Asia release live version of Heat Of The Moment

Prog supergroup Asia have released a new live version of their 1982 hit Heat Of The Moment. The new live version was recorded live at Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo, NY, USA on May 3, 1982. This performance came just days into their debut US tour.

That live concert is one of five shows included in The Official Live Bootlegs Volume 1, a ten-disc box set that will be released through BMG Records on November 26.

“Just before we went into the studio to record the first Asia album, we realised we were one track short," recalls Geoff Downes, who co-wrote the song with John Wetton. "So John and I sat down one afternoon and came up with Heat Of The Moment. He had the chorus, I had the verse and we literally put the ideas together there and then. I’m glad we did, because it became the lead-off single from the album and really established the band in the mainstream pop/rock charts.

"It’s hard to say whether or not the album would have been as successful had we not had this track, but for sure it certainly created a lot of momentum for us at the time. I’m proud of it, as it shows the instant magic John and I could work together as songwriters, and it still remains relevant 40 years on.”

The new set features five shows from throughout the career of the original line-up. They stretch back to Buffalo, May 1982 on the tour for the band's self-titled debut album, and from Worcester, August 1983 from the tour for the band's second album Alpha, all the way through to a 2010 live show at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire.

The Official Live Bootlegs Volume 1 is presented together in a superb collector’s edition boxset with original artwork by Roger Dean, who created the majority of Asia’s album artwork, and includes 12-page booklet with rare band photos and liner notes from Asia expert Dave Gallant.

Artists

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.