Tag Archives: john mitchell

ASIA – ‘Live in England’, release in new year

December 11, 2025 KJ Leave a comment

Well, this comes out in the new year, and I am excited to hear this! Saw the band when they played in Niagara Falls last year, and thought they sounded great. *Check out my interview with Harry Whitley from the beginning of his time with the band. Here is the press release, new video, artwork, track-listing, etc….

Today, legendary English rock supergroup ASIA are thrilled to announce their upcoming live album, ‘Asia – Live In England,’ due out on March 13, 2026 via Frontiers Music Srl. To celebrate the announcement, the band unveils the live version of their hit song “Heat Of The Moment,” alongside an official live video, available to view below.

Geoff Downes comments: “’Heat Of The Moment’ has an interesting story behind it. It was actually the final track John and I wrote for the ASIA album, and it ended up being the opening track and lead-off single. We threw it together in one afternoon. I had the verse, John had the chorus, although this was a guitar picking country-style piece in 3/4 time. We straightened it all out and bingo, there it was!”

He continues, “A couple of days later we wrote the middle 8 section, rehearsed it in the studio and recorded it straight down with band. Ironically, it still remains our most famous track to this day. Without it, I doubt the album would have been as big as it was, so I am very grateful to have been a part of the creation of HOTM. It’s still a really fun track to play live, and I hope it will bring back memories, and give pleasure to the listeners and fans all over the world for many years to come.”

Harry Whitley adds: “Playing ‘Heat Of The Moment’ live is always such an incredible experience, it’s always electrifying and this recording was no different – it was such an exciting night and a thrill to revisit all of ASIA’s catalog over the three nights. We’re really looking forward to fans hearing this whole live album and the others to follow…”

“This song carries decades of history – every note, every moment – and we hope listeners feel the same passion we pour into it night after night,” Virgil Donati states.

John Mitchell also expresses his love for this track: “’Heat Of The Moment’ is a very dear song close to my heart. Having performed it a vast number of times over the years both previously with the John Wetton solo band and with John and Geoff in Icon, from the quiet introspective acoustic version at The Borderline to the full band amped up version in front of 12000 strong in St Petersburg, it is both an uplifting anthem and a quiet tonic for the soul which never fails to bring warmth to the many.”

ASIA are back and roaring in their new, exhilarating line-up! Recorded live on the first of three unforgettable nights at Trading Boundaries in Sussex in April 2025, this release captures the band performing their iconic 1982 debut album ‘ASIA’ in full, along with a selection of their greatest hits.
Featuring Geoff Downes (keys), Virgil Donati (drums – ex-Planet X), John Mitchell (guitars – Arena, It Bites etc.) and the astonishing Harry Whitley (on bass and vocals), this fresh incarnation of ASIA brings both reverence for the classics and a thrilling new energy to the stage. The setlist includes fan favorites like “Heat Of The Moment,” “Only Time Will Tell,” “Sole Survivor,” “One Step Closer” and “Time Again,” alongside video-era and bonus tracks such as “Ride Easy,” “Video Killed The Radio Star,” “The Heat Goes On” and “Daylight” (video exclusive).
Geoff Downes shares: “Revisiting the entire first ASIA album brought all the great memories flooding back from 43 years ago. In the studio with John, Steve, Carl and, of course, the great Mike Stone at the production helm. I think at the time we knew we’d made a good album but could not have predicted the enormous success that followed, that made the band a household name across the world, and particularly in America. That said, it was a result of much hard work and effort from everyone involved. So, when I had the opportunity to put together the live album with the current and fantastic line-up of ASIA and in collaboration with Frontiers Music, it was really a no-brainer.”
“I was reminded of what a collection of great songs and performances made up the album – variety and musical dynamics to the fore. When we recorded it again earlier this year, I was drawn to some of the less featured tracks and realized how much they played an important part of overall album, in addition of course to the signature tracks such as ‘Heat Of The Moment,’ ‘Only Time Will Tell’ etc.”, he continued. “We did this for you, the fans, and hope you really enjoy hearing these songs in the live setting performed in their entirety once again and enjoy it as much as we did creating and performing it”.

