STG Presents An Evening with Asia at The Moore Theatre in Seattle, featuring original members Geoff Downes, Steve Howe, Carl Palmer and John Wetton on Wednesday, September 8, 2010.

Asia’s debut album exploded onto the music scene in March 1982 with several Top 10 singles and sales exceeding 7 million copies. This "supergroup", featuring bassist/vocalist John Wetton, drummer Carl Palmer, keyboardist Geoff Downes, and guitarist Steve Howe, was the logical successor to their collective bands of the 70s - Yes, ELP, King Crimson, UK, and The Buggles.

The group came together in the spring of 1981. John Wetton's acclaimed progressive rock band UK had collapsed a few years earlier. With the help of manager Brian Lane, he wanted to form a new group with guitarist Steve Howe, best known as the axeman for British Prog superstars, Yes. Drummer Carl Palmer came into the fold next, having just completed a decade of platinum releases and sold out tours with Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Keyboardist Geoff Downes, who replaced Rick Wakeman in Yes for the Drama album, had previously been half of the pop duo The Buggles. They stormed the charts in 1979 with the timeless classic "Video Killed The Radio Star".

Labelled a "supergroup" by critics and the media from the onset, it was a tag they had never asked for. Asia's music (and rock’n’roll charisma) developed organically and effortlessly. Though all four men had seen chart-topping success in their previous bands, Asia had a special chemistry that fans and music industry insiders were quick to recognize.

The band was signed in the summer of 1981 by Geffen Records A&R whiz John Kalodner, fresh out of a long affiliation at Atlantic Records where he oversaw the making of albums for Yes, King Crimson, ELP and Roxy Music.

The first Asia album went into production in June of 1981 with producer Mike Stone at Marcus Studios and Virgin Townhouse in London. Stone, who had worked on hits for Journey, Queen and Foreigner, also knew the band had an amazing musical ability. They spent five months writing, arranging, and recording nine songs for its debut that included such classics as " Heat Of The Moment", "Only Time Will Tell", and "Sole Survivor."

" I think that we all knew as soon as we recorded the first few songs that it was going somewhere special," says Wetton. " I don't think we knew, however, until we recorded ‘Heat Of The Moment’ that we had a monster on our hands. I think that once we had done that, everyone knew that it was going to be successful."

As soon as the album was completed, Geffen knew it had a winner on its hands. The upstart label immediately began turning the wheels of its enormous promotional machine weeks before the LP's release, to help propel the album to the top of the charts. Asia had only weeks to rehearse for a 30 city US tour that commenced on April 22 in Potsdam, NY, of all places! By the time the band reached the 12th stop on tour (Rochester, NY) on May 5th, the debut album had already hit #1 on the Billboard charts.

Then, only months after the release of their debut album, a new music media outlet called MTV premiered on cable channels throughout the US and in over 50 million households. (Downes’ hit song with The Buggles ‘ Video Killed The Radio Star’ was the first song ever played on the exciting new channel). Asia, aware the music TV network was on the way, began shooting videos as soon as the album was finished. The result was a rock’n’roll marriage made in heaven.

Asia became one of the most played acts during the first year of MTV. Since most people were intrigued with the new concept, viewership often reached several hours a day. "You're looking at a parallel success here," says Wetton. "MTV and Asia were successful at the same time and we both came out the same year. Of course, MTV was instrumental in Asia's success. But then, Asia was also instrumental in MTV's success."

Throughout most of '82, Asia ruled the radio airwaves and MTV. They sold out every date on its tour, and the debut album crushed all the competition at record stores around the world. The music industry had been in a major slump that year, and less than 15% of releases in 1982 made a profit. Asia was one of the year's big exceptions. By the time the band released its second album, the debut had sold over 6 million copies worldwide and was the best seller of 1982. It had stayed at the #1 spot for an incredible 10 weeks!

The band toured non-stop and continued to see their huge success grow even larger. They won almost every BEST NEW ACT award the industry had to offer in 1982, despite the fact that critics were not necessarily kind to the band. The success, however, was too much, too soon. By the time they assembled to begin their second album in the winter of 1983, cracks had already begun to appear in the foundation. Creative tensions and egos - not to mention the pressure of having to top the best selling album of the previous year, made the second album's recording sessions far less enjoyable than the first. Recording the album outside of their native England (in Morin Heights, Quebec) added to the difficulties.

The second album, Alpha, did ship platinum and contained the hits "Don't Cry" and "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes", but Geffen's hands-on pressure to score undeniable radio pop hits was starting to show. Critics again were unkind, but that was nothing new. The songs, however, did not have the same lasting power as those on the first album. " We had a precious success," remembers Wetton. "We came in at the top, but it was an illusion to think we'd stay there. The band was still finding its feet as a musical entity."