[4] Wetton later formed the duo Icon with his Asia bandmate and songwriting partner Geoff Downes, and he also had a successful solo career.

[1] Wetton's big break came when his fellow Dorset native Robert Fripp invited him to join King Crimson in late 1972.

[10] While still with King Crimson, Wetton had been asked by Roxy Music to sit in on their auditions for a replacement bass player and give his recommendations.

[2] In 1977, after failed attempts to reunite King Crimson and to create a new band with Rick Wakeman,[11] Wetton formed U.K. with Bill Bruford.

Wetton recruited Curved Air and Roxy Music keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson;[1] Bruford brought in guitarist Allan Holdsworth from his solo group.

In late 1981, he had a meeting with Geffen Records' president John Kalodner, who took him to task for playing bass in Bryan Ferry's backing band, feeling he should be fronting a group himself.

Wetton worked with Asia until 1983, when he was fired (at the insistence of Geffen Records) for then-unknown reasons, but at least in part due to lower-than-expected sales of 1983's Alpha.

In 1999, an aborted attempt to reform Asia resulted in him and Palmer forming a short-lived progressive group dubbed Qango, with John Young and Dave Kilminster.

In the same year, he toured with American Idol finalist Leslie Hunt's group District 97, based in Chicago, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the King Crimson album Larks' Tongues in Aspic.

[17]Billy Sherwood, who was Wetton's producer, co-songwriter, and co-performer on his 2011 solo album, Raised in Captivity, replaced him in Asia.

[18] Asteroid 72802 Wetton, discovered by Marc Buie at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona in 2001, was named in his memory.

[20] Artists who have cited Wetton as an influence or have expressed their admiration for him include Billy Sheehan,[21] Juan Alderete of the Mars Volta and Racer X,[22] Michael Sweet of Stryper,[23] Ron Anderson,[24] and Joseph D. Rowland of Pallbearer.