Boøwy ( ; stylized as BOØWY) was a Japanese

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band formed in

Takasaki, Gunma is a city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 372,369 in 167,345 households, and a population density of 810 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Takasaki is famous as the hometown of th ...

in 1981. The classic lineup of vocalist

Kyosuke Himuro is a former Japanese musician and singer-songwriter. He was lead vocalist of the rock band Boøwy from 1981 to 1988. After the band disbanded he started a successful solo career, becoming one of Japan's best-selling artists. In 2003, HMV Japan ...

, guitarist

Tomoyasu Hotei , also known simply as Hotei ( ), is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, composer, record producer and actor. With a career spanning more than 35 years, Hotei claims record sales of over 40 million copies and has collaborated with acclaimed a ...

, bassist Tsunematsu Matsui, and drummer Makoto Takahashi reached legendary status in Japan during the 1980s. In 1988, the year they broke up, they became the first male artists to have three number-one albums within a single year on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

chart. They were named Artist of the Year at the 3rd annual

Japan Gold Disc Award The is an award presented by the Recording Industry Association of Japan The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Associa ...

s in 1989. The 1990s Band Boom in Japan was credited to Boøwy as they popularized the formation of musical groups. In 2003,

HMV Japan Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

ranked Boøwy at number 22 on their list of the "100 Most Important Japanese Pop Acts".

History

1980–1982: Early years and debut

In 1979,

was in a band called Death Penalty which won a music contest held in his hometown of

Takasaki is a city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 372,369 in 167,345 households, and a population density of 810 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Takasaki is famous as the hometown of th ...

Gunma Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima ...

. In that same contest was

's band Blue Film, which came in second place. After the contest, Death Penalty signed with the record company

Being Inc. Being Incorporated, d.b.a. Being Giza Group, is a Japanese private entertainment conglomerate based in Tokyo's Roppongi district, founded on November 1, 1978 by musician Daiko Nagato. Being Inc. and its subsidiaries are the main supplier of the ...

and went to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. Things did not go as well as expected and they broke up. Himuro then joined Spinach Power, but he had problems with them as well and decided to form another band after seeing an

RC Succession was an influential Japanese rock band from Tokyo, formed in 1968. One of Japan's longest-running bands, it went through many line-up changes over the years with front man Kiyoshiro Imawano and bassist Kazuo Kobayashi the only constant members ...

concert in 1980. Around the same time, Hotei was in Tokyo after being expelled from high school for saying "

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

had long hair" when his teacher warned him about his hair being too long. He received a phone call from Himuro and, even though they did not really know each other, they decided to start a band called . In September, they recruited Tsunematsu Matsui on bass, Atsushi Moroboshi from Death Penalty on guitar, and Kazuaki Fukazawa from Blue Film on saxophone. Mamoru Kimura from Spinach Power agreed to drum for them in 1981. They landed a gig once a month at the

Shinjuku is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...

Loft, but it did not pay the bills. To earn a living they started working part-time jobs and sent demo tapes to various record companies. They finally signed with the record company

Victor The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

and began recording their first album. In May 1981, Kimura left Bōi, as he originally joined the band on a temporary basis. He would later collaborate with the group again when he co-produced their second album, 1983's ''Instant Love''. Makoto Takahashi was brought to the Loft by a friend to watch Bōi perform on May 11. He was impressed and tried out for the band when he heard they needed a new drummer. During the summer of that year he replaced Kimura on drums and Bōi went on to become the most popular bands at the Loft. Boowy logo

In January 1982, they changed their name to Boøwy and on March 21 released their first album, ''Moral''. At this time they were a punk rock type band. For their concert in

Shibuya Shibuya ( 渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1 ...

on September 9, Hotei wanted to take a different approach to their music and become more pop sounding, but the fans did not like the change. Fukazawa and Moroboshi mirrored the opinions of the fans and on October 9, after their performance at the Loft, they left the band and Boøwy became a quartet.

1983–1988: Success and breakup

In 1983, they cut ties with their production company and formed their own company φ-connection with Mamoru Tsuchiya, former member of Blue Film, as their manager. At the time, this was unheard of and frowned upon in the music industry, so the record company stopped promoting them and people started to forget Boøwy existed. Tsuchiya faced an uphill battle in promoting them; with no funds, he gathered hand-made flyers, posters, character goods, the musical instruments and the band in an old

Toyota HiAce The (pronounced "High Ace") is a light commercial vehicle produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. First launched in October 1967, the HiAce has since been available in a wide range of body configurations, including a minivan/ ...

with no AC and went on a trip around Japan looking for places to perform. In September, they released their second album ''Instant Love'' on Tokuma Japan. BOØWY 1985

In 1984, they continued touring live houses for more exposure. Eventually it paid off and they started getting offers from different record companies. Not wanting to go through the same hardship they faced in 1983 they decided to sign with the production company Yui, and signed to

Toshiba EMI , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. Whe ...

