AB'S (often written "A.B.'s" in the UK) is a male Japanese rock band formed in Tokyo in 1982. In Japan, their music is regularly associated with " city pop" or

album-oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-oriente ...

. Their song "

Deja Vu Deja or Dejah may refer to: * Deja News, an archive of messages posted to Usenet discussion groups and its successor ''deja.com'' * Andreas Deja (born 1957), German animator * Dejah Mulipola (born 1998), American softball player * Dejah Thoris, a ...

" was released in the U.K. and often categorized as

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

and or jazz funk, but the music of AB'S, including "Deja Vu" is also known for their chorus performance in Japan. The band currently consists of Fujimaru Yoshino (芳野藤丸) (guitars, vocals), Makoto Matsushita (松下誠) (guitars, vocals), Atsuo Okamoto (岡本郭男) (drums, vocals), Kazuyuki Takekoshi (越かずゆき) (keys, vocals) and Yosuke Toyama (遠山陽介) (bass, vocals). As all the members are session players, sometimes the band is compared to Toto in Japan. AB'S is sometimes known for a musical style that combines elements of

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

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 ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

Biography

Formation (1982)

The members are Fujimaru Yoshino and the recording members of his first solo album ''

Yoshino Fujimal Yoshino may refer to: * Yoshino cherry, another name for ''Prunus × yedoensis'', a flowering cherry tree * Japanese cruiser ''Yoshino'', a protected cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy Places * Yoshino, Nara, a town located in Yoshino Distr ...

'' released in 1982. Yoshino recruited Matsushita when he listened to Matsushita's first album ''First Light'' (1981) and he wanted to form a band with Matsushita. Yoshino also recruited Watanabe and Okamoto, both of whom were formerly a Bassist and Drummer (respectively) for the Brass-Rock band, SPECTRUM from 1979 to 1981, and Ando also for his ability of writing lyrics. The band name came from the blood types of the original members. The blood type of Yoshino, Matsushita and Watanabe is AB, and the blood type of Ando and Okamoto is A. Therefore, the name " A.B.'s", written on the 12-inch single ''

'' released in the U.K. is incorrect. The leaflet for their second album promotion published by Alfa Moon Records, shows the blood types of each member with profiles. They also thought that the name starting with AB would become first in a catalogue. In 2012, Yoshino said in his Facebook that he saw the result of his latest medical check and learned that his blood-type is not AB but B, after Matsushita's reissued CD (see above) was released.

1982–96

The band released their first single ''Girl/ Django'' in December, 1982, and their first album ''AB'S'' in January, 1983. Then they recorded their second album in London, and released the 12inch single ''Deja Vu/ Asian Moon'' in the U.K., which were contained in the first album. They released the second album ''AB'S-2'' in 1984. Yoshino and Matsushita also released solo albums respectively. To start his new progressive rock band Paradigm Shift, Matsushita left the band after the tour in 1984. The third album was recorded again in London and all guitars were performed by Yoshino and overdubbed. The album ''AB'S-3'' and the 12-inch single ''C.I.A.'' were released in 1985, but soon they stopped their band career in 1985. After three-year interval, Yoshino recorded several songs and released as ''AB'S-4'' in 1988, but the other musicians were different from the original lineup. The band stopped their career again. The CDs "Classic Jazz-Funk Series" were released in UK, and the original version of the song "Deja Vu" was included. The band name was corrected in the liner-note and written as "AB's".

Matsushita's return and ''A5B3S, New and Blue'' (2004-2007)

Yoshino said AB'S restarted again with the original lineup, and did a gig and released a limited mini album ''A5B3S(A-go-B-san-zu)'', and toured in 2004. During the rehearsal, Yoshino suffered cerebral infarction, but he continued the gig. The mini album was sold only at the official website and the gigs from an independence label. The band decided to continue the band and to perform on the stage of Crossover Japan '05. Ando did not hope to perform except in special events, he decided to leave the band. Watanabe recruited

Hidetoshi Yamada (山田秀俊) Hidetoshi (written: 英寿, 英俊, 英敏, 英利, 秀俊, 秀敏, 秀利 or 秀稔) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese sumo wrestler *, Japanese sumo wrestler *, Japanese racing driver *, Japane ...

(keyboards, vocals), and the two keyboard players performed together on the event. Their maxi single "SINGLE" released at the event day, in which only Yamada played keyboards. The song "Dead or Alive" is the rearranged version of "Turquoise Blue", the theme of ''

Golgo 13 is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takao Saito, published in Shogakukan's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Big Comic'' since October 1968. The series follows the title character, a professional assassin for hire. ''Golgo ...

