Writers: John Wetton and Geoff Downes
Producer: Mike Stone
Recorded: Late 1981 at the Townhouse, London
Released: Spring 1982
| Players: | John Wetton — vocals, bass Steve Howe — guitar, vocals Geoff Downes — keyboards, vocals Carl Palmer — drums |
| Album: | Asia (Geffen, 1982) |
Asia's second hit single, “Only Time Will Tell” peaked at Number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the fall of 1982. It reached Number 54 on the U.K. pop chart.
The Asia album, which featured cover art by Yes collaborator Roger Dean, was even more successful, hitting Number One on the Billboard 200 and Number 11 on the U.K. album chart.
Asia was formed in 1981 by progressive rock veterans Steve Howe (Yes guitarist), Carl Palmer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer drummer), John Wetton (King Crimson, Roxy Music, Uriah Heep, UKbassist) and Geoff Downes (the Buggles, Yes keyboardist).
From the beginning, the group members were unabashed about their desire to achieve greater commercial success than their previous bands.
Asia has sold more than nine million copies worldwide.
In the wake of the album's success, Asia was named Top Pop New Artist and Asia was named Top Pop Album in Billboard magazine's year-end roundup.
The group was also nominated in the Best New Artist category at the 1983 Grammy awards.