Multi-platinum selling English supergroup ASIA have announced the release of The Official Live Bootlegs Volume 1. The 10-CD box set arrives November 26, 2021, via BMG Records.
From the Oct. 12 announcement: ASIA – Geoff Downes (The Buggles, YES, keyboards), Steve Howe (YES, guitars), Carl Palmer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer, drums) and John Wetton (King Crimson, UK, bass/vocals) – took the world by storm with their self-titled debut album, globally the biggest-selling album of 1982, thanks in part to the success of the single, “Heat of the Moment.”
The Official Live Bootlegs Volume 1 celebrates the huge appeal of the concert tours that followed ASIA’s first two albums in 1982 and 1983. The success continued following the band’s 25th anniversary reunion in 2006 and three more highly acclaimed albums. The slipcase box set features 5 x 2-CD concerts from 1982 (Buffalo, NY), 1983 (Worcester, MA), 2007 (São Paulo, Brazil), 2008 (Tokyo, Japan) and 2010 (London, U.K.).
Listen to “Time Again” from the São Paulo concert
“This historical collection represents some of our finest and most defining live moments,” says Downes. “It was such a privilege to take ASIA’s music to these different continents and feel the warmth and support from fans all over the world. We hope this brings back great memories and inspires others to appreciate the music.”
The sets for ASIA’s original 1980s tours featured only the band’s new music. For the reunion years tours, ASIA included heritage tracks from each of the band member’s pre-ASIA groups. The 2007 and 2008 concerts also feature the Wetton/Howe composition “Ride Easy,” a song omitted from the debut album that was issued as the B-side of “Heat of the Moment.”
Listen to “Heat of the Moment,” live in Tokyo
This the first time these recordings have been made officially available by ASIA and they are presented together in a collector’s edition box with original artwork by Roger Dean, who created all of ASIA’s album artwork.
Leaving behind their progressive roots, ASIA embraced the commercial FM rock sound that dominated U.S. airwaves and the then-new MTV. Their 1982 debut spent nine weeks at #1 on the Billboard albums chart.
Related: Wetton died in 2017
[easy_sign_up title=”Sign up for the Best Classic Bands Newsletter”]
