After his period with King Crimson, Wetton formed UK, and later he was the frontman and principal songwriter of the supergroup Asia, which proved to be his biggest commercial success. Their self-titled debut album sold eight million copies worldwide and was Billboard magazine's No. 1 album of 1982. He later formed the duo Icon with Geoff Downes (ex-Yes, ex-Buggles), and since the 1990s had a successful solo career releasing a large number of studio and live albums.
He had a long career as an in-demand session bass player, and collaborated with many members of progressive rock bands such as Yes (including Steve Howe, Bill Bruford, Geoff Downes, Alan White, Billy Sherwood and Peter Banks), Roxy Music and Bryan Ferry, and Genesis (Steve Hackett).
Wetton grew up in Bournemouth and was in a number of early bands with Richard Palmer-James, on bass and vocals, including, The Corvettes, The Palmer-James Group (formed with Alec James), Tetrad, and Ginger Man.[2] A key early band was Mogul Thrash; after live work with Renaissance, he joined Family and also did various sessions.
Wetton's first big break came when he joined Wimborne, Dorset, musician Robert Fripp in his new line-up of King Crimson in 1972, allowing Wetton to come to the fore as a lead singer and composer. Palmer-James also worked with the band as a lyricist. Wetton remained with the band until Fripp unexpectedly disbanded it in 1974. Wetton continued to work on various projects, including a tour with Roxy Music and two albums with Uriah Heep. In 1977, after failed attempts to reunite King Crimson and create a new band with Rick Wakeman, Wetton and Bruford formed U.K.. Wetton brought into UK keyboard/violin wizard Eddie Jobson, while Bruford brought in guitarist Allan Holdsworth. Upon Bruford and Holdsworth's departure, American percussionist Terry Bozzio joined, making U.K. a threesome a la Emerson, Lake and Palmer. This version of U.K. released the studio album Danger Money and toured in support of Jethro Tull.
Wetton released his first solo album, Caught in the Crossfire, in 1980 after the break-up of U.K. Later that same year, he had a brief stint in Wishbone Ash, contributing bass and vocals to Number The Brave. In 1981, at the urging of Geffen Records' John Kalodner, Wetton started working and writing with Steve Howe, who had most recently been in Yes. They went on to form Asia. with whom Wetton worked until 1983. In that year, Wetton was fired from Asia at the insistence of Geffen Records, ostensibly because of less-than-expected sales of the Alpha album. Wetton was brought back to Asia in 1985, with Mandy Meyer replacing Steve Howe, to complete Astra.
In the late 1980s, Wetton's collaboration with former Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera was released as Wetton/Manzanera, with drums provided by Yes's Alan White. Also around this time, Wetton began working again with Geoff Downes and Carl Palmer in an attempt to restart Asia without Steve Howe. Some of the material by this incarnation of Asia made its way onto 1990's Then & Now CD.
The 1990s saw Wetton mostly out of Asia and focusing on a solo career. In 1999, another attempt to reform Asia resulted in Wetton participating in the short-lived progressive rock group Qango with Carl Palmer, John Young, and Dave Kilminster. The group performed several shows in the U.K. and recorded one live album, Live in the Hood, before disbanding when Wetton and Palmer returned to their solo projects.
In the early 2000s, he reunited with Asia keyboardist Geoff Downes for iCon. In 2006, an official reunion of the original Asia line-up (Wetton, Downes, Howe, and Palmer) finally occurred. The studio album titled Phoenix, the original band's first since 1983's Alpha, was released in April 2008 and peaked at No. 73 on the North American Top 200 albums charts. The original line-up released two more studio albums, Omega and XXX before Howe departed in January 2013. With new guitarist Sam Coulson, Asia released Gravitas in March 2014.
In 2013 he guested on the album Grandine il vento with Renaissance, with whom he had played live 42 years before.
Wetton also did extensive work as a session musician with acts such as Brian Eno, Bryan Ferry and Phil Manzanera.
Wetton died on 31 January 2017, from colon cancer.
Band timeline
Mogul Thrash (1971)
Gordon Haskell (1972)
Family (1971-1972)
Larry Norman (1972)
King Crimson (1972-1974)
Uriah Heep (1975-1976)
U.K. (1977-1980, 2011-2015)
Jack-Knife (1979)
Wishbone Ash (1980)
John Wetton (1980–2017)
Asia (1981–1983, 1984–1986, 1989–1991, 2006-2017)
Qango (1999-2000)
Icon (Wetton/Downes) (2002, 2005-2009)
After All
John Wetton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Time for sleep, the night time's come
Hopes and dreams are reborn
In the quiet of your room After all the songs are sung
All the actors come and gone
The stage is dark and empty
But one candle burns alone After all the pain has gone
How can I forget, your memory goes on
My life goes on? All the wounds you held inside
And your stubborn sense of pride
Take the love we feel for you
Try to help us understand If the wish were left to me
This final act would never be
You give wings to our hearts
And our thoughts are with you now After all the pain is gone
Only memories linger on
After all the pain is gone
Has gone is gone
After all the pain has gone And in the darkness, when I call
Tell me please, that there is light, after all
The song "After All" by John Wetton is a beautiful ballad about finding hope and comfort in the face of loss, pain, and grief. The opening lines speak of the end of a day and the arrival of the night, the time for rest and reflection. The following lines are a reminder that even though our hopes and dreams may seem to have been shattered or lost, they are always reborn, especially in the stillness of our own rooms. The second verse talks about the transitory nature of life, with actors coming and going on a dark and empty stage, but the idea of a single candle burning alone evokes the image of perseverance and the human spirit's resilience against all odds.
