Geoff Downes says he felt lost after the death of Asia bandmate John Wetton, calling him the best collaborator he’d ever had.
Wetton died in 2017 while work was underway on the follow-up to 2014’s Gravitas. The pair had been developing a suite, now titled Tattoo Indigo, which has finally found a home in new Asia album Indigo.
“We had been working on another album after we released Gravitas – the last album that I made with John,” Downes tells Glide. “Around 2015 and 2016, Tattoo Indigo was pretty much in the making – but sadly we never got to finish it because John got sick with cancer and then passed away.
“I lost my greatest writing partner of all time. I didn’t know what to do with this unfinished track after the loss of John. When we had the opportunity to record this album with the new lineup, I thought the track shouldn’t be locked away in a box for ever.”
Downes dug out the files and took them to new Asia member Harry Whitley, who’s taken Wetton’s place on bass and vocals. “I think John would have been proud that I actually did get it together and finished it,” he adds.
He accepts the track has a 70s feel, with references that could include Uriah Heep and ELP. “The middle section has a mix of The Moody Blues and The Beatles nostalgia,” he adds.
“John Mitchell did a great job on the guitar ending. He was in John Wetton’s solo band for quite some time. When it came time to put Asia back together again a few years ago for a John Wetton tribute show, John Mitchell was my first choice as a guitarist because he knew our music.”
Indigo features guest appearances by former member Steve Howe and Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy, and also includes another of Wetton’s unfinished collaboratons. Prog said of the record: The fact that it works so convincingly is testament to the quality of Asia’s current incarnation.”
Indigo is on sale now.
