Urusei Yatsura were a Scottish

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

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland, in 1993.

History

Founding members Fergus Lawrie and Graham Kemp met in the summer of 1993, whilst attending the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. They recruited Elaine Graham as

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

, and the line-up was completed with the subsequent addition of Elaine's

brother A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

, Ian Graham, on

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s. They took their band name from the

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

Urusei Yatsura is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from September 1978 to February 1987. Its 366 individual chapters were published in 34 ''tankōbon'' volum ...

'', written by

Rumiko Takahashi is a Japanese manga artist. With a career of several commercially successful works, beginning with ''Urusei Yatsura'' in 1978, Takahashi is one of Japan's best-known and wealthiest manga artists. Her works are popular worldwide, where they have ...

, and contributed their first

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

, "Guitars Are Boring", to a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

released by the Kazoo Club. This was based in Glasgow, and run at one point by the future

Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. F ...

singer

Alex Kapranos Alexander Paul Kapranos Huntley (born 20 March 1972) is a Scottish musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and author. He is best known as the lead singer and guitarist of Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand. He has also been a part of the ...

. This record in turn brought them to the attention of the

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

, who brought them in to do a session in 1994. They would go on to record 4 Peel Sessions in total, between Glasgow and Maida Vale Studios, as well as appearing on the Evening Session for

Steve Lamacq Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio station BBC Radio 6 Music. Early life He attended The Ramsey Academy ...

. Over the years they released three

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s: '' We Are Urusei Yatsura'' (1996), '' Slain By Urusei Yatsura'' (1998) and '' Everybody Loves Urusei Yatsura'' (2000). Albums in America and Japan were released under the name of Yatsura for legal reasons. The band had one

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

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' ...

, 1997's "Hello Tiger", which reached #40 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. Other singles released by the band include "Strategic Hamlets" and "Slain By Elf". Urusei Yatsura split in June 2001, leaving Kemp to work on

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

material and the other band members to form Projekt A-ko. In 2011, Lawrie formed the three piece band Angel of Everyone Murder with Sarah Glass and Lea Cummings on bass, and released a self-titled double album on Kovorox Sound. The release featured six drone compositions of 15–20 minutes each, made with self-modified guitars he called HALO guitars. In 2012, ''Angel of Everyone Murder 2'' was released. In 2016 Rocket Girl released a 'Best of' album called 'You are my Urusei Yatsura', consisting of recordings they had made for the BBC sessions.

Discography

Albums

* '' We Are Urusei Yatsura'' (1996) Ché Trading * '' Slain by Urusei Yatsura'' (1998) Ché Trading * '' Everybody Loves Urusei Yatsura'' (2000) Oni Records

Live

* ''You are my Urusei Yatsura'' (2016) Rocket Girl

EPs

* '' All Hail Urusei Yatsura'' (1994) * ''Yon Kyoku Iri'' (1999) (CD / double 7": "Kaytronika"/"Still Exploding"/"Nobody Knows We're Stars"/"Mother of the MBK")

Compilations

* '' ¡Pulpo!'' (1997) * ''Can You Spell Urusei Yatsura'' (2020)

Singles

* "Siamese" (1995 - Ché 38 - 7" - "Siamese" / "Lo-Fi") * "Pampered Adolescent" (1995 - M.I.R. 001 - 7" - "Pampered Adolescent" - split single Blisters) * "Stolen Ecstasy 45 Chapter 3" (1995 - DAWN-03 - 7" - "Silver Krest" - split single

Delgados The Delgados are a Scottish indie rock band formed in Glasgow in 1994. The band is composed of Alun Woodward (vocals, guitar), Emma Pollock (vocals, guitar), Stewart Henderson (bass guitar), and Paul Savage (musician), Paul Savage (drums). Bio ...

) * "Kernel" (1995 - PUBE08 - 7" - "Kernel" / "Teen Dream") * "Plastic Ashtray" (1995 - Ché 46 - CD / 7" - "Plastic Ashtray" / "Got the Sun" / "Miramar" (CD) / "Yatsura Kill Taster" (CD)) * "Kewpies Like Watermelon" (1996 - Ché 53 - CD / 7" - "Kewpies Like Watermelon" / "Majesty" / "Sucker" (CD) / "Burriko Girl" (demo) (CD)) * "Tour EP" (Ché 59 - 7" - "Phasers on Stun" (live)) * "Phasers on Stun" (1996 - Ché 62 - CD / double 7" - "Phasers on Stun" / "The Power of Negative Thinking" / "The Love That Brings You Down" / "Sid & Nancy") * "Strategic Hamlets" (1997 - Ché 67 - CD / 7" (x2) - "Strategic Hamlets" / "Down Home Kitty" / "Kozee Heart" / "Revir") * "Fake Fur" (1997 - Ché 70 - CD1/10"/7" - "Fake Fur" / "Silver Krest" / "Nova Static" (not 7") / "Secret Crush" (not 7")) * "Fake Fur" (1997 - Ché 70 - CD2/10" "Fake Fur" / "Pampered Adolescent" / "Bewitched" / "Saki & Cremola") * "Hello Tiger" (1997 - Ché 75 - CD1/7" - "Hello Tiger" / "Vanilla Starlet" / "Vent Axial" (not 7") * "Hello Tiger" (1997 - Ché 75 - CD2 - "Hello Tiger" (Peel session version) / "Dice, Nae Dice" (Peel session version) / "Everybody Hang Out") * "Slain By Elf" (1998 - Ché 80 - CD1 "Slain By Elf" / "Subatomic" / "Nu Style") * "Slain By Elf" (1998 - Ché 80 - CD2 / 7" "Slain By Elf" / "Hail To The New Poor" / "What's Wrong With Me?") * "Louche 33" (2000 - ONIV71 - CD / 7" - "Louche 33" / "Planet Of The Skulls" / "I'm Vexed") * "Eastern Youth" (2000 - ONIV73 - 7" - "Eastern Youth" / "The Hearts You Break")

Compilation appearances

* "Guitars Are Boring" on ''Kazoo Collection'' 12" * "First Day on a New Planet" on ''Camden Crawl II'' CD * "Kozee Hearts" on ''Noises From the Sound Cupboard'' 12" * "Powerball" (demo) and "Black Hole Love" (demo) on ''Does The Word 'Duh' Mean Anything To You?'' CD * "Exidor" (live) on ''Abuse Your Friends'' CD * "Phasers on Stun" on ''Japanese Magazine'' CD * "Skull in Action" on ''NME C96'' * "Plastic Ashtray" (live) on ''Phoenix: The Album'' * "Plastic Ashtray" on ''Generation X - The Definitive Sound of 90s Indie'' * "Low Fi" on ''12 into 10'' cassetteUrusei Yatsura
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Projekt A-ko

* "Elkloft" (vinyl, Piloft Recordings 2006) * "Yoyodyne" (CD, 20 April 2009) * "Project A-ko" / Horowitz (split 7")

References

External links

Rocket Girl artist page

Bandcamp page
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1993 Musical groups disestablished in 2001 Musical groups from Glasgow Scottish indie rock groups Scottish rock music groups Rocket Girl artists Chemikal Underground artists