The Legacy Of BUCK-TICK: Japan’s Hardest Working Band
There are very few bands in this world who have been able to consistently change, innovate and metamorphose for more than 40 years nonstop and even fewer, with the ability to fill a stadium with 43,000 people in only their third year as a professional group. Today, we retrace the history of Japan’s hardest working band. This is the legacy of BUCK-TICK. Everything begins in the childhood home of Hisashi Imai in the prefecture of Gunma, 1983. His parents owned a convenience store that was attached to their home, which would become a hangout spot for the future members of Buck-Tick. A huge fan of Western music, specifically punk and electronic. the members would recount that whenever they would visit Imai, they would hear strange European music playing in the background. Some of the strange music that he would play were bands like Oingo, Boingo, T.Rex and Kraftwerk. Inspired by the melodies and chords that he heard within this music. He was then struck by the idea of forming a band with his friends, Araki, who would be the vocalist Yutaka Higuchi or U-ta on bass and himself on guitar. Eventually U-ta would introduce his friend Hidehiko Hoshino (or Hide) to Imai, and after some convincing he was added to the lineup as a second guitarist. The last to join the group was Atsushi Sakurai, whom, despite the fact that he had been in the same classes, Imai for two years had never spoken a word to him. As for why it’s said that Sakurai was a notorious rebel who hung out with delinquents and got into frequent trouble until he decided that this path would lead him nowhere. When he was added to the roster, it was decided that he would be the drummer. Lots of time was then spent practicing their instruments because up to this point none of them knew how to play. Luckily, however, U-ta’s older brother Toll Yagami had his own band at the time S.P.O.T.S which stood for sex Pistols On Tour Secretly, an acronym that the Pistols used on a secret tour around England. But eventually this was shortened to just SP and this meant that he and the other members of the group could pass on some of their knowledge to the young band. The bassist of SP was able to teach U-ta about his instrument and their guitarist taught both Imai and Hide a few chords and Toll was able to teach Sakurai how to hold a steady beat. By the beginning of 1984 – Hisashi had decided to give the band a name: Hinan Go-Go. Their first live performance would be at an amateur festival called Little Rock. Still very much inspired by punk, Hinan Go-Go played only covers of the Japanese punk band, The Stalin. The band then came to an agreement. "Let’s wait until we all graduate high school and move to Tokyo. Then we’ll begin playing seriously." Hisashi and Araki were the first to graduate and the first to move. While the other three stayed in Gunma until they were able to rejoin the other members, Sakurai stated that this period of time was especially difficult and that he would drink every day and constantly fight with his parents because they refused to let him relocate to Tokyo. Hisashi and Araki would return on the weekends, however, to rehearse with the others. As time passed, Hisashi felt that Hinan GO-GO was no longer a name that suited the evolution of the group. In a stroke of inspiration, he landed on the name "Bakuchiku" which means firecracker in Japanese, but opted to go for an English spelling, thus birthing Buck-Tick. They would play as Buck-Tick for the first time in October 1984 at the Yamaha Popcon (short for popular song contest) come the following year. The remaining three members would relocate to Tokyo, with Sakurai being the last to join them. The beginning of the year would be fairly slow for the band, but on August 4th, 1985, they would make their live debut in Tokyo at the Shinjuku Jam. A beautiful start for the group, but this would mark the beginning of the end of their relationship with Araki because following their second show at the Shinjuku Jam in November of 85, Araki was reluctantly removed from the band’s lineup by Hisashi. The reasoning? Hisashi believed that Araki’s voice no longer suited the new sound that the band was crafting, and Araki himself agreed to part ways peacefully. with the group. Now left without a singer, the band commences their search for a new fifth member. Sakurai at this point begins to question his role in the group. Up until this moment, he had been their drummer. However, he had absolutely no desire nor inspiration to play the drums. Not to mention that he believed he had no skill with this instrument. He knew deep within his soul that he wanted to sing. Hisashi was initially thrown off by the sudden development and denied his request. Determined to have his way, however, Sakurai then decides to speak with Toll in hopes that he would have some advice to share, but once again was discouraged and told to remain the drummer. This time, as confirmed by Sakurai himself, he