Why Asia Didn’t Hire ELO’s Roy Wood as Vocalist

Carl Palmer recalled suggesting that Roy Wood should be hired as lead singer for his progressive rock supergroup Asia when they were forming in 1981.

Wizzard leader Wood, formerly of The Move and Electric Light Orchestra, seemed like an obvious choice to the drummer – who also liked the idea that they were both from the Birmingham area of England.

In a recent interview with MusicRadar, Palmer remembered extensive discussions with guitarist Steve Howe, bassist John Wetton and keyboardist Geoff Downes about who should front Asia. They’d already rejected future Yes member Trevor Rabin when Palmer suggested Wood.

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“I said, ‘This guy has had 18 top 10 singles. He’s a great writer. So let’s get hold of him and just see what he’s got.’ They said, ‘Are you serious, Carl?’ I said, ‘Well, I’m as serious as I was with Trevor Rabin. We should give it a go.’ John Wetton said, ‘It’s true. He is a damn good writer, isn’t he?’”

So Palmer called Wood, who came to meet his potential bandmates in his usual style. “He had his silver shoes on, and his tights, and his red jacket, and his hair all over the place and his round glasses. And he kept saying to Steve Howe, ‘Can you play some of that posh guitar?’ He was great. I remember to this day he had a tune called ‘Aerial Pictures.’”

But gut instinct was against Wood. “John and I were looking at each other,” Palmer continued, “and we said, ‘This is good’ – but there was something sort of not quite there.

“It’s weird: here’s a man with a pedigree as long as your arm, an absolute diamond. But the following day, after we sent Woody away, we had a band meeting and we said, ‘He’s good, he’s bloody good, but it’s not right.’”

How John Wetton Became Asia’s Singer

That’s when Wetton offered his own suggestion. “John said… ‘Will you give me a shot at being the lead vocalist?’ We said, ‘Why not? Let’s see what we can do. And if it’s not right, then you know you’ve got to own up as well, and say you’re not comfortable.’ Because we had to get the vocals right.”

Palmer listed Wetton’s credentials as former King Crimson frontman, having taken over from the drummer’s ELP colleague Greg Lake. “John had a very radio-friendly voice, very similar to Greg. It wasn’t that blues rock voice. It wasn’t a David Coverdale type thing. It was a good, solid, straightforward voice. So we went with it, and that was it.”

Asia went on a level of success that surprised the members, so there was no need to spend much time wondering what might have been if they’d hired Wood. Looking back, though, Palmer said: “He’s a force to be reckoned with. And he’s a lovely fella, but he’s also an oddball, which is hard to be around, I would imagine.

“It was just that the connection was missing. When you’re a musician, it doesn’t matter how good somebody is. It either works or it doesn’t, and in Woody’s case it didn’t.”