Asia “Heat of the Moment” charted

Heat of the Moment Asia

Writer(s): John Wetton, Geoff Downes (see lyrics here) First Charted: April 3, 1982 Peak: 4 US, 6 CB, 4 GR, 4 RR, 16 AR, 46 UK, 4 CN, 26 AU, 2 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 17.7 video, 102.04 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The rock supergroup Asia formed in London in 1981. Singer and bassist John Wetton had been in King Crimson; Steve Howe was the guitarist with Yes; keyboardist Geoff Downes had been in Yes and the Buggles; Carl Palmer was the drummer with Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Even with the hype of the members’ pedigrees, their self-titled debut album performed better than anyone expected, spending nine weeks atop the Billboard album chart and going multi-platinum. Much of the group’s out-of-the-gate success was due to the surprise reception of lead single, “Heat of the Moment.” A video directed by the team of Godley & Crème, from the band 10cc, did well at MTV. It used a grid look with constantly changing boxes which “was a great way to show fleeting, memorable images.” SF It propelled the song to the top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also topped the album rock chart. It was the last song recorded for the album. Geffen Records executive John Kalodner told the band they needed a single. Wetton an idea for the song as early as 1980 when he was in Wishbone Ash. SF He explained, “The chorus began its life as a 6/8 country song, but when Geoff and I started writing together, we moved the time signatures around and ‘Heat of the Moment’ emerged.” WK The two wrote the song in an afternoon. The line “You catch a pearl and ride the dragon’s wing” was inspired by the album cover artwork created by Roger Dean. WK Wetton sings, “I never meant to be so bad to you.” He explained, “I got it wrong. I never meant to be like that…And so I’m sorry.” SF The song was specifically written for his girlfriend Jill, who he would later marry. At the time it wasn’t common for rockers to apologize; it was considered wimpy. SF However, he wasn’t concerned about “macho posturing…he was trying to bare his soul in the manner of one of his songwriting idols: Joni Mitchell.” SF Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Asia SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 7/13/2022; last updated 12/26/2022.