Color (stylized as COLOR) was a Japanese

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band formed in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

in 1985 by vocalist

Dynamite Tommy , better known by his stage name Dynamite Tommy, is a Japanese musician, record producer and businessman. He first rose to prominence as vocalist of the punk rock band Color in the late-1980s and early-1990s, but now predominantly works behind t ...

, who founded the

Free-Will is an independent Japanese independent record label, record label founded in 1986 by Color (band), Color vocalist Hiroshi "Dynamite Tommy" Tomioka, with branches predominantly in Japan and the United States, as well as previously in Europe. Th ...

record label a year later.''Free-Will and Groove Productions Press Release''
Retrieved Sep 12 2007 They are considered to be important to the formation of

visual kei , abbreviated , is a category of Japanese musicians that have a strong focus on extravagant stage costumes that originated in Japan during the early 1980s. Koji Dejima of '' Bounce'' wrote that visual kei is not a specific sound, but rather it " ...

, with the phrase comparing the importance of the

Kansai The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropoli ...

band to that of

X Japan is a Japanese Rock music, rock band from Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki (musician), Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi (musician), Toshi. Starting as a predominantly power metal, power/speed metal band with ...

in Kantō. Their debut album ''Gekitotsu'' was named one of the top albums from 1989–1998 in a 2004 issue of the music magazine ''Band Yarouze''.

History

Color was formed

, Japan in 1985 by vocalist

. In 1986, he formed the

record label, which published the band's first release, "Molt Grain" (1987). Their debut album, ''Gekitotsu'', followed in January 1988. After releasing their second album ''Fools! Get Lucky!!'', Color signed to

Crown Records Crown Records was a budget record label founded as a subsidiary of Modern Records in 1957. It has been the name of several different record labels, listed below. Discography Mono Stereo Other Crown Records * United Kingdom ** Crown Records w ...

and released their only major studio album a couple months later, ''Ask the Angels''.Amazon.com information on ''Ask the Angels''
Retrieved Sep 12 2007 It is said that the label made the band rewrite the album's lyrics, which were originally in English, in Japanese to be more accessible by the mainstream. It seemed to have worked, as ''Ask the Angels'' reached number 16 on the

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 A ...

and their popularity increased. However, in January 1990 at a concert on the album's tour, in their hometown of Osaka, a fan was accidentally stomped to death.Color bio
Retrieved June 4, 2011 The band decided to lie low and avoid media, they ended up losing their contract with Crown. During this hiatus, Tommy formed Sister's No Future with Ken-chan (

Kamaitachi is a Japanese yōkai from the oral tradition of the Kōshin'etsu region. It can also refer to the strange events that this creature causes. They appear riding on dust devils and cut people using their sickle-like front claws, delivering shar ...

), Retrieved June 4, 2011 while Marry started Goatcore with You Adachi ( Dead End). Color returned with a concert in August, and in July 1991 released the single "The Exhibition". They held a coupling tour with

Genkaku Allergy was a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band formed in 1992 by ex-Kamaitachi (band), Kamaitachi members Sceana and Kazzy. Its sound mixes elements from hardcore punk, Heavy metal music, heavy metal, Noise music, noise and Industrial music, i ...

in March 1993. In 1994 they released their last album, ''Galaxy'', which has an

electronic dance Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...

sound instead of their usual punk. In 1995 Color held what would be their last concert, after which the band disappeared without any announcement. The music magazine ''J-Rock'' published an article in 1997, labeling Color disbanded due to inactivity. On June 14, 2002, bassist Marry died in a car accident. On the one-year anniversary of his death, the remaining members organized and performed at the first "Marry Memorial" concert. It has been held every year since then; Color reunited for the 2008 concert.

Members

* Hiroshi "Dynamite Tommy" Tomioka –

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

(1985–1997, 2003, 2008, originally guitarist) * Tatsuya Niimi –

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

(1986–1997, 2003, 2008) * Cindy –

(1986–1997, 2003, 2008) * Naotaka "Marry" Nakano –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

(1988–1997)† * Toshi –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

(1988–1997, 2003, 2008)

Former members

* Iku – vocals (1985) * Bell – bass (1985) * Hide – drums (1985) * Ikuo – bass (1986) * Hideki – drums (1986) * Takahashi – drums (1986–1988) * Remmy – bass (1987–1988), support bass on June 14, 2008 * Den – support bass on June 14, 2003 (former roadie,

By-Sexual By-Sexual (stylized as BY-SEXUAL) was a Japanese visual kei punk rock band from Osaka. They were active from 1988 to 1995, when vocalist Sho left the band and they went on hiatus. In August 1996, the remaining members restarted the group under ...

Zigzo Zigzo (stylized as ZIGZO) is a Japanese rock supergroup that originally started activities in 1999 and disbanded in 2002. Each member came from a prominent band and they became very popular in the indies scene. They disbanded after their last ...

)

Discography

Singles

* "Molt Grain" (March 23, 1987) * "Sandbag Baby I" (November 23, 1988) * "Sandbag Baby II" (November 26, 1988) * "Broken Tavern" (June 6, 1989)

Oricon Singles Chart The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard Single (music), 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 down ...

Peak Position: No. 65 * "Back Tonight 5th Moon" (February 21, 1990) No. 27 * "Some Become Stranger" (August 21, 1990) No. 31 * "The Exhibition" (July 21, 1991)

Studio albums

* * ''Fools! Get Lucky!!'' (March 8, 1989) * ''Ask the Angels'' (December 5, 1989)

Peak Position: No. 16 * ''Cherry's World'' (July 31, 1992) * ''Galaxy'' (October 1994)

Other albums

* ''Extremism: Best of Color'' (March 16, 1991, compilation album) No. 43 * ''Color Live! Shock Treatment and Rebirth'' (August 21, 1991, live album) No. 98 * ''Remind'' (December 25, 1992, self-cover album) * ''The Best'' (December 16, 1996, compilation album) *

Videos

* ''Shock Treatment'' (October 7, 1989) * ''Overwhelming Superiority'' (May 21, 1990) * * ''Land of Revolution'' (May 21, 1991) * ''The Exhibition'' (July 17, 1991, freely distributed at Kawasaki Club live)

References

{{Authority control Visual kei musical groups Japanese punk rock groups Musical groups from Osaka Musical groups established in 1985 Musical groups disestablished in 1995 Musical groups reestablished in 2003 Musical groups reestablished in 2008 1985 establishments in Japan English-language musical groups from Japan