The chorus refrains that "after all the pain has gone," two things remain, memories and the continuation of life. In the bridge, the songwriter seems to address someone who's held on to their hurts and pain out of their sense of pride, urging them to open up to the people who love them and try to understand them. The writer reminded them that they give "wings to our hearts," implying that their resilience and courage serve as inspiration and comfort to the people around them. The final lines of the chorus bring the song full circle, with the idea of light after darkness being a metaphor for hope and renewal.
Line by Line Meaning
After all your day is done
When your day is over
Time for sleep, the night time's come
It's time to rest and sleep
Hopes and dreams are reborn
We can start anew with renewed hopes and dreams
In the quiet of your room
In the stillness when there is no noise to disturb
After all the songs are sung
When everything has been said and done
All the actors come and gone
Everyone who played a role has departed
The stage is dark and empty
The setting is somber and lifeless
But one candle burns alone
A glimmer of hope remains
After all the pain has gone
When the hurt has passed
How can I forget, your memory goes on
I cannot forget because your memory lingers
After all your pain has gone
When all your suffering has gone away
My life goes on?
Am I expected to move on?
All the wounds you held inside
The emotional scars you kept hidden
And your stubborn sense of pride
Your unwavering pride
Take the love we feel for you
Let us show you the love we have for you
Try to help us understand
Please explain to us
If the wish were left to me
If I had a choice
This final act would never be
I would prevent this ending
You give wings to our hearts
You inspire us and give us hope
And our thoughts are with you now
We are thinking of you at this moment
Only memories linger on
What remains are the memories
Has gone is gone
What's gone is gone
And in the darkness, when I call
In my moments of despair
Tell me please, that there is light, after all
Say that there is hope, even in the darkest times
Writer(s): John Young, K. Wetton John
Contributed by London L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Krock1969
After all your day is done
Time for sleep, the night time's come
Hopes and dreams are reborn
In the quiet of your room
After all the songs are sung
All the actors come and gone
The stage is dark and empty
But one candle burns alone
After all the pain has gone
How can I forget, your memory goes on
After all your pain has gone
My life goes on...
All the wounds you held inside
And your stubborn sense of pride
Take the love we feel for you
Try to help us understand
If the wish were left to me
This final act would never be
You give wings to our hearts
And our thoughts are with you now
After all the pain is gone
Only memories linger on
After all the pain is gone
Has gone is gone
After all the pain has gone
And in the darkness, when I call
Tell me please, that there is light, after all
@RG-hf4et
"After all the songs are sung"...."the stage is dark and empty, but one candle burns alone."....."How can I forget, your memory goes on"......."Take the love we feel for you, try to help us understand"....."......this final act would never be"....."How can I forget, your memory goes on.".....""After all your pain has gone, lonely memories linger on" ......."And from darkness when I call, tell me please there is light"...."After all"....♡
@MikeWoking
To say I am proud that this particular track has been used as a tribute to John Wetton would be a massive understatement. I have the honour to say that I did the the lighting for John's live DVD Amorata in Poland in 2003 which this track has been taken from. I only knew him personally for a couple of months and was on a tour of Europe with another band called Arena at the time and John joined us for a couple of warm up gigs in Poland before we went to the studio to record this. he was such a lovely man that I have admired for a very long time. Thank you very much Bonvillo who ever you are for choosing this particular track for your tribute to a great man .
@justjoan82
I still cry because he is gone. Thank you for the beautiful music John. Forever in our hearts.
@terikelly3919
A true legend. This man is missed terribly. Fly high my angel .
@Mexnexus
RIP John Wetton. Another year missing your music
@bobbys5580
Profound piece of music perfectly performed, deeply moving. Absolutely brilliant!
@DrummerDelight
The stage is dark and empty Mr Wetton, but your candle is burning bright. Peace my brother.
@rosettacoccia989
Caro John hai sempre regalato emozioni, lo fai tuttora; quasi quotidianamente devo ascoltarti. Certo con gioia estrema ma anche tanto rimpianto . . avresti avuto ancora tanto da dirci con la tua voce ed i tuoi brani.
@cynthiafradelizi4288
I still think about him. A true loss of the best.
@kresocaren2007
Absolutely the greatest voice in history of music.........