decided to speak with the singer, Kyosuke Himuro of Boøwy, a famous band that as well originated in Gunma and was told that in fact, yes, you should become the vocalist. Absolutely adamant and still refusing to give up. Sakurai stated his intentions once more and Hisashi finally concedes, But it’s here where a different problem arises. Who will be the drummer? Luckily, they’re already super close with Toll and his band SP had broken up a month earlier in October and it was now U-ta’s job to convince his brother to join the group. But he initially refuses, stating that he’s given up on music. But as well, he concedes after being spoken to by his brother and would join the band in November of 85. Inspired by Carols (a band that you would know about if you saw my video on the rockabillies) And once again, Western music Yagami Toll added a level of depth that was missing from the group’s live performances due to their lack of a professional drummer and the quality of their sound improved drastically. Rehearsals were frequent, and live shows were equally as frequent. Come 1986, the band would play at least one show a month and subsequently became very popular in Japan’s independent music scene in May. They had managed to accumulate enough money to afford a studio session and record a demo tape comprised of their original tracks. Plastic Syndrome II, To Search, One Night Ballet and Secret Reaction. And in June of 86, after playing a show in Shibuya, they were approached by the head of indie record label Taiyo Records, who would later sign them to the label in the following month of July. By mid-January, 87, Buck-Tick had commenced work on the recording of their debut independent album, which was completed only two weeks later on February 4th and which later released on April 1st. The album was titled Hurry Up Mode and was released on both CD and vinyl, being the first ever independent album in Japan to be released on CD, with the CD also containing two hidden tracks Vacuum Dream and No-No Boy, two songs written from when they were Hinan Go-Go. The release of this album was quickly followed with a live performance on its release date titled Buck-Tick Genshou or Buck-Tick Phenomenon, and then by their first ever tour, which they embarked on on the 13th of May 1987. Due to the fact that they were still fairly underground, they didn’t have the funds to afford proper touring equipment. And the tour van that they were traveling with was fairly beaten up and often unreliable. And in one story, U-ta recounts the time where they ran out of gas and the band had to push it one whole kilometer with Mt. Fuji just in view. Their focus on playing live allowed them to grow rapidly in popularity and quickly they became the object of desire for many major labels. A certain Junichi Tanaka of Invitation Records, a subsidiary of Victor/ JVC, approached the band with an offer to have them signed. At first the band were hesitant, but they eventually accepted the offer, but not without first providing a contract with their own non-negotiables. 1. There would be absolutely no changes to the image of the band. 2. nor any changes to the current lineup. 3. No usage of studio musicians because this makes the process less organic. 4. The band will always be in charge of the production process. After drawing up this contract, they were officially signed to their first major label, their days as an underground independent band were over. Following this, they would begin recording their debut big label release during the months of July and August. And this album, entitled SEXUAL XXXXX would be released November 21st, 1987. But before beginning the very busy year that was to follow in 88, they’d play their first real event as professionals called rock and Roll Band Stand to the biggest crowd they received up to this point, nearly 5000 people. The future seems bright for these young musicians who are already accustomed to the nearly endless work that it takes to uphold a group of this nature. Like I mentioned earlier, the pace at which they would continue will only continue to augment come the start of the new year. They were once again in the studio, this time for the recording of their debut professional EP Romanesque, which released on March 21st, 1988. Once more, their constant touring and promotion caused the group to again explode in popularity, allowing them to play nearly double the live shows that they had played. The prior year. And as well, they consistently made appearances on both radio and television to promote their new work. By the end of the year, they totaled out to 60 appearances on both TV and radio. In between all of this, they returned to the studio from February to March to record their second LP, Seventh Heaven. Having to juggle live shows as well as recording they performed at the Shiodome Pit on April 1st and sold out this venue of 3000 people in only 2 hours. Keep in mind, this is way before the age of the internet So for