Asia, one of the greatest and best-loved supergroups to emerge during the 1980s is currently preparing for an extensive 40th Anniversary celebration, due to kick off in summer 2022. Featuring founding members Carl Palmer (ELP, Crazy World Of Arthur Brown) and Geoff Downes (YES, The Buggles) the group will also include long time bassist/ vocalist Billy Sherwood (YES) and newest member, guitarist/ lead vocalist Marc Bonilla, (Solo artist, Keith Emerson Band). The band is currently being booked for a US tour to start late summer this year.

“40 years of Asia is a real musical milestone for us,” says Geoff Downes. “The success we experienced with our early albums has carried us through and gave us the foundation when we reformed in 2006. Asia has been together ever since, although we lost John in 2017 to cancer. Still, we have endured and will carry on now with Marc Bonilla, who we know will be a great addition to the band.”

“The fans have never left Asia,” says drummer Carl Palmer. “That first Asia album with all those radio and MTV hits weaved the fabric of the music scene in the early 1980s. Those great songs like ‘Heat Of The Moment,’ ‘Sole Survivor,’ and ‘Only Time Will Tell,’ still hold up today. When we play those songs and our other hits, we can see the entire audience singing along.”

“We are planning an extensive tour to celebrate our 40th,” adds Downes, “and the music will feature all the hits the fans have embraced. Stay tuned! It will be show you won’t want to miss.”

Guitarist and vocalist Marc Bonilla is Asia’s newest member. Bassist Billy Sherwood remains in the current line-up.

In December the multi-platinum selling English supergroup released its most ambitious collection to date: a 10-CD boxset The Official Live Bootlegs Volume 1. Issued through BMG Records on December 3, the expansive set chronicles five complete performances of the original lineup captured between 1982 and 2010. The collection celebrates the huge appeal of the concert tours that followed Asia’s first two albums in 1982 and 1983. The success continued following Asia’s 25th anniversary reunion in 2006 and three more highly acclaimed albums. The slipcase boxset features 5 x 2CD concerts from 1982 (Buffalo, NY, USA), 1983 (Worcester, MA, USA), 2007 (São Paulo, Brazil), 2008 (Tokyo, Japan) and 2010 (London, UK). The bootleg collection follows a previous 5 CD box set of studio recordings released in April, 2021.

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