Boøwy ( ; stylized as BOØWY) was a Japanese
rock band formed in
Takasaki, Gunma
is a city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 372,369 in 167,345 households, and a population density of 810 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Takasaki is famous as the hometown of the ...
in 1981. The classic lineup of vocalist
Kyosuke Himuro, guitarist
Tomoyasu Hotei
, also known simply as Hotei ( ), is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, composer, record producer and actor. With a career spanning more than 40 years, Hotei claims record sales of over 40 million copies and has collaborated with artists fr ...
, bassist Tsunematsu Matsui, and drummer Makoto Takahashi reached legendary status in Japan during the 1980s.
In 1988, the year they broke up, they became the first male artists to have three number-one albums within a single year on the
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics
Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...
chart. They were named Artist of the Year at the 3rd annual
Japan Gold Disc Awards in 1989. The 1990s Band Boom in Japan was credited to Boøwy as they popularized the formation of musical groups. In 2003,
HMV
HMV is an international music and entertainment retailer, founded in 1921. The brand is owned by Hilco Capital and operated by Sunrise Records, except in Japan, where it is owned and operated by Lawson.
The inaugural shop was opened on Lo ...
ranked Boøwy at number 22 on their list of the "100 Most Important Japanese Pop Acts".
History
1980–1982: Early years and debut
In 1979,
Kyosuke Himuro was in a band called Death Penalty which won a music contest held in his hometown of
Takasaki
is a Cities of Japan, city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 372,369 in 167,345 households, and a population density of 810 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Takasaki is famous as th ...
in
Gunma Prefecture
is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of . Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fuk ...
.
In that same contest was
Tomoyasu Hotei
, also known simply as Hotei ( ), is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, composer, record producer and actor. With a career spanning more than 40 years, Hotei claims record sales of over 40 million copies and has collaborated with artists fr ...
's band Blue Film,
which came in second place. After the contest, Death Penalty signed with the record company
Being Inc. and went to
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
. Things did not go as well as expected and they broke up. Himuro then joined Spinach Power, but he had problems with them as well and decided to form another band after seeing an
RC Succession concert in 1980.
Around the same time, Hotei was in Tokyo after being expelled from high school for saying "
Jesus
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
had long hair" when his teacher warned him about his hair being too long. He received a phone call from Himuro and, even though they did not really know each other, they decided to start a band called . In September, they recruited Tsunematsu Matsui on bass, Atsushi Moroboshi from Death Penalty on guitar, and Kazuaki Fukazawa from Blue Film on saxophone. Mamoru Kimura from Spinach Power agreed to drum for them in 1981.
They landed a gig once a month at the
Shinjuku
, officially called Shinjuku City, is a special ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative center, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world ( Shinjuku Station) as well as the Tokyo Metropol ...
Loft, but it did not pay the bills. To earn a living they started working part-time jobs and sent demo tapes to various record companies. They finally signed with the record company
Victor and began recording their first album. In May 1981, Kimura left Bōi, as he originally joined the band on a temporary basis. He would later collaborate with the group again when he co-produced their second album, 1983's ''Instant Love''. Makoto Takahashi was brought to the Loft by a friend to watch Bōi perform on May 11. He was impressed and tried out for the band when he heard they needed a new drummer. During the summer of that year he replaced Kimura on drums and Bōi went on to become the most popular bands at the Loft.

In January 1982, they changed their name to Boøwy and on March 21 released their first album, ''Moral''. At this time they were a
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 ...
type band. For their concert in
Shibuya
is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. A major commercial center, Shibuya houses one of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shibuya Station.
As of January 1, 2024, Shibuya Ward has an estimated population of 230,60 ...
on September 9, Hotei wanted to take a different approach to their music and become more pop sounding, but the fans did not like the change. Fukazawa and Moroboshi mirrored the opinions of the fans and on October 9, after their performance at the Loft, they left the band and Boøwy became a quartet.
1983–1988: Success and breakup
In 1983, they cut ties with their production company and formed their own company φ-connection with Mamoru Tsuchiya, former member of Blue Film, as their manager.
At the time, this was unheard of and frowned upon in the music industry, so the record company stopped promoting them and people started to forget Boøwy existed. Tsuchiya faced an uphill battle in promoting them; with no funds, he gathered hand-made flyers, posters, character goods, the musical instruments and the band in an old
Toyota HiAce with no AC and went on a trip around Japan looking for places to perform. In September, they released their second album ''Instant Love'' on
Tokuma Japan.