them to sell out a show on this scale in only their first year as a professional group was a true triumph. The Buck Tick Shock tour to promote the releases before seventh Heaven would commence April 13th and finish around the end of July and the group would end up playing 34 dates in total around Japan. Once finished with the tour and with a brand new album which had just released, they played a few events and festivals in the month of August, but come September it was once again time for the band to hit the studio, although this time they would be embarking for London to record their upcoming record at Master Rock Studios, where many notable acts like Mötorhead, Elton John and Depeche Mode have also recorded. They also played a show at the Greyhound in Fulham where tickets were rumored to have only been £2. The damp atmosphere of London, which, according to Sakurai, seemed much more open to the creation of darker, more somber music, had left a profound impression on the group, and by the end of their one month stay abroad, Atsushi longed for more time in England’s grey capital. But they had to return, and on the way back they realized that they were way ahead of the tour schedule. With their third major release finished, they hadn’t even began to tour for seventh Heaven, which released just three months earlier. They were quick to correct this, and on October 11th, the seventh heaven tour began and would stretch until January the following year, lasting for 38 dates. And in between all of this, they would release their first major debut single, Just One More Kiss, on October 26th before finishing off their year and as well as the tour. They had one final media appearance for the magazines Pati-Pati and Pati-Pati Rock and roll. It is very important to note here that Hisashi has stated that following the shoot is when he would acquire for the first time a certain illicit material that would nearly destroy his and the band’s career. For the final two dates of the Seventh Heaven tour. The band would have the opportunity to play at the Nippon Budokan, one of the most iconic arenas in all of Tokyo. This would be their biggest show to date, as the Budokan is able to house a maximum of 15,000 spectators. Their third album, Taboo, was released not too long after this, on January 18th of 1989. This is to date their only album to ever be fully recorded outside of Japan. This album as well would be the first stepping stone for the band as they started to mature into their sound and create deeper musical atmospheres. Scottish singer Owen Paul had produced this album and according to the band, had taught them plenty of new things about recording professionally that they didn’t know beforehand. Starting February 9th, the band would have their first proper break since 1987, when they had started ceaselessly touring and promoting. This only last a few weeks, however, as they recommence touring just a month later to promote Taboo. Scheduled to play all the way up until May 30th, however, this tour was cut short. Haneda Airport, April 21st, 1989. Hisashi Imai is apprehended by police. Absolute chaos. Where is he? What’s happening? Hide & Toll were the first to receive notification by phone call. "Turn on the TV now!" It was everywhere in bold letters. "Imai Hisashi arrested for possession of LSD." To us this may not seem like such a big deal. Rock stars are known for their debauchery and consistent use of illicit drugs. But being caught with illegal substances in Japan is the near equivalent of career suicide. Many artists never recover once it’s exposed to the public. Not much is known or clear of what became of Hisashi in the three months that he was released from police custody. For most fans, this was seen as the potential end of the group. Having heard absolutely nothing from Buck-Tick for six months. People naturally begin to speculate and worry. However, in October, the band reappeared with ads declaring that a new album was on the way and that a show was scheduled to be played in December. They would not be disbanding. Shortly after, In November, an interview with Hisashi was published in Rock It Magazine, in which he apologizes for his actions and vows to never take the drug again. The band held through on their promise and come December 29th, it was time for a brand new performance held at the Tokyo Dome, a professional baseball stadium with a max capacity of 50,000 people. Anxiously, the band wonders if anyone will show up at all. No one has ever recover from a scandal this serious before. Astonishingly Buck-Tick manages once again to fill every single seat in the stadium and delivers a legendary show now dubbed "The Day in Question" in reference to Imai’s arrest and has been held annually starting in 2001. It was here as well, where they debut two new tracks from their forthcoming album, Aku No Hana and The World Is Yours. A powerful end to the year for Japan’s hardest working band. Not long after the single Aku No Hana