TRACKLIST:

1. Heat Of The Moment

2. Only Time Will Tell

3. Sole Survivor

4. One Step Closer

5. Time Again

6. Wildest Dreams

7. Without You

8. Cutting It Fine

9. Here Comes The Feeling

10. Ride Easy (Bonus track)

11. Video Killed The Radio Star (Bonus track)

12. The Heat Goes On (Bonus track)

With ASIA’s legacy spanning over 40 years – from multi-million selling albums like ‘ASIA,’ ‘Alpha,’ and ‘Astra’ to defining the sound of the MTV era – this new line-up proves that the Year of the Dragon is bringing the legendary songs to life for a whole new generation of fans.

This is just the first of three live releases from Trading Boundaries, each capturing a full classic album from their initial trilogy in concert in audio and video. Experience the magic of ASIA, live, where past and present collide in a spectacular display of musicianship and passion.

LINKS:

http://www.originalasia.com

https://www.facebook.com/asiatheband/

https://www.instagram.com/asiatheband/?hl=en

The return of ASIA, with new album next year

June 19, 2025 KJ Leave a comment

What grew from the John Wetton memorial concert in 2023 to last year’s North American tour, now sees Geoff Downes’ new line-up of ASIA signing to Frontiers, with a new album expected next year. I saw the band last year, and really liked it. New singer/bass player Harry Whitley is a great choice to front the band, he has a voice not far off from John Wetton’s, and he is young, enthusiastic, and sincere in performing the band’s classics; so a new album (despite no Carl Palmer or Steve Howe) sounds fine by me! Check out the press info and links below. Hopefully someone recorded one of last year’s shows for live release (but, who knows!?)

Frontiers Music Srl proudly announces the signing of legendary English rock supergroup ASIA, for an exciting new chapter in their celebrated history.

2024 was the Year of the Dragon – and with it came a powerful rebirth: a new ASIA lineup featuring founding member, keyboardist Geoffrey Downes, acclaimed drummer Virgil Donati, virtuoso guitarist John Mitchell, and stunning vocal newcomer and bassist Harry Whitley. This new chapter promises to reignite the band’s iconic spirit, stepping into a promising new creative era.

Founder member, songwriter, producer, and keyboardist Geoff Downes expressed his excitement for the signing:

“ASIA is thrilled to have recently signed a new deal with Frontiers Music Srl. Having been loyally supported by the label throughout the ASIA reunion period from 2005-2015, we are now entering an exciting new chapter in the band’s 45-year history with a sequence of live albums, DVDs & a brand new studio album scheduled for a 2026 release. It’s very much a homecoming for the band, and so we are greatly looking forward to a long and fruitful partnership with them in the future. Watch this space!”

Mario de Riso, A&R and Business Affairs VP of Frontiers, commented:

“So proud and excited for the label to be able to bring back this iconic band. There was certainly unfinished business to deal with and, thanks to this fabulous new line-up, new music from ASIA can now come to fruition. It will be a blast!”

In the Summer of 2023, Geoff Downes spearheaded a memorial concert to remember and celebrate the life of his late, much-loved friend and ASIA co-founder member, the great John Wetton. At the concert, he invited rock ‘n roll veteran John Mitchell, who had played with both Wetton and Downes in Icon and in Wetton’s own band, to join him on stage, taking on lead guitar duties. The duo was joined by newcomer Harry Whitley, whom Downes had discovered and whose vocal talents so closely resembled those of Wetton’s, it was nothing short of spine-tingling.

In 1982, John Wetton, Geoff Downes, Carl Palmer, and Steve Howe became the founding fathers of supergroup ASIA, responsible for a string of multi-million-selling albums and chart-topping hits across the globe. ASIA’s self-titled 1982 debut album was the biggest-selling album in the world that year. The band dominated the airwaves and for many, “Heat Of The Moment,” “Only Time Will Tell,” and “Sole Survivor,” amongst others, were the soundtrack to their youth.

Another multi-million seller, “Alpha” followed in 1983, and in 1986 “Astra” completed the trio of MTV era hits. Greg Lake briefly joined the band for a Japanese tour, where ASIA’s show from the fabled Budokan was the first intercontinental simulcast.

In 2006, the founding members reformed ASIA and released several new albums before John Wetton’s untimely passing in 2017. Since John’s passing, Geoff and Carl have toured with Sam Coulson, Billy Sherwood, Ron Bumblefoot Thal, and Steve Howe guesting.