In 1984, they continued touring live houses for more exposure. Eventually it paid off and they started getting offers from different record companies. Not wanting to go through the same hardship they faced in 1983 they decided to sign with the production company Yui, and signed to
Toshiba EMI.
In July they began the Beat Emotion tour, which lasted until December. The band then took a six-month break from touring. Boøwy performed in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England, at the
Marquee Club
The Marquee Club was a music venue in London, England, that opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. It was a small and relatively cheap club, in the heart of London's West End of London, West End.
It was the location of the first ...
on March 12, 1985.
Their self-titled third album was released in June 1985. They started the Boøwy's Be Ambitious Tour in September, and it ran until December 1985. 1986 saw the band release two studio albums, ''Just a Hero'' in March and ''Beat Emotion'' in November. The Just a Hero Tour began in March and finished on July 2. While the Rock'n Roll Circus Tour started in November 1986 and ran until February 1987.
The single "Marionette" was released on July 22, 1987, took the number one position and sold 230,000 copies, making it the 20th best-selling single of the year. The band held a concert called Case of Boøwy in the
Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium
, abbreviated to , was an indoor sports arena located in Naka-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The capacity of the arena is 5,000 people and was opened in 1962.
It is a five-minute walk from the closest subway station, Kannai Station, on the JR/ Yokoha ...
, in
Kanagawa
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...
and in
Kobe, Hyogo on July 31 and August 7, 1987, where they played most of their songs from their debut to the present for four hours straight.
They released what would be their final studio album, ''Psychopath'', on September 5. At a concert at
Shibuya Public Hall on December 24, 1987, the end of their Dr. Feelman's Psychopathic Hearts Club Band Tour which began in September, Boøwy announced that they would be breaking up. There are many rumors concerning the breakup, but the most popular is the rift between Hotei and Himuro. An indication of the band's stature at the time, is that at their farewell concerts, appropriately titled Last Gigs; two nights at the newly opened
Tokyo Dome
is an indoor stadium in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium (whose former site is now occupied by the Tokyo Dome Hotel and a plaza for this stadium). In Japan, it is often us ...
on April 4 and 5, 1988; they sold out all 95,000 tickets in ten minutes.
1989–present: Post-breakup
In 1989, Boøwy were named Artist of the Year at the 3rd annual
Japan Gold Disc Awards.
The band has had several number ones since disbanding, including; their 1988 ''Singles'' collection, 1998's ''This Boøwy'' which sold over 1.6 million copies to be certified 4× Platinum by the
RIAJ
The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969.
The RIAJ's activities include prom ...
, and the 2001 DVD of their final concerts.
On February 1, 2012, Hotei performed a concert at the
Saitama Super Arena
is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Chūō-ku, Saitama (city), Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It opened preliminarily on May 5, 2000, and then was officially opened on September 1 of the same year. Its maximum capa ...
to celebrate his 50th birthday. Takahashi appeared as a special guest and together they played Boøwy's "Justy" and "No. New York".
This was the first time the two performed together in 24 years.
To celebrate Boøwy's 30th anniversary, the compilation album ''Boøwy The Best "Story"'' was released on March 21, 2013.
It contains 32 tracks, including the song "Cloudy Heart", which received the most votes in a poll.
The documentary and concert film ''1224 Film the Movie 2013'' opened in theaters nationwide two days later.
Hotei, Takahashi and Matsui recorded the song "Thanks a Lot" for Hotei's 2019 album ''Guitarhythm VI''. This was the first time the three had played together in 31 years.
Legacy
In 1988, the year they broke up, Boøwy became the first male artists to have three number-one albums within a single year on the
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics
Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...
chart. They were named Artist of the Year at the 3rd annual
Japan Gold Disc Awards in 1989.
The 1990s "Band Boom" in Japan was credited to Boøwy as they popularized the formation of musical groups,
which caused musical instrument sales to hit an all-time high during the 1990s, leading record companies to sign and debut 80 bands during the 1990s in hopes of finding a new Boøwy.
In 2003,
HMV
HMV is an international music and entertainment retailer, founded in 1921. The brand is owned by Hilco Capital and operated by Sunrise Records, except in Japan, where it is owned and operated by Lawson.