Queen Bee'', all music of which was composed by Fujimaru Yoshino. After the event, they released their 5th original full album ''New'' and toured in fall, 2005, did a gig in 2006. The album title came from just the fact that the album was new. Soon they started to record their 6th album and released in 2007. The album title ''Blue'' came from the color of the album jacket. Around the end of this year, Yamada decided to play only acoustic piano and chose to leave the band. After Yamada's leaving, the band temporarily stopped their activity.

2013

In 2013, four albums from the Alpha Moon era ("AB'S", "AB'S-2", "AB'S-3", "AB'S-4") were converted to SHD-CDs under the supervision of and with commentary by Toshikazu Kanazawa. A limited edition was also released with liner notes containing Kanazawa's interview with Yoshino and Matsushita.

2019-

On February 3, 2019, AB's performed in a new formation that consisted of the original members Fujimaru Yoshino, Makoto Matsushita and Atsuo Okamoto and new members Ikuya Meguro (bass, vocals) and Kazuyuki Takekoshi (keys, vocals). Meguro left the group and was replaced by Yosuke Toyama sometime after. AB's will record a new album in March 2020, set for release sometime after the summer of 2020.

Band members

Current members

* Fujimaru Yoshino: A guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger, producer. (1982-) **The bandmaster of

Hideki Saijo was a Japanese singer and television celebrity most famous for singing the Japanese version of the Village People's hit song " Y.M.C.A.," called " Young Man." In the 1970s, he was called with Goro Noguchi and Hiromi Go. Although the origina ...

's backup band. **The member of a Japanese rock band

SHOGUN , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

, who wrote and played music for '' Tantei Monogatari'' television series (main cast: Yūsaku Matsuda). **Composed and played music for ''

'' (''Queen Bee''). **Played guitars for numerous artists such as Joe Yamanaka, Momoe Yamaguchi, Seiko Matsuda,

Sayuri Ishikawa is a Japanese enka singer who made her professional debut in 1973. With a career nearing five decades, she is one of the most-recognized and successful enka singers in history. Ishikawa is a popular contestant on the annual NHK ''Kōhaku Uta Gas ...

, commercial films, animation films such as ''

Neon Genesis Evangelion , also known simply as ''Evangelion'' or ''Eva'', is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and animated by Tatsunoko, directed by Hideaki Anno and broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 1995 to March 1996. ''Evangelion' ...

''. **Released three solo albums, and in the second album, he played with L.A. musicians,

Nathen East Nathen Page (August 23, 1937 – 2003) was an American jazz guitarist. Career A native of Leetown, West Virginia, Page taught himself to play guitar in childhood. He discovered jazz when he was a member of the U.S. Army. After leaving the Army, h ...

, Abraham Laboriel and

Robben Ford Robben Lee Ford (born December 16, 1951) is an American blues, jazz, and rock guitarist. He was a member of the L.A. Express and Yellowjackets and has collaborated with Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, George Harrison, Larry Carlton, Rick Springfield ...

. * Makoto Matsushita: A guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger, producer. (1982–84, 2003-) **Released three solo albums in 80s, and formed a progressive rock band Paradigm Shift(1985-). **Arranged the opening and ending theme of '' Heavy Metal L-Gaim''. **Recently famous for chorus arrangement for Johnny & Associates such as SMAP and

Kinki Kids is a Japanese duo consisting of Koichi Domoto and Tsuyoshi Domoto under the talent agency Johnny & Associates. KinKi Kids was formed in 1993 and officially debuted on July 21, 1997. With more than 30 million physical copies sold, they are one of ...

, and guitar playing for

Hideaki Tokunaga is a Japanese pop singer-songwriter and actor. Although Tokunaga failed to pass the test of ''Star Tanjō!'' in 1982, he debuted as a recording singer in 1986. After he released hit songs such as " Yume o Shinjite" (the first ending theme of t ...

. **Played guitars for many artists, animations such as ''Neon Genesis Evangelion''. * Atsuo Okamoto: A drummer, singer, songwriter. (1982–85, 2003-) **The member of AIDO(1975-6), Spectrum(1979–81), The Triple X(1997-). **The member of the backing band of Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi (2002,2004-9,2012). **Played for many artists such as

Chiharu Matsuyama Chiharu Matsuyama (松山千春, born December 16, 1955) is a Japanese folk music, folk singer and songwriter. He made his debut with the single ''Tabidachi'' in 1977, and success soon followed with the two hits ''Toki no Itazura'' and ''Kisets ...

Nobuteru Maeda is a Japanese male singer-songwriter from Atsugi, Kanagawa. He is signed onto Sony Music Japan , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm f ...

, Mari Hamada,

Takahiro Matsumoto is a Japanese musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist and main composer of the rock duo B'z, the best-selling music act in their native Japan. He also has a successful solo career where, in addition to winni ...