Busy touring the globe, Carl Palmer is now immersed in a project very dear to his heart, the ‘Return Of Emerson Lake & Palmer’, while the legendary Steve Howe remains at the helm of progressive rock legends, Yes. So, Geoff made the decision to take a fresh, new-looking ASIA back out on the road, recruiting Mitchell and Whitley as new members and bringing in the drumming excellence of the incomparable Virgil Donati, who had played with Wetton in the UK.

ASIA has entertained and delighted a multitude of audiences over the last forty years. Some of the world’s greatest musicians have taken up the ASIA baton during that time. However, Geoff Downes believes that the time is right to bring a fresh, new-looking ASIA out into the light.

The Year of the Dragon foretells good fortune, abundance, and prosperity. The Dragon blessed 1982, the year ASIA was first unleashed into the world, and now the journey has come full circle. Time for the dragon to take flight once more.

LINKS:

Home

https://www.facebook.com/asiatheband/

https://www.instagram.com/asiatheband/?hl=en

https://www.harrywhitley.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/frontiersmusicsrl

https://johnmitchellq.com

http://www.virgildonati.com

HARRY WHITLEY – ASIA’s new singer to begin on band’s North American tour

July 4, 2024 KJ Leave a comment

British band ASIA is set to your North America along with other legends like FOCUS, Martin Turner (ex WISHBONE ASH), and CURVED AIR. A pretty cool collection of progressive rock with ASIA being the headliners of the Heat Of The Moment Tour. Legendary album artist ROGER DEAN will also be a guest on the tour! For ASIA fans it will be a chance to see the latest incarnation of the band put together by keyboardist Geoff Downes (who also plays in YES). ASIA also includes guitarist John Mitchell, drummer Virgil Donati, and a brand-new voice in Harry Whitley. Whitley is pretty unknown, but if you check out his YouTube channel you can see Whitley is a multi-instrumentalist, and a fine singer, who has some vocal qualities and similarities to the late great John Wetton. At just 29, Whitley wasn’t born when ASIA was huge, but has become a fan, the new singer, and this tour will be Harry’s first tour of North America, and 2nd time here since a holiday as a kid. I recently spoke with Harry about what lead up to him joining ASIA and the upcoming tour. Below are exerts from our conversation on the tour, his favorite ASIA cuts, and more. We did chat a bit more with Harry noting his recent discovery and liking of Canadian band Loverboy! 🙂 Look for the Heat Of The Moment Tour in the US & Canada throughout July….

Prior to ASIA – “So basically, I’m sort of the unknown entity to all of us. I sort of, I came from nowhere, really. I played in sort of local bands.
I was a keyboard player in a Deep Purple tribute band for a while, and yeah – all that sort of stuff. And then when COVID struck, I started just uploading videos to YouTube, and then, you know, Geoff saw one of the videos and sent me an email, and that was it, really. And that’s sort of how it all came about.”

Being invited to perform at the John Wetton memorial concert last year – “Yeah, so it was organized, obviously, as a John Wetton tribute show . And when the invite came initially, I wasn’t entirely sure what they wanted me to do. They just said, you’re invited to come and perform at this event. You know, we’d love you to come and do it, no pressure.”

Recalling the show – “And it turned into, basically, a sort of short-ish Asia set. So we played a few of the hits – Heat Of The Moment obviously, and a couple more obscure ones as well. And from there, I think the seed was planted in Geoff’s mind, really… about what the future of Asia might be.” Whitley also performed “All along The Watchtower”, along with Steve Hackett – who’d performed the song many times with John Wetton.

Looking at the opportunity Whitley is excited – “It’s an honor you know; great privilege to be able to do it and there’s huge shoes to fill, you know – with John Wetton. So, I’m really thankful that Geoff, you know, and the management and Lisa Wetton and everybody that had the confidence in me to take over the role, and you know, take Asia back out on the road.“

On fellow ASIA newcomers Virgil Donati & John Mitchell – “I play a bit of drums as well, so I sort of knew Virgil as this sort of ‘force of nature’, You know, incredible sort of technical drummer…I can never really work out what Virgil’s doing. So that’s going to be crazy to play with Virgil; it’s like I say – he’s just a force of nature!

