was a Japanese rock band formed in 1972. Its name is a parody of the late 60s band

Plastic Ono Band The Plastic Ono Band was a rock band formed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969 for their collaborative and solo projects based on their 1968 Fluxus conceptual art project of the same name. Lennon and Ono began a personal and artistic relati ...

. Produced by Masatoshi Hashiba on Toshiba-EMI Records (now

EMI Music Japan , 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. When ...

), the band was led by guitarist

Kazuhiko Katō , nicknamed , was a Japanese record producer, songwriter and singer. He sometimes used the spelling of "Kazuhiko Katoh". History As a member of the Folk Crusaders, Katō launched his recording career in the mid-1960s. "Kaettekita Yopparai (I O ...

and singer , who were a married couple at the time. The word "sadistic" is reported to be inspired by Mika's sadistic way of using knives in the kitchen (and their sense of humour). 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 the band at No. 94 on their list of the "Top 100 Japanese Pops Artists". In September 2007, ''

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

Japan'' rated their 1974 album ''Black Ship'' at No. 9 on its list of the "100 Greatest Japanese Rock Albums of All Time".

History

Kazuhiko Katō moved to Kensington, London in 1972 and, impressed by the burgeoning

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

scene led by T. Rex and

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 set about forming a new group in Japan to emulate the style. The original lineup of the band included Katō, Mika, drummer Hiro Tsunoda and lead guitarist

Masayoshi Takanaka is a Japanese guitarist, composer, and producer. He was born in 1953 in the Shinagawa ward in Tokyo, Japan. Takanaka's music was influential in the city pop genre of the late 1970s and '80s. Early life Takanaka was born to a Chinese fathe ...

. This lineup recorded the single "Cycling Boogie" on June 21 1972, released on Doughnut Records, Japan's first private label that was founded by Katō. Subsequently Tsunoda left the band, to be replaced by

Yukihiro Takahashi Yukihiro Takahashi (高橋幸宏 ''Takahashi Yukihiro'', born June 6, 1952) is a Japanese musician, singer, record producer and actor, who is best known internationally as the drummer and lead vocalist of the Yellow Magic Orchestra, and as the fo ...

, and bassist Ray Ohara joined the band. This lineup completed the band's self-titled debut album, which was released on the

Harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

label in the United Kingdom. Katō passed the album to

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English impresario, visual artist, singer, songwriter, musician, clothes designer and boutique owner, notable for combining these activities in an inventive and provoc ...

who at the time had a shop with

Vivienne Westwood Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood (née Swire; born 8 April 1941) is an English fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. Westwood came to public notice when she m ...

, and McLaren passed it on to

Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ' ...

, whose band

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera ...

Sadistic Mika Band would later support on the European leg of their 1975-76 Siren Tour. Their second album was recorded in England, produced by Chris Thomas. Thomas also introduced Mika to

Badfinger Badfinger were a Welsh rock band formed in Swansea, who were active from the 1960s to the 1980s. Their best-known lineup consisted of Pete Ham (vocals, guitar), Mike Gibbins (drums), Tom Evans (bass), and Joey Molland (guitar). They are recog ...

while he produced their 1974 LP ''

Wish You Were Here Wish You Were Here may refer to: Film, television, and theater Film * ''Wish You Were Here'' (1987 film), a British comedy-drama film by David Leland * ''Wish You Were Here'' (2012 film), an Australian drama/mystery film by Kieran Darcy-Smith ...

''. Her vocals can be heard on the track "Know One Knows" (translating

Pete Ham Peter William Ham (27 April 1947 – 24 April 1975) was a Welsh singer, songwriter and guitarist best known as a lead vocalist of and composer for the 1970s rock band Badfinger, whose hit songs include " No Matter What", " Day After Day" and "B ...

