Astra (album)

Astra is the third studio album by British rock supergroup Asia, released in November 1985 by Geffen Records. It was their last full length studio album with co founding vocalist and bassist John Wetton until Phoenix (2008), released after the original line up reunited in 2006. Astra is the first of two albums from Asia—the other being Then & Now—with Swiss guitarist Mandy Meyer, who replaced Steve Howe.

Started in 1984, it marked the return of Wetton to the group after his firing in September 1983. He had been replaced by Emerson, Lake & Palmer co founder Greg Lake, temporarily, for the concerts at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo in December 1983. The opening night of these shows, highly advertised as Asia in Asia, was the first in the history of MTV to be broadcast via satellite transmission. Following a two month stint, Lake had left Asia and soon Wetton had been convinced to come back. The latter agreed, but made it a condition to his return that Howe depart the line up. By the time sessions for Astra began, the group had recruited Meyer, a former guitarist of the Swiss hard rock band Krokus. Without the support from the label along with general lack of public interest, the album performed poorly commercially in comparison with Asia's two preceding albums. It reached number 67 on the Billboard 200 and spent 17 weeks on the charts. The lackluster reception of Astra led to cancelling a supporting tour by Geffen and by 1986 Asia dissolved despite the group not making any official statement.