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)
Open Your Eyes
John Wetton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Open your eyes
Open your eyes
Truth is inside of you
Mass hysteria
Giving away
Poor translations
Do not attempt to
Adjust your reception
Interpretation
Has blocked you all out
When there is no one left to believe
Look inside yourself and be set free
Begging on my knees
Screaming absolve
Fear continues
Laugh at us all
No
No
No
Open your eyes
Open your eyes
Open your eyes
Truth is inside of you
Open your eyes
Open your eyes
Open your eyes
Truth is inside of you
Claustrophobia
Making me hate
Communications
Continue the trait
I am your father
Your sister
Your brother
I'm killing your mother
While blocking you out
When there is no one left to believe
Look inside yourself and be set free
Begging on my knees
Screaming absolve
Fear continues
Laugh at us all
No
No
No
Open your eyes
Open your eyes
Open your eyes
Truth is inside of you
Open your eyes
Open your eyes
Open your eyes
Truth is inside of you...
Truth is inside of you...
Truth is inside of you...
Open your eyes
Open your eyes
Open your eyes
Truth is inside of you
Open your eyes
Open your eyes
Open your eyes
Truth is inside of you
Truth is inside of you
Truth is inside
Of
You
You
You
The lyrics to John Wetton's song Open Your Eyes are a plea to the listener to awaken to the truth that lies within them. The opening line of "Open your eyes, truth is inside of you" sets the tone for the entire song, and it is repeated throughout as a reminder to the listener to look within themselves rather than relying on external sources for truth. The second verse speaks to the dangers of mass hysteria and poor translations, warning the listener not to be swayed by external forces that seek to feed hate and fear. The bridge speaks to the ultimate futility of seeking truth outside oneself, urging the listener to "look inside yourself and be set free."
The lyrics are a call to action, urging the listener to awaken from their mental and emotional claustrophobia and to break free from the cycle of fear and mistrust that plagues so many people. The repeated refrain of "Open your eyes" serves as a reminder that truth is not found in the external world but within oneself, and that only by embracing this truth can one find peace and freedom.
Overall, Open Your Eyes is a powerful and insightful song that speaks to the universality of human experience and the importance of self-discovery and personal empowerment.
Line by Line Meaning
Open your eyes
Pay attention to what's happening around you.
Open your eyes
See things as they really are.
Open your eyes
Stop ignoring the truth.
Truth is inside of you
The answers you're looking for are within yourself.
Mass hysteria
People are too quick to follow the crowd.
Giving away
We're too willing to give up our freedom and beliefs.
Poor translations
Miscommunication leads to misunderstandings.
Feeding the hate
We often support things we shouldn't.
Do not attempt to
Don't try to change things you can't control.
Adjust your reception
Tune in to the right things, ignore the wrong things.
Interpretation
The way we perceive things can be flawed.
Has blocked you all out
We can be blinded by ignorance and close-mindedness.
When there is no one left to believe
When you can't rely on anyone else for answers.
Look inside yourself and be set free
Find the truth within yourself and it will set you free.
Begging on my knees
Desperately pleading.
Screaming absolve
Asking for forgiveness.
Fear continues
We continue to be afraid.
Laugh at us all
Others mock us.
No
The answer is 'no'.
No
Still 'no'.
No
Absolutely not.
Claustrophobia
Feeling trapped and restricted.
Making me hate
Causing me to feel anger and resentment.
Communications
Our methods of conveying information.
Continue the trait
We keep making the same mistakes.
I am your father
I am part of you.
Your sister
You are connected to those around you in a familial way.
Your brother
You share commonalities with others.
I'm killing your mother
I'm destroying part of your identity.
While blocking you out
Despite ignoring the truth.
Truth is inside of you
Again, the answers you need are within yourself.
Truth is inside of you...
A reminder that you should look within yourself for the answers.
Truth is inside of you...
Don't forget, the truth is within yourself.
Truth is inside
The truth can be found within oneself.
Of
A preposition, not particularly relevant to the song's message.
You
Referring to the listener or general humanity.
You
Still referring to the listener or humanity in general.
You
Once again, referring to the listener or humanity in general.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GEOFF DOWNES, JOHN KENNETH WETTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Tante Lien
Beautiful and breaKable voice. Also the piano.