UAWIL #156: Oliver Wakeman Interview on John Wetton: An Extraordinary Life

Fans of our show know that The Wolf and Action Jackson have a special place in their hearts for 80s prog/pop rock band Asia. While we've spoken with keyboardist Geoff Downes (UAWIL 79) and drummer Carl Palmer (UAWIL 80), we never had the opportunity to speak with singer/bassist John Wetton as he passed away before we started our show. However, there have been many celebrations of John's life and works in 2023 and to tell us more about the kind of person John Wetton was, we've enlisted the great Oliver Wakeman to offer some stories about the man himself. Oliver toured with Yes during 2009-2011 and during that time, befriended John Wetton as Asia was touring with Yes. Despite Oliver being a generation younger and the fact that John had worked with his father Rick, John took Oliver under his wing and they formed a bond that had a big impact on Oliver (and John too). Oliver relates some stories of his time with John including watching him play every night, how John checked in on him as he slated to transition out of Yes and one time John joined Oliver and his band to play Heat of the Moment. Oliver will also give us some tidbits about music he's working on, including his plan to play songs he wrote with Yes on From A Page live this spring at Winters End Festival. Oliver is helping to promote the new box set John Wetton: An Extraordinary Life which is out November 24 around the world - an 8 disc set of his solo albums with bonus tracks and discs full of rarities, unreleased gems and live cuts (more information below). We had a great time chatting with Oliver and hope you'll enjoy our conversation about John, Yes, prog music and more! Oliver Wakeman Website - https://www.oliverwakeman.co.uk/ Ugly American Werewolf in London Website Ugly American Werewolf in London Store - Get your Wolf merch and use code 10OFF2023 to save 10% during the holidays! Visit our sponsor RareVinyl.com and use the code UGLY to save 10%! Twitter Threads Instagram YouTube LInkTree www.pantheonpodcasts.com John Wetton: An Extraordinary Life - On