The Split
In early 2006, the partnership between Downes and Payne was dissolved when Downes left for a reunion of the original band line-up under the Asia name, a breakup that Payne described as "painful". The existing line-up minus Downes, i.e. Payne, Govan and Schellen, continued working together. They recruited Ryo Okumoto on keyboards to form new band GPS, using some of the material planned for Architect of Time on their debut album, Window to the Soul (2006).
When Downes split in 2006, Payne owned a significant portion of the rights to the 'Asia' band name. On 9 May 2006, John Payne, Geoff Downes, John Wetton, Carl Palmer and Steve Howe contractually agreed that John Payne could continue as "ASIA Featuring John Payne". Asia Featuring John Payne was announced in May 2007 with Payne on vocals/bass, Guthrie Govan on guitar and Jay Schellen on drums. Later that year, Erik Norlander was announced on keyboards.
The first release under this name at the end of 2007 was a live recording of the late 2005 Asia line-up of Downes, Payne, Govan and Schellen, entitled Extended Versions in the US and Scandinavia in the UK.
Read more about this topic: Asia Featuring John Payne, History
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