'ASIA In Asia – Live At The Budokan, Tokyo, 1983' box set feat. Greg Lake coming in June

Multi-platinum selling English supergroup ASIA will put out ASIA In Asia – Live At The Budokan, Tokyo, 1983, as a Deluxe box set containing: 2LP, 2xCD, 40 page 12” book, Blu-ray video, printed memorabilia and ‘ASIA’ pin badge, through BMG Records on June 10. Also available as a 2LP Gatefold, 1CD and Digital Formats. Pre-order here: https://asiaband.lnk.to/budokanPR

ASIA, Geoff Downes (The Buggles & YES, keyboards & backing vocals), Steve Howe (YES, guitars & backing vocals) and Carl Palmer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer, drums) with special guest Greg Lake (Emerson, Lake & Palmer, bass & lead vocals), visited Japan at the end of two years of touring to promote their successful eponymous debut album (1982) and the follow-up Alpha (1983).

The second of three shows at the historic Budokan arena in Tokyo, on Dec. 6, 1983, would make history as first live broadcast between Japan and MTV in America, an amazing achievement for its time. This performance has previously only been available on VHS. The concert featured Time Again, Only Time Will Tell, Sole Survivor, Wildest Dreams and the global hit single Heat Of The Moment. Greg Lake stepped in, at short notice, following the sudden departure of ASIA’s founder member John Wetton ahead of the Japanese dates. Despite a short period for Lake to learn the songs, and some changes to the arrangements to accommodate Lake’s different vocal range, the Japanese shows were hailed a great success.

Carl Palmer was proud of his former ELP bandmate for performing exceptionally in the situation. “Greg Lake did a great job jumping into John’s shoes. So many songs to sing, he did it so well. It was impressive."

Geoff Downes, too, was pleased with the event, especially given the massive undertaking. “It was a grand and sumptuous affair. The stage was the iconic ‘A-frame’ shape we had for the US tour. I think we pulled it off admirably in the end. There were some good people behind us: crew, lighting designers, cameramen and backing singers, it was quite a production."

“The show was an important global commitment,” says Steve Howe, “so we had to rise to the occasion, which we did, with Greg’s help. We couldn't have done it without him, for sure."

For Downes, the release stands as a testament to the band’s resilience. “It deserves its place in the Asia catalogue. Aside from its musical strengths, it demonstrates the level of professionalism that we have always striven to bring to the ASIA name.”

“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.”

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 Dec. 3, the expansive set chronicles five complete performances of the original line-up 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.

The four original members reconvened in 2006 for a world tour, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their initial success, and the album Phoenix followed. While the members were still heavily involved in other projects, they came together again to record Omega in 2010 and XXX in 2012, both albums were acclaimed by fans and supported by more world tours.

Steve Howe stepped back from ASIA to concentrate on his work with Yes and was absent for 2014’s Gravitas. Following this tour came the news of John Wetton’s treatment for cancer, a fight he sadly lost in 2017. Asia was special guest of Journey for an extensive US tour in 2017, and in 2019 the band toured with Yes within the Royal Affair tour.

“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.”

This newly packaged box set includes:

• Exclusive new artwork by Roger Dean

• Colour vinyl 2LP of original MTV Telecast concert audio, remixed 2022 from the master tapes, with two previously unreleased, post broadcast encore tracks
• 2 x audio CD:
• Live at The Budokan Arena, Tokyo, Japan, MTV satellite telecast concert (6 December 1983, USA time), remixed 2022 from the master tapes by Matt Wiggins and Rick Nelson
• Live at The Budokan Arena, Tokyo, Japan, previous night’s show (6 December 1983, Japanese Time), remixed 2022 from the master tapes by Hiroki Furutani
• Audio-visual Blu-ray of restored original broadcast concert with 2022 remixed au-dio by Hiroki Furutani (Duration: 1hr 20 mins), plus restored original concert laserdisc featuring alternate camera angles (Duration: 1hr).
• 40 page, deluxe 12” book with rare and unseen band photos, memorabilia and exten-sive new sleeve notes new quotes from the original band members
• New, bespoke metal and enamel ‘ASIA’ logo pin badge
• Printed memorabilia:
• 2 x exclusive new Roger Dean artwork A3 posters
• 2 x reproduced live broadcast original concert tickets
• Replicated, matt laminated original AAA backstage pass
• Original concert VHS advert
• 3 x glossy 8” x 5” rare band photos

ASIA In Asia – Live At The Budokan, Tokyo, 1983 Tracklist (2 x LPs, CD1 & CD2)

1. Introduction From Mark Goodman (MTV)
2. Time Again
3. The Heat Goes On
4. Here Comes The Feeling
5. Eye To Eye
6. Steve Howe Solo (Sketches In The Sun)
7. Only Time Will Tell
8. Open Your Eyes
9. Geoffrey Downes Solo (Ihiri - The Setting Sun / Bolero)
10. The Smile Has Left Your Eyes
11. Wildest Dreams
12. Carl Palmer Solo
13. Heat Of The Moment
14. Sole Survivor
15. Cutting It Fine
16. Daylight

ASIA In Asia – Live At The Budokan, Tokyo, 1983 is available as a Deluxe box set containing: 2LP, 2xCD, 40 page 12” book, Blu-ray video, printed memorabilia and ‘ASIA’ pin badge, as well as 2LP, 1CD & Digital formats on 10th June 2022 through BMG Records.