Rocket 88

John Wetton

An Extraordinary Life

Image of John Wetton An Extraordinary Life Classic Edition and Signature Edition boos

About the book

John Wetton An Extraordinary Life features stories and tributes from more than seventy people who knew and worked with John – among them former bandmates in Family, King Crimson, Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash, Roxy Music, U.K., Asia, the John Wetton solo band, and more.

Along with exclusive stories from John’s brother Robert, his son Dylan, and widow Lisa, are tales of love, friendship, music and sometimes craziness from those who truly knew him best. John’/s friends and family do not steer clear of his problems but explain the why, the how, and his triumph over them in honest and touching recollections. This is the story of John Wetton’s extraordinary life told by many for the first time in intimate testimony.

Photograph of Geoff Downes and John Wetton

He had a love for fast cars, fine food, coffee, the Rams (that’s Derby County for non-football followers), films, books, crosswords, current affairs, sport, languages, classical music – anything that would stimulate his mind that he could use to great effect in his music and lyrics.

Geoff Downes

The contributors

Among the contributors to this book are:

The editions

Classic
Edition

  • 256 pages
  • Two 8-page colour plate sections
  • Hardback with Classic Edition cover design
  • Foreword by Geoff Downes

Signature
Edition

  • 256 pages
  • Two 8-page colour plate sections
  • Hardback with Signature Edition cover design
  • Foreword by Geoff Downes
  • Signed by Lisa and Dylan Wetton

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John Wetton An Extraordinary Life, published by Rocket 88
John Wetton An Extraordinary Life, published by Rocket 88
John Wetton An Extraordinary Life, published by Rocket 88
John Wetton An Extraordinary Life, published by Rocket 88
John Wetton An Extraordinary Life, published by Rocket 88

Press reviews

Often deeply personal and moving … frank about his difficulties without being salacious … what comes through is a sense of love for this profoundly talented man.

Sid Smith, PROG

Hard to imagine anything better than this plethora of day-to-day stories direct from the horses’ mouths.

Dave Mandl, The Wire

While his problems are outlined fully, the good times shared with friends and family outweigh them and you’ll find yourself smiling along as you read such passages.

RAMzine

The roll call of those who offered positive comments, and sometimes not quite so positive, reads like a ‘who’s who‘ of the prog world great and good – Fripp, Bruford, Howe, Palmer, Hackett, Portnoy, Roger Chapman, etc.

Velvet Thunder

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