Kyoji Yamamoto is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter and record producer who is the leader of the hard rock/ heavy metal bands Bow Wow (known as Vow Wow for a period of time) and Wild Flag. He is known for his skillful guitar playing, with former bandma ...

, TV series, animations, and video games such as '' Final Fantasy IX '' ("Melodies of Life"). *Kazuyuki Takekoshi: keyboardist, singer. (2019-) *Yosuke Toyama: bassist, singer. (2019-)

Former members

* Naoki Watanabe: A bassist, singer, songwriter, arranger. (1982–85, 2003–2007) **The member of MMP, the backup band of

Candies (group) was a Japanese idol trio formed in 1973, their first single being . Candies was composed of three girls: (), (), and (. Songwriters included Michio Yamagami, Kōichi Morita, Yūsuke Hoguchi, and Kazuya Senka. The group was popular among yo ...

in '70s. **Formed a horn-featured funk band Spectrum (1979–81) and released six albums. **Started Solo-Bass Club in 2002, and released instructional notes and a DVD from Rittor Music. **Played for many artists such as Michiya Haruhata,

, Maki Ohguro,

, TV dramas, animations, and video games such as ''

Final Fantasy X is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square as the tenth main entry in the ''Final Fantasy'' series. Originally released in 2001 for PlayStation 2, the game was re-released as ''Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster'' for PlayStat ...

'' ("Suteki-dane). *Yoshihiko Ando: A keyboardist, singer, songwriter, lyricist. (1982–85, 2003–05) *Hidetoshi Yamada: A keyboardist, singer, songwriter, arranger. (2005-2007) *Yoshinobu Kojima: A keyboardist, songwriter, arranger, producer. (1988) *Hideki Matubara: A bassist, songwriter. (1988) *Tohru Hasebe: A drummer, songwriter. Better recognized as the drummer of Japanese Jazz-Fusion Group T-SQUARE from 1982 to 1986. (1988)

Discography

Ab's (1983) (cd: 2001; shm-cd: 2013)

#Deja Vu (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music: Naoki Watanabe) #Dee-Dee-Phone (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music: Makoto Matsushita) #Django (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music: Makoto Matsushita) #Fill the Sail (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music: Fujimaru Yoshino) #Asian Moon (lyrics: Jeff Keeling/ music: Naoki Watanabe) #In the City Night (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music: Atsuo Okamoto) #Girl (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music: Fujimaru Yoshino) #Just You (lyrics: Jeff Keeling/ music: Makoto Matsushita) #Girl (Single Version) SHM-CD Only #Django (Single Version) SHM-CD Only

Ab's-2 (1984) (cd: 2001; shm-cd: 2013)

#Destination (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music: Fujimaru Yoshino) #Japanese Punkish Girl (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music: Makoto Matsushita) #Morning Dew (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music: Naoki Watanabe) #Just A Rainy Blues (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music: Fujimaru Yoshino) #Flight 007 (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music: Atsuo Okamoto) #One Night in Moscow (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music: Naoki Watanabe) #Correspondence (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music: Makoto Matsushita) #Do You Remember Me? (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music: Fujimaru Yoshino)

Ab's-3 (1985) (cd: 2001, shm-cd: 2013)

#By the End of the Century (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music: Fujimaru Yoshino) #Heavy Mental Rock (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music: Fujimaru Yoshino) #Far East Express (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music: Naoki Watanabe) #Ethnic Cosmic (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music: Atsuo Okamoto) #Cry Baby Blues (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music: Fujimaru Yoshino) #C.I.A. (lyrics: Gregory Starr/ music: Fujimaru Yoshino) #Borderline (lyrics: Gregory Starr/ music: Naoki Watanabe) #Sequence Life (lyrics: Jeff Keeling/ music: Naoki Watanabe) #Cry Baby Blues (Single Version)

onus track Onus, from Latin, indicates accountability/responsibility Onus may also refer to: * Blame * Burden (disambiguation) * Legal burden of proof (''onus probandi'') As a surname * Bill Onus (1906-68), Australian Aboriginal political activist, boom ...