The inaugural shop was opened on Lo ...
ranked Boøwy at number 22 on their list of the "100 Most Important Japanese Pop Acts".
In September 2007, ''
Rolling Stone Japan'' rated their album ''Just a Hero'' at number 75 on its list of the "100 Greatest Japanese Rock Albums of All Time".
Their album ''Beat Emotion'' was named number 5 on ''
Bounce''s 2009 list of "54
Standard Japanese Rock Albums".
In a 2012 poll by
Recochoku, Boøwy were ranked the number one band that people wanted to see reunite.
With the release of ''Boøwy The Best "Story"'' in 2013, Boøwy became the second band ever, and first Japanese, to reach number one over 20 years after they broke up.
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
being the first.
In 2017, Hotei suggested that with their spiky hair and heavy make-up Boøwy might have been the first
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 " ...
band. Having always been conscious of visuals and influenced by
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
, he explained that "I too wanted to create something extraordinary and by wearing make-up, I felt like I had another identity. I thought by adding some fantasy to rock music, it would create more depth in the music."
Members
* – lead vocals
* – guitars, keyboards, backing vocals
* – bass guitar
* – drums
Former members
* – drums (1981)
* – saxophone, backing vocals (1981–1982)
* – guitars (1981–1982)
Members timeline
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Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy
Period = from:05/01/1981 till:04/05/1988
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Colors =
id:Vocals value:Red legend:Vocals
id:Guitar value:Green legend:Guitars
id:Bass value:Blue legend:Bass
id:Keys value:purple legend:Keyboards
id:Sax value:yellow legend:Saxophone
id:Drums value:Orange legend:Drums
id:Lines value:black legend:Studio_albums
id:grid1 value:gray(0.3)
id:Tours value:gray(0.5)
Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:1982
LineData =
at:03/21/1982 color:black layer:back
at:09/25/1983 color:black layer:back
at:06/21/1985 color:black layer:back
at:03/01/1986 color:black layer:back
at:11/08/1986 color:black layer:back
at:09/05/1987 color:black layer:back
PlotData=
width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
bar:Kyosuke Himuro from:05/01/1981 till:04/05/1988 color:Vocals
bar:Tomoyasu Hotei from:05/01/1981 till:04/05/1988 color:Guitar
bar:Tomoyasu Hotei from:10/10/1982 till:04/05/1988 color:Keys width:3
bar:Atsushi Moroboshi from:05/01/1981 till:10/09/1982 color:Guitar
bar:Tsunematsu Matsui from:05/01/1981 till:04/05/1988 color:Bass
bar:Kazuaki Fukazawa from:05/01/1981 till:10/09/1982 color:Sax
bar:Mamoru Kimura from:05/01/1981 till:06/01/1981 color:Drums
bar:Makoto Takahashi from:06/01/1981 till:04/05/1988 color:Drums
Discography
Studio albums
*''Moral'' (March 21, 1982),
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 ...
Peak Position: No. 2 (1989 re-release)
*''Instant Love'' (September 25, 1983) No. 3 (1988 re-release)
*''Boøwy'' (June 21, 1985) No. 48
*''Just a Hero'' (March 1, 1986) No. 5
*''Beat Emotion'' (November 8, 1986) No. 1
*''Psychopath'' (September 5, 1987) No. 1
Singles
*,
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. 61
*"Bad Feeling" (August 22, 1985) No. 46
* No. 39
*"B・Blue" (September 29, 1986) No. 7
*"Only You" (April 6, 1987) No. 4
* No. 1
* No. 4
*"Dakara" (February 3, 1988) No. 2
*"Instant Love" (March 25, 1988) No. 70
*"Oh! My Jully Part I" (March 25, 1988) No. 78
*"My Honey" (April 25, 1988)
*"Funny-Boy" (April 25, 1988)
Live albums
*''"Gigs" Just a Hero Tour 1986'' (July 31, 1986) No. 1 (1989 re-release)
*''"Last Gigs"'' (May 3, 1988) No. 1
