Qango (band)
Encyclopedia
Qango were a short-lived progressive rock band, a spin-off from Asia
. In 1999, an attempt was made at a partial reunion of the progressive rock supergroup
Asia involving John Wetton
(bass, vocals), Carl Palmer
(drums) and Geoff Downes
(keys), with David Kilminster to be on guitar. However, Downes withdrew from plans, choosing to stick with John Payne
in their Asia line-up. Wetton and Palmer instead formed Qango with Kilminster and John Young
on keys (who had briefly replaced Downes in Asia in 1989). The band's live set was based on songs by Asia and Palmer's former band Emerson, Lake & Palmer
.
The band did not attract the same commercial interest as an Asia reunion. Two shows were planned for November 1999, but were cancelled as Wetton required a wrist operation. Instead, the band played five UK dates in February 2000 (including a London show on 4 February when Keith Emerson
jammed with the band) and six in April 2000. Subsequent touring plans and ideas to record a studio album were abandoned, with Wetton and Palmer soon returning to their solo activities.
The band's second show (3 February 2000) was recorded for a live release, Live in the Hood, the band's only official output. Tracks:
Asia (band)
Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a supergroup as it included former members of several veteran progressive rock bands, namely John Wetton , Geoff Downes , Steve Howe and Carl Palmer Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a...
. In 1999, an attempt was made at a partial reunion of the progressive rock supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
Asia involving John Wetton
John Wetton
John Kenneth Wetton is an English bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, singer and songwriter. He was born in Willington, Derbyshire, and grew up in Bournemouth. He has been a professional musician since the late 1960s...
(bass, vocals), Carl Palmer
Carl Palmer
Carl Frederick Kendall Palmer is an English drummer and percussionist. He is credited as one of the most respected rock drummers to emerge from the 1960s...
(drums) and Geoff Downes
Geoff Downes
Geoffrey "Geoff" Downes is an English rock keyboard player, songwriter, best known as the keyboardist for the bands The Buggles, Yes and Asia, of which he is the only consistent member. When he was a keyboardist for The Buggles, he played multiple keyboards to achieve a New Wave technopop sound...
(keys), with David Kilminster to be on guitar. However, Downes withdrew from plans, choosing to stick with John Payne
John Payne (singer)
John Payne is a British musician, best known as the lead singer and bassist of Asia from 1992 to 2006 and from June 2007 with ASIA Featuring John Payne....
in their Asia line-up. Wetton and Palmer instead formed Qango with Kilminster and John Young
John Young (musician)
John Young is a British progressive rock keyboardist and singer from Liverpool.-Biography:Young spent his early years at the Liverpool Cathedral where he was classically trained on the keyboard and voice. His first bands were mainly semi-pro jazz rock bands, and he played in these into the mid 1980s...
on keys (who had briefly replaced Downes in Asia in 1989). The band's live set was based on songs by Asia and Palmer's former band Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer, also known as ELP, are an English progressive rock supergroup. They found success in the 1970s and sold over forty million albums and headlined large stadium concerts. The band consists of Keith Emerson , Greg Lake and Carl Palmer...
.
The band did not attract the same commercial interest as an Asia reunion. Two shows were planned for November 1999, but were cancelled as Wetton required a wrist operation. Instead, the band played five UK dates in February 2000 (including a London show on 4 February when Keith Emerson
Keith Emerson
Keith Noel Emerson is an English keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of the Keith Emerson Trio, John Brown's Bodies, The T-Bones, V.I.P.s, P.P. Arnold's backing band, and The Nice , he was a founder of Emerson, Lake & Palmer , one of the early supergroups, in 1970...
jammed with the band) and six in April 2000. Subsequent touring plans and ideas to record a studio album were abandoned, with Wetton and Palmer soon returning to their solo activities.
The band's second show (3 February 2000) was recorded for a live release, Live in the Hood, the band's only official output. Tracks:
- "Time Again" (originally by Asia)
- "Sole SurvivorSole Survivor (Asia song)"Sole Survivor" is a song by progressive rock band Asia. Written by Geoffrey Downes and John Wetton, it is the third track and fourth single from the band's 1982 eponymous debut. It was Asia's third single for the U.S Mainstream Rock Charts that reached the Top Ten...
" (originally by Asia) - "Bitches Crystal" (originally by ELP)
- "Dave Kilminster Solo"
- "All Along the WatchtowerAll Along the Watchtower"All Along the Watchtower" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. The song, which has been included on most of Dylan's greatest hits compilations, initially appeared on his 1967 album John Wesley Harding. Over the past 35 years, he has performed it in concert more...
" - "Last One Home"
- "John Young Solo"
- "Hoedown" (version originally by ELP)
- "Fanfare for the Common ManFanfare for the Common ManFanfare for the Common Man is a 20th-century American classical music work by American composer Aaron Copland. The piece was written in 1942 for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under conductor Eugene Goossens. It was inspired in part by a famous speech made earlier in the same year where vice...
" (version originally by ELP) - "Heat of the MomentHeat of the MomentUK 7" single-Chart performance:-Popular culture:* "Heat of the Moment" was repopularized in 2005 when it was featured in the motion pictures The 40-Year-Old Virgin and The Matador....
" (originally by Asia)