Wetton/Downes’ iCon Announces the Mainstream Release of Urban Psalm on 2CD/1DVD

Jun 6, 2017 | Icon

The collaboration of the ASIA co-founders, John Wetton and Geoff Downes’ iCon, has led to the formation of Epicon Records (via Cherry Red) and its first release of Urban Psalm as a 2CD/1DVD set.  The release was planned before John Wetton’s death in January 2017 and is fully approved by Geoff Downes and the Wetton Estate.

The concert was filmed at the iconic St Mary-le-Bow church in London and features a unique set including iCon songs, heritage tracks and the greatest hits of ASIA.  This release of Urban Psalm is the first in a series of definitive re-releases of the iCon catalogue.

The Urban Pslam recording also features Dave Kilminster (Roger Waters, Keith Emerson) on guitars, Pete Riley (whom John called “the best drummer in the world” and played with Keith Emerson alongside Dave), Panic Room’s Anne-Marie Helder on vocals and ELO’s Hugh McDowell played cello.

Of the release Geoff Downes said: “Urban Psalm emerged out of a very special one-time concert featuring the music of John and I. Set in an historic church in London, the concert was recorded and filmed. Concert goers received a DVD as part of their attendance. Few people had the opportunity to see this live and until now has had very limited fan-based distribution”

The setting was historic and intimate and the film has not been shared widely until now, although fans came from around the world to participate.

You’re in for a rare treat.

Available to order now:

Amazon 2CD/1DVD set: http://geni.us/icon6

iTunes: http://geni.us/cG4tsgs

John Wetton 1949-2017

Jan 31, 2017 | Asia

John Wetton, Geoff’s long-time friend and collaborator, passed away this morning.

From Geoff:

“It is with great sadness and a heavy heart, that I have to report we have lost my dearest friend, brother, bandmate and long term musical collaborator, John Wetton, who has passed away after a long and tenacious battle with cancer. He will be remembered as one of the world’s finest musical talents, and I for one of many was wholly blessed by his influence. It was a massive privilege for me to have worked with this genius so closely on our numerous projects together over the years. His bass playing was revolutionary. His voice was from the gods. His compositions – out of this world. His sense of melody and harmony – unreal. He was literally a ‘special one’.

But John was much more than a gigantic and unique musical talent. He was a supremely intelligent man, marked with his great observations and wisdom about life; all couched within his wicked sense of humour. The wit was dark and deep, only fully perceptible to those on his same wavelength. I was fortunate enough to be able to be on that wavelength, and discover that we had much in common. Many of his personal life experiences were reflected in his lyrical contributions to the songs. His heart was always in the music. That was John, through and through. It was always about – the music.

As a person, he was fiercely loyal, loving and generous, particularly to those he cared about. But he could be as stubborn as a mule or as gracious as a nobleman, depending on the mood that grabbed him on any particular day. There were some who couldn’t read his brilliant mind and complex personality. Some found him charming, others infuriating. But however you found John, there was no denying his rare talent as a musician and songwriter was second to none.

Both of us having been brought up with similar backgrounds in provincial England, we shared a love of many things – sport, and in particular – football, English church music, current affairs, comedy, literature, you name it….pretty much everything that 2 kids from the sticks were exposed to in our youth.

Our planets seemed to be immediately in alignment when we first met in early 1981. There was a laddish camaraderie that grew between us as we became as close as two non-related brothers could be. He was an avid reader and film enthusiast, something he pursued with great interest. This helped inspire him to some wonderful lyrics to the literally hundreds of songs we composed together. Back then, we immediately hit the ground running as we composed much of the debut ASIA album together and forged a formidable partnership which lasted right up until now. It was a wholly natural process for us, whereby we could knock out 2 or 3 songs in an afternoon. They were always greeted with our gentlemanly handshake and smiles once we had wrapped up another one in the bag.

Above all else though, his passion for life was to the fore. The battles he endured throughout were immense and well documented. Firstly with alcohol, which he so resolutely overcame, then open heart surgery and finally cancer, which sadly was to take his life in the end. He once observed to me that this disease is a “merciless assassin”. Just another example of his perception and the descriptive language that he was so richly blessed with. He took all of these battles on board with great bravery and almost a ‘laissez-faire’ attitude, tinged with his inimitable wry wit.

To say I will miss my him greatly is beyond understatement. He was such an inspiration to me. We were planning another album, but sadly he was not well enough to complete it. I feel heartbroken about this, as I knew John thought it was to be one of our finest albums to date. I remain as proud as ever of our Wetton/Downes writing partnership. I am hoping one day that I will be able to finish it, and that it will be appreciated by all those who loved his and our music, and most importantly, a legacy he would have been proud of.

Life will not be the same without him. And words are not really enough to describe the loss I feel right now, and the many friends and fans all over the World will also be feeling. It is the end of an era for all of us. But we will soldier on – the music of John Wetton needs to be heard loud and clear from the rooftops.

Dearest John, may you rest in peace brother.
X
Geoffrey

Please join me in sending our sincerest thoughts and prayers to Lisa, Dylan and the entire Wetton family at this difficult time.”