's lyrics to Japanese). Keyboardist Yu Imai, who had worked as a supporting musician on the first album was promoted to full member status. The album sold well in Japan. In the UK; however, the album sold poorly but received high praise from critics. Ohara left the band, and was replaced by Tsugutoshi Gotō. Chris Thomas also produced their third album ''Hot! Menu''. The album, which featured tracks such as "Mada Mada Samba", is now quite rare although it was featured on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

's ''Sounds Interesting''. The band played live on BBC TV's ''

Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music show. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC Two, BBC2 from 1971 ...

'' in October 1975, performing two tracks: "Time to Noodle" and "Suki Suki Suki". When they appeared, a stagehand arranged for the name of the programme (usually shown hung from the back wall) to be spelt as ''The Old Gley Whistle Test'' as a nod to the Japanese pronunciation of the letters L and R. The band also made an appearance on BBC TV's ''

Pebble Mill at One ''Pebble Mill at One'' is a British television magazine programme that was broadcast live on weekdays at one o'clock on BBC1, from 2 October 1972 to 23 May 1986, and again from 14 October 1991 to 29 March 1996. It was transmitted from the Pebb ...

'' and were interviewed by

Jan Leeming Jan Leeming (born Janet Dorothy Atkins; 5 January 1942) is an English TV presenter and newsreader. Early life and personal life Leeming was born in Barnehurst, Kent, and educated at the Assumption Convent, Charlton and St Joseph's Convent Gr ...

. Photographs from this appearance were published in the book ''S/M/B/2'' (2006, Shinko Music) by Masayoshi Sukita, who was a close friend of the band. The band played live in the United Kingdom supporting

including a show at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

. It was the first ever UK tour by a Japanese rock band. Recordings from these concerts were released as their ''Live in London'' album. After this album was released, Kazuhiko Katō and Mika divorced, and both left the band. Mika later married Chris Thomas and moved to the UK, where she worked as a food researcher.

The Sadistics

The remaining members – Takahashi, Takanaka, Imai, and Gotō – continued for several years as The Sadistics. They released two studio albums and two live albums before the band eventually petered out in 1979 as the members became busy with their solo careers and other projects, such as the

Yellow Magic Orchestra Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO for short) is a Japanese electronic music band formed in Tokyo in 1978 by Haruomi Hosono (bass, keyboards, vocals), Yukihiro Takahashi (drums, lead vocals) and Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards, vocals). The group is conside ...

and Imitation. All members continued to work with Kazuhiko Katō on his solo albums in the 1970s and '80s.

Post-disbandment

Kazuhiko Katō became a radio show presenter and a television personality in Japan. He had a successful solo career after the Sadistic Mika Band broke up; pursuing a

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

direction before acquiring interest in European experimental music. Most of his solo work employed the talents of the other former Sadistic Mika Band members and other notable guest artists such as

Ryuichi Sakamoto is a Japanese composer, pianist, singer, record producer and actor who has pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto inf ...

Haruomi Hosono , sometimes credited as Harry Hosono, is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is considered to be one of the most influential musicians in Japanese pop music history, credited with shaping the sound of Japanese pop for ...

and

Akiko Yano is a Japanese pop and jazz musician and singer born in Tokyo and raised in Aomori and later began her singing career in the mid-1970s. She has been called "one of the major musical talents of the Japanese popular music world", and her vocals an ...

. He released two acoustic albums with Kōnosuke Sakazaki of

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under the name Kazukoh in 2007 (''Golden Hits'') and 2009 (''Happy End''), and found time to form a new band called Vitamin-Q in 2008, releasing one album (''VITAMIN-Q feat

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''). Katō committed suicide by hanging on October 17, 2009 in the Kitasaku District of Karuizawa in Nagano Prefecture, Japan.Kyodo News - Musician Kazuhiko Kato found hanged at Karuizawa hotel
Band producer Masatoshi Hashiba also produced the popular band

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. Drummer

went on to become part of the

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

trio

(YMO), in which he provided the majority of lead vocals. In the early 2000s, he formed the duo

Sketch Show Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...