. In July they began the Beat Emotion tour, which lasted until December. The band then took a six-month break from touring. Boøwy performed in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, at the

Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue first located at 165 Oxford Street in London, when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. Its most famous period was from 1964 to 1988 at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, and it finally closed whe ...

on March 12, 1985. Their self-titled third album was released in June 1985. They started the Boøwy's Be Ambitious Tour in September, and it ran until December 1985. 1986 saw the band release two studio albums, ''Just a Hero'' in March and ''Beat Emotion'' in November. The Just a Hero Tour began in March and finished on July 2. While the Rock'n Roll Circus Tour started in November 1986 and ran until February 1987. The single "Marionette" was released on July 22, 1987, took the number one position and sold 230,000 copies, making it the 20th best-selling single of the year. The band held a concert called Case of Boøwy in the

Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium is an indoor sports arena located in Naka-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The capacity of the arena is 5,000 people and was opened in 1962. It is a five-minute walk from the closest subway station, Kannai Station, on the JR/Yokohama Municipal Subway. ...

, in

Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

and in

Kobe, Hyogo Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Tokyo, Toky ...

on July 31 and August 7, 1987, where they played most of their songs from their debut to the present for four hours straight. They released what would be their final studio album, ''Psychopath'', on September 5. At a concert at

Shibuya Public Hall is a theatre located in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. It was completed in 1964 to host the weightlifting events in the 1964 Summer Olympics. The theatre was sponsored by Dentsu and Suntory, which paid 80 million to rename it C.C. Lemon Hall (after the ...

on December 24, 1987, the end of their Dr. Feelman's Psychopathic Hearts Club Band Tour which began in September, Boøwy announced that they would be breaking up. There are many rumors concerning the breakup, but the most popular is the rift between Hotei and Himuro. An indication of the band's stature at the time, is that at their farewell concerts, appropriately titled Last Gigs; two nights at the newly opened

Tokyo Dome is an indoor stadium in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium. Construction on the stadium began on May 16, 1985, and it opened on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of th ...

on April 4 and 5, 1988; they sold out all 95,000 tickets in ten minutes.

1989–present: Post-breakup

In 1989, Boøwy were named Artist of the Year at the 3rd annual

s. The band has had several number ones since disbanding, including; their 1988 ''Singles'' collection, 1998's ''This Boøwy'' which sold over 1.6 million copies to be certified 4× Platinum by the

RIAJ The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include p ...

, and the 2001 DVD of their final concerts. On February 1, 2012, Hotei performed a concert at the

Saitama Super Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It opened preliminarily on May 5, 2000, and then was officially opened on September 1 of the same year. Its maximum spectator capacity is 36,500, making i ...

to celebrate his 50th birthday. Takahashi appeared as a special guest and together they played Boøwy's "Justy" and "No. New York". This was the first time the two performed together in 24 years. To celebrate Boøwy's 30th anniversary, the compilation album ''Boøwy The Best "Story"'' was released on March 21, 2013. It contains 32 tracks, including the song "Cloudy Heart", which received the most votes in a poll. The documentary and concert film ''1224 Film the Movie 2013'' opened in theaters nationwide two days later. Hotei, Takahashi and Matsui recorded the song "Thanks a Lot" for Hotei's 2019 album ''Guitarhythm VI''. This was the first time the three had played together in 31 years.

Legacy

In 1988, the year they broke up, Boøwy became the first male artists to have three number-one albums within a single year on the

chart. They were named Artist of the Year at the 3rd annual

s in 1989. The 1990s "Band Boom" in Japan was credited to Boøwy as they popularized the formation of musical groups, which caused musical instrument sales to hit an all-time high during the 1990s, leading record companies to sign and debut 80 bands during the 1990s in hopes of finding a new Boøwy. In 2003,

ranked Boøwy at number 22 on their list of the "100 Most Important Japanese Pop Acts". In September 2007, ''

Rolling Stone Japan ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its c ...

