Carl Palmer was just as surprised as everyone else when his bandmates in Emerson Lake and Palmer died within months of one another. He was stunned by Asia bandmate John Wetton’s death, too.
Greg Lake and Palmer had drifted apart, but Palmer regularly spoke to Keith Emerson in the period leading up to his death by suicide in 2016. Palmer says he was unaware of Emerson’s unseen struggles. Wetton had seemed in good spirits during their last meetings, as well.
“Keith and I spoke a bit more than what I did with Greg – for no real reason. It just turned out that way,” Palmer tells Rolling Stone. “When I got the news that Keith had committed suicide, I said, ‘Are you sure?’ But it was coming from a good source. I was very saddened to hear it. I didn’t know that Keith had such a mental illness, to be honest. I don’t think anyone knew.”
‘That Whole Period Was Incredibly Difficult’
Emerson Lake and Palmer were together from 1970 to 1979 and then again from 1991 to 1998 before staging a final reunion in 2010. Palmer was in Asia for their platinum-selling first run in 1981–86 and then again for two reunions, the best known of which was a four-album run between 2006 and 2022.
Emerson died in March 2016, then Lake passed that December after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Wetton died mere weeks later after his own cancer diagnosis, and Palmer carried on with Asia since they had already booked a tour with Journey.
READ MORE: How Keith Emerson Changed the World
“Obviously, I didn’t know that Greg was that ill,” Palmer admitted. “I heard he didn’t want people to know how ill he was. And to be honest with you, that whole period – 2016, March, December, and then leading into January 2017 when John Wetton died – was incredibly difficult.”
Carl Palmer plays a 1982 concert with the original lineup of Asia. (Ellen Poppinga – K & K / Redferns, Getty Images)
When Does Carl Palmer’s 2026 Tour Begin?
Palmer is preparing for a 10-date U.S. tour dubbed Welcome Back My Friends: An Evening with Emerson Lake and Palmer, which kicks off in April. (A complete list of tour dates, cities and venues is below.) He’ll play drums alongside individual videos of Emerson and Lake from a 1992 reunion concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Palmer says he’d eventually like to stage something on a much larger scale.
“In a couple of years time, I’m going to want to do what I call a Lifetime in Music tour,” Palmer said. “And I’m going to want to have a band, whoever is from Asia is available and wants to join me. And I’m going to want to play at least a 55-minute set of all Asia music with all the videos. And I’m going to want to cut that into my ELP set, but it’d be slightly longer.”
Former Asia bandmates Steve Howe and Geoff Downes would both be invited to guest on stage. “I just would like to represent the music in the best way possible using the videos of the old group too, if I can get permission for that,” Palmer added, “just so I can have everything as real as possible so people can see in my lifetime, what I’ve done.”
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Welcome Back My Friends: An Evening with Emerson Lake and Palmer Tour Dates
4/8 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues4/10 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre4/12 – Tucson, AZ @ Fox Tucson Theatre4/16 – San Luis Obispo, CA @ Fremont Theater4/17 – Monterey, CA @ Golden State Theatre4/18 – Livermore, CA @ Bankhead Theater4/28 – Baton Rouge, LA @ Manship Theatre4/29 – Arlington, TX @ Arlington Music Hall4/30 – San Antonio, TX @ Charlie McCombs Empire Theatre5/1 – Hidalgo, TX @ Payne Arena
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Gallery Credit: Allison Rapp