*''"Gigs" Case of Boøwy'' (November 28, 2001) No. 3
*''Gigs at Budokan Beat Emotion Rock'n Roll Circus Tour 1986.11.11~1987.2.24'' (February 24, 2004) No. 7
*''"Last Gigs" Complete'' (April 5, 2008, ''"Last Gigs"'' plus more songs) No. 10
*''"Gigs" Case of Boøwy Complete'' (December 24, 2012) No. 72
*''"Gigs" Just a Hero Tour 1986 Naked'' (December 24, 2012) No. 15
*''"Gigs" Case of Boøwy -The Original-'' (August 7, 2017) No. 6
*''"Gigs" Case of Boøwy at Kobe'' (August 7, 2017) No. 44
*''"Gigs" Case of Boøwy at Yokohama'' (August 7, 2017) No. 36
*''Last Gigs -The Original-'' (June 12, 2019) No. 3
*''Last Gigs -1988.04.04-'' (June 12, 2019) No. 33
*''Last Gigs -1988.04.05-'' (June 12, 2019) No. 32
Compilations
*''Moral+3'' (February 3, 1988, debut album +3 songs from "Dakara" single) No. 1
*''Singles'' (December 24, 1988) No. 1
*''Boøwy Complete Limited Edition'' (December 24, 1991, box set includes all 6 studio albums, ''"Gigs" Just A Hero Tour 1986'', ''Last Gigs'', ''Singles'' and a "Specials" disc)
*''Boøwy Complete Required Edition'' (March 3, 1993, re-release of ''Boøwy Complete Limited Edition'') No. 3
*''This Boøwy'' (February 25, 1998) No. 1
*''Boøwy Complete 21st Century 20th Anniversary Edition'' (March 29, 2002, re-release of ''Boøwy Complete Limited Edition'') No. 14
*''This Boøwy Dramatic'' (September 5, 2007) No. 4
*''This Boøwy Drastic'' (September 5, 2007) No. 5
*''Boøwy+1'' (August 5, 2012, third album + the song "16") No. 118
*''Boøwy Single Complete'' (February 27, 2013, Blu-spec CD box set includes all 7 singles)
*''Boøwy The Best "Story"'' (March 21, 2013) No. 1
*''Boøwy 1224 Film the Movie 2013- Original Soundtrack'' (May 31, 2013)
*''Boøwy Special 7inch Box'' (October 27, 2021, vinyl record box set of all 7 singles)
Other albums
*''Orchestration Boøwy'' (August 9, 1989, orchestra covers)
*''Moral - Trance Mix'' (January 23, 2002, remix album) No. 13
*''Instant Love - Hammer Trance'' (August 21, 2002, remix album) No. 83
*''Boøwy Tribute'' (December 24, 2003, tribute album)
*''Boøwy Respect'' (December 24, 2003, tribute album)
Videos
*''Boøwy Video'' (VHS: July 2, 1986, DVD: November 28, 2001, Blu-ray: September 1, 2021), Oricon DVDs Chart Peak Position: No. 5
*''"Gigs" Case of Boøwy'' (4 VHS: October 5, 1987, 2 DVDs: November 28, 2001, Blu-ray: September 1, 2021) No. 2 and No. 3
*''Marionette'' (VHS: October 26, 1987)
*''Singles of Boøwy'' (VHS: December 24, 1991, DVD: November 28, 2001, Blu-ray: September 1, 2021) No. 6
*''Last Gigs'' (DVD: October 27, 2001) No. 1
*''1224'' (DVD: December 24, 2001) No. 2
*''Gigs at Budokan Beat Emotion Rock'n Roll Circus Tour 1986.11.11~1987.2.24'' (DVD: February 24, 2004, Blu-ray: September 1, 2021) No. 2
*''"Gigs" Box'' (DVD: December 24, 2007, 8 disc box-set) No. 12
*''"Last Gigs" Complete'' (DVD: April 5, 2008, Blu-ray: September 1, 2021) No. 3
*''Boøwy Blu-ray Complete'' (6 Blu-ray box set: December 24, 2012), Oricon Blu-rays Chart Peak Position: No. 13
[BOΦWYのBlu-ray売上ランキング](_blank)
''Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics
Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...
''. Retrieved 2017-11-06.
*''1224 Film the Movie 2013'' (March 23, 2013, theatrical documentary and live concert)
*''1224 -The Original-'' (December 24, 2017) DVD: No. 7,
Blu-ray: No. 5
References
External links
35th Anniversary websiteOfficial Toshiba EMI page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boowy
Japanese punk rock groups
Japanese pop rock music groups
Japanese new wave musical groups
Japanese power pop groups
Japanese post-punk music groups
Musical groups established in 1981
Musical groups disestablished in 1988
Japanese musical quartets
Musical groups from Gunma Prefecture