with his ex-YMO bandmate

; with

becoming regularly involved, the YMO name was later resurrected. In 2014, Takahashi formed the supergroup Metafive, which continues to the present. He has also acted in a number of films and TV shows, usually in comedic roles. Ray Ohara was a regular member of Takahashi's band in the 1980s and 1990s. Mika released a self-produced album in 1994, where she wrote all songs and lyrics. Tsugutoshi Gotō has released a large number of albums both solo, and as a member of various bands. Yu Imai went on to form the group Imitation and collaborated with members of

Sandii & the Sunsetz Sandii & the Sunsetz were a Japanese synthpop band that collaborated from 1979 until the #1990s. The Sunsetz, led by Makoto Kubota, and Sandii started as separate artists, and each have a separate discography. However, their collaboration provid ...

and

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. He was also the chief musical collaborator with lyricist Chris Mosdell on three of his solo albums, ''Equasian'' (also with Kazuhiko Katō), ''The Oracles of Distraction'', and ''

Fingerprints of the Gods ''Fingerprints of the Gods: The Evidence of Earth's Lost Civilization'' is a 1995 pseudoarcheology book by British writer Graham Hancock, which contends that an advanced civilization existed in prehistory, one which served as the common progen ...

'' – the latter being the sonic setting of the

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book of the same title. Masayoshi Takanaka went on to become one of the most famous guitarists in Japan. He has been releasing studio albums and touring to this day.

Reunions

The band has reunited three times. Each time Kazuhiko Katō, Yukihiro Takahashi and Masayoshi Takanaka have formed the core of the band, with a different female lead vocalist and supporting musicians. In 1985, the band reunited as the Sadistic Yuming Band. Tsugutoshi Gotō returned on bass. In addition, Ryuichi Sakamoto played keyboards and

Yumi Matsutoya , nicknamed , is a Japanese singer, composer, lyricist and pianist. Generally the writer of both the lyrics and the music in her songs, she is renowned for her idiosyncratic voice and live performances, and is one of the most prominent figures ...

, AKA Yuming, sang the female lead vocals. In 1989, the band reunited as the Sadistic Mica Band with Ray Ohara on bass instead of Gotō, and Karen Kirishima on vocals. ''Appare'', an album featuring new material, was released, as well as the accompanying live album ''Seiten''. In 2006, the band reunited and became the Sadistic Mikaela Band, with 22-year-old pop singer

Kaela Kimura is a Japanese pop rock singer, lyricist, fashion model and television presenter. Career Born in Adachi, Tokyo, Japan to a Japanese mother and British father, Kimura started working as a model in 2002 for the Japanese magazine '' Seventeen''. ...

on lead vocals. The lineup released the album ''Narkissos'', featuring a track by renowned English lyricist

Chris Mosdell Christopher John Mosdell (born 9 November 1949) is a British lyricist, poet, author, composer, vocalist and illustrator based in Tokyo, Japan, and New York City, United States. He has collaborated with an extensive array of musicians and artist ...

, which sold 92,568 copies and ranked number 147 in the yearly best selling chart. The group also completed a national tour culminating in a show at

NHK Hall The NHK Hall is a concert hall located at the NHK Broadcasting Center, the main headquarters of Japan's Public broadcasting, public broadcaster NHK. The hall is the main venue for the NHK Symphony Orchestra, but it has also played host to other e ...

in Shibuya, Tokyo. In 2007, the band released a 3-disc live retrospective including material from 1975 and 2006, plus video clips.

References

External Links

* {{Authority control Japanese jazz ensembles Japanese hard rock musical groups Glam rock groups Musical groups from Osaka Musical groups established in 1972 Musical groups disestablished in 1979 Musical groups reestablished in 1985 Musical groups reestablished in 1989 Musical groups reestablished in 2006 Musical groups disestablished in 2007 Harvest Records artists 1972 establishments in Japan 2007 disestablishments in Japan