'' rated their album ''Just a Hero'' at number 75 on its list of the "100 Greatest Japanese Rock Albums of All Time". Their album ''Beat Emotion'' was named number 5 on ''

Bounce Bounce or The Bounce may refer to: * Deflection (physics), the event where an object Collision, collides with and bounces against a plane surface Books * Mr. Bounce, a character from the Mr. Men series of children's books Broadcasting, film and ...

''s 2009 list of "54

Standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

Japanese Rock Albums". In a 2012 poll by

Recochoku is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi Hamasaki and internet sensation PikoTaro. It has also shifted into other bus ...

, Boøwy were ranked the number one band that people wanted to see reunite. With the release of ''Boøwy The Best "Story"'' in 2013, Boøwy became the second band ever, and first Japanese, to reach number one over 20 years after they broke up.

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

being the first. In 2017, Hotei suggested that with their spiky hair and heavy make-up Boøwy might have been the first

visual kei is a movement among Japanese musicians that is characterized by the use of varying levels of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics, similar to Western glam rock. Som ...

band. Having always been conscious of visuals and influenced by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

, he explained that "I too wanted to create something extraordinary and by wearing make-up, I felt like I had another identity. I thought by adding some fantasy to rock music, it would create more depth in the music."

Members

* – lead vocals * – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals * – bass guitar * – drums Former members * – drums (1981) * – saxophone, backing vocals (1981–1982) * – guitar (1981–1982)

Members timeline

ImageSize = width:900 height:250 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:60 top:0 right:50 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:05/01/1981 till:04/05/1988 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:Vocals value:Red legend:Vocals id:Lead_Guitar value:Teal legend:Lead_Guitar id:Rhythm_Guitar value:BrightGreen legend:Rhythm_Guitar id:Bass value:Blue legend:Bass id:Sax value:Purple legend:Saxophone id:Drums value:Orange legend:Drums id:Lines value:black legend:Studio_albums id:grid1 value:gray(0.3) id:Tours value:gray(0.5) Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:1982 LineData = at:03/21/1982 color:black layer:back at:09/25/1983 color:black layer:back at:06/21/1985 color:black layer:back at:03/01/1986 color:black layer:back at:11/08/1986 color:black layer:back at:09/05/1987 color:black layer:back PlotData= width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Kyosuke Himuro from:05/01/1981 till:04/05/1988 color:Vocals bar:Tomoyasu Hotei from:05/01/1981 till:04/05/1988 color:Lead_Guitar bar:Atsushi Moroboshi from:05/01/1981 till:10/09/1982 color:Rhythm_Guitar bar:Tsunematsu Matsui from:05/01/1981 till:04/05/1988 color:Bass bar:Kazuaki Fukazawa from:05/01/1981 till:10/09/1982 color:Sax bar:Mamoru Kimura from:05/01/1981 till:06/01/1981 color:Drums bar:Makoto Takahashi from:06/01/1981 till:04/05/1988 color:Drums

Discography

Studio albums

*''Moral'' (March 21, 1982),

Oricon Albums Chart The Oricon Albums Chart is the Japanese music industry standard albums popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Oricon originally published LP, CT, Cartridge and CD charts prior to the establishment of the Oricon Albu ...

Peak Position: No. 2 (1989 re-release) *''Instant Love'' (September 25, 1983) No. 3 (1988 re-release) *''Boøwy'' (June 21, 1985) No. 48 *''Just a Hero'' (March 1, 1986) No. 5 *''Beat Emotion'' (November 8, 1986) No. 1 *''Psychopath'' (September 5, 1987) No. 1

Singles

Oricon Singles Chart The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Chart rankings are based on physical singles' sales. Until 2017, Oricon did not track download sales. In J ...

Peak Position: No. 61 *"Bad Feeling" (August 22, 1985) No. 46 * No. 39 *"B･Blue" (September 29, 1986) No. 7 *"Only You" (April 6, 1987) No. 4 * No. 1 * No. 4 *"Dakara" (February 3, 1988) No. 2 *"Instant Love" (March 25, 1988) No. 70 *"Oh! My Jully Part I" (March 25, 1988) No. 78 *"My Honey" (April 25, 1988) *"Funny-Boy" (April 25, 1988)