I was aware of John Mitchell before, and obviously he played it in the John Wetton band. And I knew his work from Frost and some of the It Bites’ stuff, but, you know, John Mitchell’s in like 37 thousand bands!… So, you know, there’s no shortage of John Mitchell. But, me and John Mitchell really sort of struck up a friendship at the at the John Wetton tribute concert. So, yeah, it’s good that John’s in on this as well, because I think we’re a good team.”

Introduction to the music of ASIA – “As far as listening was concerned, I had classical piano lessons from about the age of five, because that’s sort of my main thing is I’m a piano player really.
And my piano teacher – Tim, was sort of introducing me to bands, you know, as all good teachers do, to try and sort of steer your taste to being, what might actually be beneficial for you to listen to. And he sort of worked through all sorts of different bands. He’s like, ‘oh, you might like Emerson Lake and Palmer, you might like Genesis, you know, here’s all of these different people. And then he said, ‘oh I think you’ll like Asia’. And I remember hearing, I think it was ‘The Heat Goes On’… And it was just great. It was just the sort of perfect blend of everything I loved about Prog and everything I love of that rock like Toto, Journey AOR type of thing. It was just a perfect blend.”

Favorite ASIA album – “I think my favorite Asia album is probably the 30th anniversary, the triple X album. That was the first album that I sort of got into of my own accord, you know, I was aware of them when that album came. That was the one, I was like ‘Yeah, this is great!'”

The whole ASIA catalogue – “I’ve sort of made my way through the whole catalog….The whole Asia canon is great. But, I do have a real soft stuff for the sort of John Wetton thing. I think John and Geoff, when they were together writing, they had something really, really special…
It’s sort of un-matched, really. And it’s everything that I love.
I love those chord progressions. I love that sort of hymnal, big sort of block chords and block harmonies. very sort of churchy hymnal stuff. Very, very British as well.”

The band’s set-list for the Heat Of The Moment Tour – “You know, there’s a little bit of everything. There’s a few surprises in there. I think people are going to like the set-list. …You know, we’re leaning into the first two albums. But there is some reunion stuff in there as well, there’s stuff off ‘Astra.'”

Favorite ASIA ‘deep’ cuts – “But some stuff of the reunion stuff. I love ‘Bury Me In Willow’ – that’s a lovely song. ‘There Was A Time’,, I Love that! And then going back to sort of the earlier things I love ‘Cutting It Fine’, and ‘Eye To Eye’. Eye to Eye is one of my big favorites – I love that song!”

*Check out more from Harry Whitley at his YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/@Harrymusicmusings

http://www.originalasia.com

https://www.facebook.com/asiatheband

LONELY ROBOT – A Model Life (John Mitchell)

August 17, 2022 KJ Leave a comment

The fifth album under the Lonely Robot name is to be released August 26th… I have to admit I wasn’t overly familiar with John Mitchell until his performances on Phil Lanzon’s (Uriah Heep) 2 excellent solo albums (If You Think I’m Crazy, 2017, and 48 Seconds, 2019). His vocals on Lanzon’s albums made me curious about his other work – such as It Bites and Arena. A Model Life is full of fine melodies and well crafted songs & productions from the opener “Recalibrating”, the softer ballad “Species In Transition” (with a cool guitar solo), the excellent title song, and “Rain Kings” (somewhat of a ballad, John reminds me of Peter Gabriel on occasion). But really, this album of 10 tracks has a lot going on, progressive, very modern / fresh sounding, great vocals, and it gets better with each listen, as there is so much going on with differences from song to song.

*for more info check out the press bio and links below…

A lone soldier on the frontlines of creativity, John Mitchell has been at the forefront of forward thinking and progressive rock for decades now. As a member of such revered prog ensembles as It Bites, Arena, Frost* and his own projects Kino and The Urbane, he has become a uniquely vital contributor to the modern scene, while his credentials as a producer for countless contemporary rock acts are unquestionable. But since 2015, John has been operating under name Lonely Robot: a solo project in all but name, it has enabled him to fully express his own musical vision, via some of the most vivid and fascinating music of his career to date.

