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John Wetton Box Set

The John Wetton Estate proudly announces work has commenced on a solo career box set featuring expanded editions of his iconic albums and a lavish hardback book. 12th June 2019 would have been John’s 70th birthday.

John Wetton
The late John Wetton

Since John Wetton’s passing in January 2017, his family, friends and management have been working on finding a fitting tribute to such a remarkable man and iconic artist. The result of this labour of love is a box set entitled “An Extraordinary Life”, dedicatede ntirely to John’s solo career. The project has the full support of John’s wife, Lisa, and his son, Dylan, who are wholly involved with compiling the contents.

The set will include definitive, remastered editions of each of his six solo albums, with bonus tracks and artwork selected by John towards the end of his lifetime, and in some cases expanded to two discs:

1. Caught in the Crossfire
2. Battle Lines
3. Arkangel
4. Sinister
5. Rock of Faith
6. Raised in Captivity

An Extraordinary Life will also feature a lavish hardback “coffee table” book written by one of John’s friends, the journalist Nick Shilton. Nick has interviewed dozens of John’s collaborators, peers and associates, both in and out of the music business, as well as friends from his childhood and through all eras of his career, collecting a multitude of exclusive, poignant and wonderful stories along the way.

This box set – a “must have” for every John Wetton fan – will also feature high resolution video tributes as well as unique bonus material. The Official John Wetton website will launch a dedicated webpage entitled “An Extraordinary Life” which will become an ever-evolving digital gathering place for the inner circle of John’s fans.

An Extraordinary Life will be completed during 2019 and initially be exclusively available via Burning Shed ahead of a wider scale retail release. The Burning shed store is now at https://burningshed.com/store/john-wetton

Coinciding with John’s 70th birthday today, Asia begins a 28 date USA tour as special guests of Yes on their Royal Affair Tour, which will premiere tonight in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Carl Palmer’s ELP Legacy and John Lodge from the Moody Blues will also be on the bill. Asia’s new line-up comprises Carl Palmer, Geoff Downes Billy Sherwood, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal and a special guest appearance by Steve Howe. John Wetton’s great friend Roger Dean will have an exhibition at each show, including iconic Asia artwork.

To celebrate John’s birthday, and as a teaser to the box set, we release a never before heard fly-on-the-wall of an early Asia rehearsal, recorded exactly 38 years ago today on June 12, 1981. Ricky Nelson has lovingly nurtured this Holy Grail recording, and has created a collage slide-show of rare photos through the decades to remind you of John’s genius. The question arises – what song did this morph into?

Further, Ricky has curated a special video recording of John’s last ever tour singing Asia songs, with the Rock Meets Classic arena tour in March 2015, where John delivers a supreme performance, one of his finest ever versions of “The Smile Has Left Your Eyes”. This will be a special release today at 12noon UK time from John’s twitter page [see below].

Dylan Wetton says: “This is helping me come to terms with the loss of my Dad, and is opening my eyes to his genius. It is truly a labour of love”.

Lisa Wetton says: “When you open your box set for the first time, you will know that every person involved with its creation was touched deeply by John Wetton. You will be playing the music that revealed his personal life story, and you will be perpetuating a legacy that was meant to be a shining light for everyone. The physical light may have flickered out on January 31, 2017, but there is an extra radiant star aglow in the firmament today. It is my hope that when you listen, you will still feel the warmth from that light, and hear the Lion roar for generations to come”.

Official Website: www.johnwetton.co.uk
Remembering John Wetton Twitter: https://twitter.com/officialjwetton Remembering John Wetton Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1377795682293955/

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Professor Ronnie Mulryne
Professor Ronnie Mulryne

Sadly, my father passed away in the early hours of Monday morning so I’ve been engaged in all the practical arrangements, as you can imagine.

Mark and I will try to record a short 2 Pence for this week’s episode and I hope to be back to normal on the show from next week.

The wonderful portrait above of my dad in his study was taken by my son, William, just a short time ago.

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Unseen prototype images for Magnification by Bob Cesca

After our great interview with Bob Cesca last week, he very kindly shared the following ‘work in progress’ images from his work on Magnification and Symphonic Live. (Click to enlarge.)

Here’s how he explained the prototype images:

After our chat the other day, I scrounged up some old work-in-progress Magnification era images from my archives. Thought you’d enjoy.

No one has seen these since Jon in 2001-02. At one point, I built a version of the Moorglade Mover. We were thinking about linking Magnification with the story that began with Olias and Fragile. Even though Roger’s work has been adapted by other Yes artists, namely David Fairbrother Roe the artist who designed the Olias album, I thought it was too derivative for Magnification, so I quietly buried the concept in lieu of the story of the IDR and the talisman.

