Boøwy
Boøwy (/ˈboʊi/ BOH-ee; stylized as BOØWY) was a Japanese rock band formed in Takasaki, Gunma in 1981. The classic lineup of vocalist Kyosuke Himuro, guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei, bassist Tsunematsu Matsui, and drummer Makoto Takahashi reached legendary status in Japan during the 1980s.
Boøwy
Bōi (暴威, "Tyranny")
Takasaki, Gunma, Japan
1981–1988
Kyosuke Himuro
Tomoyasu Hotei
Tsunematsu Matsui
Makoto Takahashi
Mamoru Kimura
Kazuaki Fukasawa
Atsushi Moroboshi
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 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 Japan ranked Boøwy at number 22 on their list of the "100 Most Important Japanese Pop Acts".
History[edit]
1980–1982: Early years and debut[edit]
In 1979, Kyosuke Himuro was in a band called Death Penalty which won a music contest held in his hometown of Takasaki in Gunma Prefecture.[1] In that same contest was Tomoyasu Hotei's band Blue Film,[1] which came in second place. After the contest, Death Penalty signed with the record company Being Inc. and went to Tokyo. 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 had long hair" when his teacher warned him about his hair being too long.[2] He received a phone call from Himuro and, even though they did not really know each other, they decided to start a band called Bōi (暴威, "Tyranny"). 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 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.
Legacy[edit]
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 chart.[12] They were named Artist of the Year at the 3rd annual Japan Gold Disc Awards in 1989.[6]
The 1990s "Band Boom" in Japan was credited to Boøwy as they popularized the formation of musical groups,[3] 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 Japan ranked Boøwy at number 22 on their list of the "100 Most Important Japanese Pop Acts".[1]
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".[13]
Their album Beat Emotion was named number 5 on Bounce's 2009 list of "54 Standard Japanese Rock Albums".[14]
In a 2012 poll by Recochoku, Boøwy were ranked the number one band that people wanted to see reunite.[15]
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 being the first.[16]
In 2017, Hotei suggested that with their spiky hair and heavy make-up Boøwy might have been the first visual kei band. Having always been conscious of visuals and influenced by David Bowie, 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."[17]