Remarkably, Lonely Robot’s catalogue is already four albums deep. From 2015’s cosmic debut Please Come Home and its grandiose follow-up The Big Dream (2017), to the multifarious charms of 2019’s Under Stars and most recent full-length Feelings Are Good (2020), John has cemented his reputation as a prolific and inspirational songwriter. Two years on from his last release, the Lonely Robot is back in action again in 2022. The fifth album to bear the name, A Model Life is John Mitchell’s first communication to a post-pandemic world.

“The truth is, I only ever intended to make three albums and then stop,” he laughs. “Then we got to the end of the three albums and I had a discussion with the label about maybe not releasing the next one under the name Lonely Robot, but with true Germanic business sense, they said, ‘We have established the brand now!’ So then everyone’s wondering where the guy in the spacesuit has gone! But I don’t really care what it’s called, as long as I get to keep making music. The thing I find most freeing about Lonely Robot is that I can just sit there on my own, get on with it at my own pace and not wait around for other people!”

If the first four Lonely Robots offered wistful, sci-fi-tinged observations on the state of things, A Model Life is perhaps understandably infused with the anxieties and ominous omens of the real life, present day. As John explains, the new songs have a little more grit under their fingernails than any of their predecessors; even if the relentlessly inventive, melodic splurge of his songwriting remains soundly intact.

“A lot of shit has happened, and one quite traumatizing thing was that I split up with my girlfriend of 16 years and it hit me very hard,” he says. “Then quite a few people I know died, and that hit me very hard. I thought, this isn’t how it’s supposed to go. What happened to the forever ever after, into the sunset? That’s where the title comes from, A Model Life. It’s about what people’s fantasies of what they would like their lives to be, rather than what they actually are. Endless positive affirmation on social media and everything looking pure and white and like an Enya video. So every song is about being pissed off about someone or other. There’s no robots or space or anything!”

An album that brims with frustration at the state of things, while tugging remorselessly at the heart strings, A Model Life is plainly the most honest and vulnerable Lonely Robot record to date. From opener Recalibrating, which muses on the aftermath of a broken relationship, and Digital God Machine – a sardonic tribute to keyboard warriors everywhere, to the boys-don’t-cry pathos of Rain Kings and the absurdly moving, adoption-themed Duty Of Care, these new songs provide a scattershot but profoundly emotional soundtrack to a restless and uncertain world.

“Recalibrating is about splitting up with somebody and the nail goes into your head and you realize that there is no second act for that relationship. Digital God Machine is about fucking morons in their bedrooms, typing hate at people like me for writing music and thinking they know better. Then there’s The Island Of Misfit Toys, which is about people that don’t have a sense of belonging. I like the analogy of knackered toys with eyes hanging out, for people who don’t fit in and are socially awkward… a bit like myself! I was thinking about an article I read about how Google go out of their way to employ people on the autistic spectrum, because they’re much better at figures and numbers. One day those people will take over the world!”

In musical terms, A Model Life marks a notable departure from the synth-fueled futurism of 2020’s Feelings Are Good. Songs like the darkly euphoric Starlit Stardust and the tense sprawl of Species In Transitions are full of punchy riffs and blazing solos, not to mention all the ingenious instrumentation and studio trickery that John Mitchell has made such an essential part of his music.

“I do think this record is different,” he notes. “There’s lots of weird sounds and soundscapes. I’m just trying to make odd sounds out of things. On Digital God Machine, that’s me beating the shit out of a cello through a distortion pedal. At the risk of sounding like Peter Gabriel, there’s a lot of ethnic elements like marimbas and things I haven’t used before. I was under a self-imposed solo ban for the last Frost* record, so I really went overboard and played too many guitar solos this time. The last album was all about synthesizers, but this one is all about getting back to what I think I probably do best, so it’s all about guitar playing again.”

Yet another career peak from one of modern prog’s most prolific polymaths, A Model Life hits harder than any previous Lonely Robot record, but with a warmth and wit that few can match. Meanwhile, with long-awaited tour dates tentatively etched into the horizon, John Mitchell declares himself ready and cautiously optimistic for whatever the future holds.

“There’s a tour in February and some dates in Europe. But if the various hoops we have to jump through haven’t been sorted by then, When we planned this tour it was three albums ago, so I don’t know what I’m doing anymore! [Laughs] I’m really proud of A Model Life, so I might focus on that. I’ve got no idea what I’m going to play because I’ve got far too many songs! I’m sure I’ll put my nose back to the grindstone soon and make another album too.”