s “Arkangel” album, an emotionally gritty album that would add more staples (“Arkangel,” “Emma”) to John’s live solo performances. 2000’s “Sinister” album, also entitled “Welcome to Heaven,” finished the trilogy of solo offerings. He further promoted these albums with extensive tours of Europe, Japan, and South America.

Despite being left off the tour schedule, American fans had plenty to celebrate in 2002 with the first-ever John Wetton Fan Convention in Allentown, PA. Hundreds filled a local venue to spend a weekend with John, his band, and Geoff Downes, who joined John for a gala Saturday night concert which marked the first time the two had shared a stage in more than ten years.

The Wetton/Downes partnership resurfaced when John returned to the studio to begin work on 2003’s “Rock of Faith.” Two new songs written by John and Geoff (“I’ve Come to Take You Home” and “I Lay Down”) created a buzz among fans hoping for an eventual reunion of the original Asia line-up. That buzz roared in 2005 with the release of “Icon,” an album of original music by Wetton and Downes that the duo followed with a number of live shows. Fans cheered the fact that Wetton sounded as good in person, if not better, than he did during the heyday of Asia.

And so it goes to 2006…and a full-blown Asia reunion. With 25 years between today and the first meeting of Wetton, Downes, Howe, and Palmer, the original four.

 

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