SHM-CD Only #C.I.A.(extended dub mix)

CD and SHM-CD Only #C.I.A.(extended club mix)

CD and SHM-CD Only

AB'S-4 (1988) (SHM-CD: 2013)

#Let Me Go~ (lyrics: Allan Denis Rich & Dorothy Sea Gazeley/ music: Fujimaru Yoshino) #We Just Missed Each Other　(lyrics: Michael Himelstein/ music: Hideki Matsubara) #All You Ever Know (lyrics: Michael Himelstein/ music: Yoshinobu Kojima) #Can't Get Enough of You (lyrics:Kevin Gorman/ music: Tohru Hasebe) #Across the Park (lyrics: Craig Fleishman/ music: Hideki Matsubara) #You Just Gotta Forget about Time(lyrics: Brian Yamakoshi/music: Yoshinobu Kojima) #Things Being What They Are　(lyrics: Michael Himelstein/ music :Fujimaru Yoshino) #Give Back My Heart　(lyrics: Michael Himelstein/ music: Tohru Hasebe) #Take A Chance On Me (lyrics: Allan Denis Rich & Dorothy Sea Gazeley/ music:Fujimaru Yoshino) #I'm Falling　(lyrics: Susanne M. Edgren & Barbara Hain/ music: Yoshinobu Kojima) #~Let Me Go(Instrumental)(music: Fujimaru Yoshino)

AB'S Best Collection --Moon Years-- (2002)

#Girl #Cry Baby Blues #Fill the Sail #Deja Vu #Do You Remember Me? #By the End of Century #Destination #Correspondence #In the City Night #C.I.A. #Take a Chance on Me #Things Being What They Are

A5B3S (2004)(limited mini album)

#Last Horizon (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music:Atsuo Okamoto) #The Shadow of the Night (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music: Fujimaru Yoshino) #End of May (lyrics & music: Makoto Matsushita) #Catalog Life (lyrics & music:Yoshihiko Ando） #Long Goodbye (lyrics:Yoshihiko Ando/ music:Naoki Watanabe)

Single (2005) (maxi single)

#I My Me (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music: Naoki Watanabe) #Dead or Alive (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music: Fujimaru Yoshino) #Light the Night (lyrics & music: Makoto Matsushita)

New (2005)

#Music Crusade (lyrics: Makoto Matsushita /music: Atsuo Okamoto) #The Planet in our Hands (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music: Hidetoshi Yamada) #Day After Tomorrow (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music: Naoki Watanabe) #She's Like Falling Rain (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/music: Fujimaru Yoshino) #Tonight (lyrics: Makoto Matsushita/music:Hidetoshi Yamada) #Round About Midnight (lyrics:Yoshihiko Ando/music:Fujimaru Yoshino) #Walking in the Rain (lyrics & music: Makoto Matsushita) #Can You Keep It Up!? (lyrics:Yoshihiko Ando/music:Atsuo Okamoto) #Always (lyrics & music: Makoto Matsushita) #Dream on Dreamer(lyrics:Yoshihiko Ando/music:Naoki Watanabe)

Blue (2007)

#Ooh Baby (lyrics: Kane Tominaga/music:Fujimaru Yoshino) #Night View 　(lyrics: Makoto Matsushita/music:Atsuo Okamoto) #Until the End of Time (lyrics:Kane Tominaga/music:Hidetoshi Yamada) #Kimi-ga iru kiseki (君がいる奇跡) (lyrics: Kosuke Kamishin /music: Naoki Watanabe) #Only One (lyrics:Kane Tominaga/music:Fujimaru Yoshino) #Summer Wave (lyrics & music: Makoto Matsushita) #Un-til the Break of Dawn (lyrics:Kane Tominaga/music:Hidetoshi Yamada) #Rhythm of Universe (lyrics・music:Naoki Watanabe) #Back to Paradise (lyrics:Yoshihiko Ando/music:Atsuo Okamoto) #Into the Light (lyrics & music: Makoto Matsushita)

DVD: Crossover Japan '05 (Live: Omnibus)　Disc 1 (2005)

#05 Correspondence (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/music: Makoto Matsushita) #06 Dead or Alive (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/music:Fujimaru Yoshino) #07 Light the Night (lyrics・music: Makoto Matsushita)

DVD: AB'S M.V.C.--Music Video Clips-- (2007) (limited)

# I My Me (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music:Naoki Watanabe) # Dead or Alive (lyrics: Yoshihiko Ando/ music:Fujimaru Yoshino) # Light the Night (lyrics & music: Makoto Matsushita) # Music Crusade (lyrics: Makoto Matsushita/ music: Atsuo Okamoto) # Summer Wave (lyrics & music: Makoto Matsushita) # Night View (lyrics: Makoto Matsushita/ music: Atsuo Okamoto)

References

External links

AB's official websiteWarner Music Japan: AB'SYoshino Fujimal on the Web! (Fujimaru Yoshino Official Website)

Shogun Yoshino Fujimaru page
at

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

Paradigm Shift (Makoto Matsushita)Solo Bass-Club (Naoki Watanabe)

Atsuo Okamoto Official Website

Atsuo Okamoto Official Page
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Light Mellow on the web ~turntable diary~ (Toshi Kanazawa's official blog)
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Light Mellow's choice series
{{Authority control Japanese rock music groups Musical groups from Tokyo Musical groups established in 1982 Warner Music Japan artists