The image with the silhouetted bridge and talisman is what I wanted for the Magnification cover. Lost that debate with Jon. It was eventually used as the back cover of the EP, so it wasn’t wasted.

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FLY FROM HERE – Return Trip – Official Press Release

YES
FLY FROM HERE – Return Trip
23rd February 2018

 

On 25th March prog icons, YES, will release a brand-new mix of their album Fly From Here Return Trip, featuring the Drama line-up and new lead vocals by Trevor Horn, to coincide with their 50th Anniversary celebrations.

 

Fly From Here Return Trip can be exclusively pre-ordered via Pledge Music here:  https://yesthedramalineup.pmstores.co/

 

The original 2011 release of Fly From Here featured the band members who appeared on Drama: Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Alan White, Geoff Downes, plus Benoit David on lead vocals with Trevor Horn in the role of Producer.

 

The addition of Trevor’s lead vocals has produced a genuine sequel to Drama. Fly From Here – Return Trip was developed as a labour of love for all involved and the new vocals were recorded over the last two years amidst other commitments. Trevor began re-recording the lead vocals the day after he guested with YES at the Royal Albert Hall in 2016 and within 24 hours the rest of the band had joined him at his studio. Additional overdubs by other members have also been added.

 

In addition to remixing parts of the album, Trevor has added personal liner notes and the sleeve design features the painting by Roger Dean originally used on the inside of the 2011 edition.

 

Trevor Horn says: “I really enjoyed listening to Alan and Chris playing together again. Finishing off the album was a labour of love.”

 

Fly From Here – Return Trip also contains a previously unreleased song, “Don’t Take No for an Answer” recorded in 2011, with Steve Howe on lead vocals. Additionally, the full-length version of “Hour of Need” is included. This has previously only been included as a Japanese bonus track.

 

“It is great to have the original Drama line up playing Fly From Here plus several other songs Trevor had a big part in writing.” Comments Steve Howe.

 

Geoff Downes adds: “It’s quite amazing what Trevor has done with the album and the way it has turned out. It is most refreshing and adds a whole new dimension to the original recordings from 2011. I think the fans will appreciate it as a genuine sequel to the Drama album, and embrace it as a valuable part of our YES50 celebrations.”

 

Track Listing:-

 

Fly From Here – Overture
Fly From Here Pt 1 – We Can Fly
Fly From Here Pt 2 – Sad Night at the Airfield
Fly From Here Pt 3 – Madman at the Screens
Fly From Here Pt 4 – Bumpy Ride
Fly From Here Pt 5 – We Can Fly (Reprise)
The Man You Always Wanted Me to Be
Life on a Film Set
Hour of Need (full length version)
Solitaire
Don’t Take No for an Answer
Into the Storm

 

The album is a long-awaited treat for all YES fans and following Chris Squire’s passing in 2015, represents the last chance for fans to hear a follow-up to the classic YES release Drama which reached number 2 in the UK album charts in 1980.

 

The album is available to pre-order now exclusively via Pledge Music, plus some extra Roger Dean images and Pledge offers, and fans will be able to collect their orders, or buy direct for the first time, when YES attends the 50th Anniversary Fan Convention at the London Palladium on 25th March 2018 as part of their eagerly anticipated March 2018 UK tour. Trevor Horn will be guesting with Yes at the London Palladium [both shows] and Paris. Please see the tour dates below.

 

MARCH 2018 (UK & Europe)

 

Tues 13th Bristol            Colston Hall
Wed 14th    Sheffield       City Hall
Fri 16th        Glasgow       SEC Armadillo
Sat 17th        Manchester   Bridgewater Hall
Sun 18th       Gateshead    Sage
Tues 20th      Birmingham  Symphony Hall
Wed 21st    Brighton       Centre
Fri 23rd        Liverpool       Philharmonic Hall
Sat 24th        London       Palladium
Sun 25th        London       Palladium
Tue 27th        Tilburg       013
Wed 28th      Antwerp       De Roma
Fri 30th         Paris       Olympia

 

UK Tickets available from BookingsDirect.com 24hr Ticket Hotline 0844 249 2222 (subject to fees). Also available from venue box offices and select authorised ticket agencies.
Front row, Meet & Greet & VIP packages are available from YESWORLD.com
There is no support.   Please see ticket for start time.

 

Exclusive Pledge pre-order link:
https://yesthedramalineup.pmstores.co/

 

Official Website: www.yesworld.com
Official Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/yestheband
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Steve Howe and Geoff Downes on BBC Breakfast