Live albums

*''"Gigs" Just a Hero Tour 1986'' (July 31, 1986) No. 1 (1989 re-release) *''"Last Gigs"'' (May 3, 1988) No. 1 *''"Gigs" Case of Boøwy'' (November 28, 2001) No. 3 *''Gigs at Budokan Beat Emotion Rock'n Roll Circus Tour 1986.11.11~1987.2.24'' (February 24, 2004) No. 7 *''"Last Gigs" Complete'' (April 5, 2008, ''"Last Gigs"'' plus more songs) No. 10 *''"Gigs" Case of Boøwy Complete'' (December 24, 2012) No. 72 *''"Gigs" Just a Hero Tour 1986 Naked'' (December 24, 2012) No. 15 *''"Gigs" Case of Boøwy -The Original-'' (August 7, 2017) No. 6 *''"Gigs" Case of Boøwy at Kobe'' (August 7, 2017) No. 44 *''"Gigs" Case of Boøwy at Yokohama'' (August 7, 2017) No. 36 *''Last Gigs -The Original-'' (June 12, 2019) No. 3 *''Last Gigs -1988.04.04-'' (June 12, 2019) No. 33 *''Last Gigs -1988.04.05-'' (June 12, 2019) No. 32

Compilations

*''Moral+3'' (February 3, 1988, debut album +3 songs from "Dakara" single) No. 1 *''Singles'' (December 24, 1988) No. 1 *''Boøwy Complete Limited Edition'' (December 24, 1991, box set includes all 6 studio albums, ''"Gigs" Just A Hero Tour 1986'', ''Last Gigs'', ''Singles'' and a "Specials" disc) *''Boøwy Complete Required Edition'' (March 3, 1993, re-release of ''Boøwy Complete Limited Edition'') No. 3 *''This Boøwy'' (February 25, 1998) No. 1 *''Boøwy Complete 21st Century 20th Anniversary Edition'' (March 29, 2002, re-release of ''Boøwy Complete Limited Edition'') No. 14 *''This Boøwy Dramatic'' (September 5, 2007) No. 4 *''This Boøwy Drastic'' (September 5, 2007) No. 5 *''Boøwy+1'' (August 5, 2012, third album + the song "16") No. 118 *''Boøwy Single Complete'' (February 27, 2013, Blu-spec CD box set includes all 7 singles) *''Boøwy The Best "Story"'' (March 21, 2013) No. 1 *''Boøwy 1224 Film the Movie 2013- Original Soundtrack'' (May 31, 2013) *''Boøwy Special 7inch Box'' (October 27, 2021, vinyl record box set of all 7 singles)

Other albums

*''Orchestration Boøwy'' (August 9, 1989, orchestra covers) *''Moral - Trance Mix'' (January 23, 2002, remix album) No. 13 *''Instant Love - Hammer Trance'' (August 21, 2002, remix album) No. 83 *''Boøwy Tribute'' (December 24, 2003, tribute album) *''Boøwy Respect'' (December 24, 2003, tribute album)

Videos

*''Boøwy Video'' (VHS: July 2, 1986, DVD: November 28, 2001, Blu-ray: September 1, 2021), Oricon DVDs Chart Peak Position: No. 5 *''"Gigs" Case of Boøwy'' (4 VHS: October 5, 1987, 2 DVDs: November 28, 2001, Blu-ray: September 1, 2021) No. 2 and No. 3 *''Marionette'' (VHS: October 26, 1987) *''Singles of Boøwy'' (VHS: December 24, 1991, DVD: November 28, 2001, Blu-ray: September 1, 2021) No. 6 *''Last Gigs'' (DVD: October 27, 2001) No. 1 *''1224'' (DVD: December 24, 2001) No. 2 *''Gigs at Budokan Beat Emotion Rock'n Roll Circus Tour 1986.11.11~1987.2.24'' (DVD: February 24, 2004, Blu-ray: September 1, 2021) No. 2 *''"Gigs" Box'' (DVD: December 24, 2007, 8 disc box-set) No. 12 *''"Last Gigs" Complete'' (DVD: April 5, 2008, Blu-ray: September 1, 2021) No. 3 *''Boøwy Blu-ray Complete'' (6 Blu-ray box set: December 24, 2012), Oricon Blu-rays Chart Peak Position: No. 13ＢＯΦＷＹのBlu-ray売上ランキング
''

''. Retrieved 2017-11-06. *''1224 Film the Movie 2013'' (March 23, 2013, theatrical documentary and live concert) *''1224 -The Original-'' (December 24, 2017) DVD: No. 7, Blu-ray: No. 5

References

External links

35th Anniversary websiteOfficial Toshiba EMI page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boowy Japanese rock music groups Japanese punk rock groups Musical groups established in 1981 Musical groups disestablished in 1988 Musical quartets Musical groups from Gunma Prefecture