The Spiders were a Japanese rock band formed in Tokyo in 1961, as one of the leading groups of the

Group Sounds , often abbreviated as GS, is a genre of Japanese rock music which became popular in the mid to late 1960s and initiated the fusion of Japanese ''kayōkyoku'' music and Western rock music. Their music production techniques were regarded as playin ...

genre.

History

Band members were Hiroshi "Monsieur" Kamayatsu (rhythm guitar and backing singer),

Jun Inoue is a Japanese ''tarento'', singer, actor, and comedian. His former stage name is . Discography Singles Original albums Live albums Filmography Music programmes Variety series TV drama Films Stage Music videos Advertisements Re ...

(singer),

Masaaki Sakai is a popular Japanese performer from Tokyo. He is best known to English-speaking audiences as the title star of the TV show ''Monkey''. Biography Masaaki Sakai is a Japanese actor, singer and martial artist. Born the son of , a famous comed ...

(

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

and backing singer), Shochi Tanabe (drums), Takayuki Inoue (lead guitar and backing singer), Mitsuru Kato (bass guitar) and Katsuo Ōno (

electronic organ An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has since developed ...

and

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

). They had many

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

s, made feature films and were popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s in Japan. They toured Europe in 1966, and the United States, including Hawaii, in 1967. Most of the band members are still active in the

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

, with the exception of Monsieur, who died on 1 March 2017 and Takayuki Inoue, who died on 2 May 2018.井上堯之さん死去「ザ・スパイダース」で活躍　マッチ「愚か者」作曲
Their biggest selling record was "Yuhiganaiteiru" which sold over 1.2 million copies, and was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

Selected discography

Albums

*Album No. 1 (Rel. April 15th, 1966) *Album No. 2 (Rel. June 1st, 1966) *Album No. 3 (Rel. February 1st, 1967) *The Spiders Meets The Savage (Rel. March 1967) *Album No. 4 (Rel. September 5th, 1967) *Album No. 5 (Rel. March 15th, 1968) *Meiji Hyakunen Spiders Nana Nen (Rel. October 25th, 1968) *The Spiders '69 (Rel. May 25th, 1969) *Rock 'N' Roll Renaissance (Rel. May 25th, 1970)

Singles

* Furi Furi b/w Monkey Dance (Crown CW-291 - Rel. May 10th, 1965) * Etenraku Go, Go b/w Twilight Zone (Victor SS-1597 - Rel. November 15th, 1965) * No No Boy b/w Little Robby (Philips SFL-1034 - Rel. February 1st, 1966) * Seishun a Go Go b/w Kurai Ando Kurai (Crown CW-444 - Rel. March 10th, 1966) * Hey Boy b/w Michelle (Philips SFL-1043 - Rel. April 15th, 1966) * Summer Girl b/w Up-Side-Down (Philips SFL-1057 - Rel. July 1st, 1966) * Yuhiganaiteiru b/w Chibi No Julie (Philips FS-1003 - Rel. September 15, 1966) * Nantonaku Nantonaku b/w Boom Boom (Philips FS-1007 - Rel. December 25th, 1966) * Taiyo No Tsubasa b/w Sora No Hiroba (Philips FS-1013 - Rel. March 1st, 1967) * Balla Balla b/w Land Of 1,000 Dances (Philips FS-1014 - Rel. April 20th, 1967) * Kazeganaiteiru b/w Kimi Ni Ageyou (Philips FS-1020 - Rel. July 15th, 1967) * Ano Niji Wo Tsukamo b/w Koi No Doctor (Philips FS-1022 - Rel. August 25th, 1967) * Itsumademo Dokomademo b/w Ban Ban Ban (Philips FS-1030 - Rel. October 25th, 1967) * Anotoki Kimi Wa Wakakatta b/w Mo Ichido Mo Ichido (Philips FS-1040 - Rel. March 5th, 1968) * Shinjyu No Namida b/w Akai Dress No Onna No Ko (Philips FS-1050 - Rel. June 5th, 1968) * Kuroyuri No Uta b/w Rock And Roll Boy (Philips FS-1060 - Rel. September 5th, 1968) * Glass No Seijo b/w Kaze Wa Liyatsu (Philips FS-1065 - Rel. November 25th, 1968)

Films

Friends
(1964,

Nikkatsu is a Japanese entertainment company known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio, founded in 1912 during the silent film era. The name ''Nikkatsu'' amalgamates the words Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally ...

) Director: Nozomu Yanase
Highland Lady
(1965, Nikkatsu) Director: Nozomu Yanase
Youth A Go-Go
(1966, Nikkatsu) Director: Kenjiro Morinaga * Goodbye Mr. Tear (1966, Nikkatsu) Director:

Shōgorō Nishimura was a Japanese film director. Filmography * '' Moeru Tairiku'' (1968) * ''Cruel Female Love Suicide is an April 1970 Japanese film directed by Shōgorō Nishimura and starring Annu Mari and Sanae Ōhori. The major Japanese film studio Nikkats ...

You Are A Lover
(1967, Nikkatsu) Director:

Buichi Saitō was a Japanese film director from Saitama Prefecture. His representative works included ''The Wandering Guitarist, Wataridori series'' starring Akira Kobayashi, ''Farewell to Southern Tosa''(1959) and ''Gazing at Love and Death''(1964). Saitō o ...

* Kigeki ekimae hyakku-nen (1967,

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...

) Director:

Shirō Toyoda was a Japanese film director and screenwriter who directed over 60 films during his career spanning 50 years. Career Born in Kyoto, Toyoda moved to Tokyo after finishing high school and studied scriptwriting under the pioneering film director ...

The Sunset Is Crying
(1967, Nikkatsu) Director: Kenjiro Morinaga
Wild Scheme A Go Go
(1967, Nikkatsu) Director:

* Go Forward! (1968, Nikkatsu) Director:

Kō Nakahira (1926-1978) was a Japanese film director. He joined Shochiku film company as an assistant director in 1949. In 1954, he moved to Nikkatsu film company and made his director debut with the film ''Kurutta kajitsu'' in 1956. Born in 1926 in Tokyo, N ...

Big Commotion!
(1968, Nikkatsu) Director: Kenjiro Morinaga *

Road To Bali ''Road to Bali'' is a 1952 American comedy film directed by Hal Walker and starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour. Released by Paramount Pictures on November 19, 1952, the film is the sixth of the seven ''Road to …'' movies. It was ...

(1968, Nikkatsu) Director:

Katsumi Nishikawa (1 July 1918 – 6 April 2010) was a Japanese film director most famous for his youth films (seishun eiga). Graduating from Nihon University, he started out at the Shochiku studio in 1939 and directed his first film in 1952. He moved to Nikkatsu ...

The Wonderful Ones
(1968,

Shochiku () is a Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company. It also produces and distributes anime films, in particular those produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks (which has a long-time partnership—the company released most, if not all ...

) Director: Kōichi Saitō
Nippon oyafukō jidai
(1968, Toho) Director: Kunihiko Yamamoto

References

External links

The Spiders on Radio Diffusion

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spiders (Japanese band), The Japanese rock music groups Philips Records artists Japanese garage rock groups