was officially released in January the following year. It’s also important to note that Aku No Hana here means "Les Fleurs Du Mal" inspired by Sakurai’s favorite poet at the time Charles Baudelaire, and his collection of poems of the same name. The full album would follow soon after with a release on February 1st and once more. It was followed by an extremely extensive tour, the most ambitious one that they’ve done up to this point with 51 dates, at least one stop in every single prefecture in Japan. This album and Taboo would mark a real shift in the sound of the group, where before they had a more traditional Japanese pop rock style in their previous releases, these two albums had a much darker and almost gothic inspiration, possibly propagated by the fact that they worked with Will Gosling on these two records, who’s engineered for artists such as The Psychedelic Furs and Echo and The Bunnymen. And of course, this album sees plenty of experimentation from the members who are eager to finally be recording again. The Aku No Hana tour would end in July and Buck Tick would take a mini break before continuing their endless onslaught of live performances. Come the end of the year, they were once again in the studio to record an album. It seems that these five young men truly do not possess the ability to be fatigued. With this being the third year of this absolute, merciless schedule. January 21st, 1991, the single Speed is released, which pokes fun at the events that arose in 89. The track speaks about experimentation with drugs (from what I could gather and comprehend) specifically pills. With the original title of the song being Acid, but it was later changed because this was deemed to be too scandalous. Shortly after the album that they had began recording in September of the year prior was released on February 21st titled Kurutta Taiyo (Crazy Sun), and we once again saw the band embrace a more serious subject matter with two songs Jupiter and Sakura being a tribute to sacrifice mother who passed away while he was away on tour a year prior. And as well. having said that the sun (taiyo) was as well a metaphor for his mother, whom he said was a great being. Kurutta Taiyo would also see more experimentation from the members, with Hisashi embracing more electronic elements. The tour for this record started on March 6th, 1991, and lasted for 49 dates. Following the end of the tour, They would make a few television appearances to round out the year before, entering the studio once again at the beginning of 92. This time, not for a brand new album, but a collection of rerecorded tracks entitled Koroshi no Shirabe (This Is NOT Greatest Hits). The recording process for this album is said to be grueling, with about 1300 hours spent in the studio tweaking, reworking and rerecording these tracks in order to make them fit into their new style with as well improved musicianship. During this year, they made the conscious choice to play less shows so that they could properly gear up for the album that was to follow in the upcoming year, embarking on the This Is Not Greatest Tour, which lasted for 23 dates and ended the year with a brief break from touring. Commencing in May of 93, Buck-Tick announced a monstrously expansive tour for their upcoming album, Darker Than Darkness Style 93, consisting of 59 shows in total, with the tour terminating in November, the largest tour that they’ve done in their history as a group. Their seventh major label album would include some noteworthy changes in comparison to their previous releases. For one, Hide would contribute piano and synthesizer parts on this album and as well we would see Hisashi experiment with different guitar tones as well. Most notably on the single Dress, where he emulates the sound of a keyboard. Most infamously, I believe, would be the inclusion of the hidden track D.T.D on the CD release, which apparently caused confusion among the public as to why they would include a song and not list it anywhere. With Sakurai even being interviewed specifically about this matter on a TV appearance. 1994, however, would see another expected change for the band as this is the first year since their debut where they did not release a new studio album. The band did stay fairly active, however, with them consistently playing live shows, but not as many in the years preceding. They would, however, depart for a weeklong photoshoot in Turkey and would also play a small live show in Istanbul as well. Hisashi would also release the debut album from his side project Schaft this year. The album Six/Nine would follow in the upcoming year, releasing on May 15th, 1995, once again with a tour that saw less dates in previous years, with the band potentially feeling the effects of their warp speed touring from from prior years. This album contains the B-side Rakuen which ended up being censored because the band had used parts of the Koran without authorization, which caused the Islamic center of Japan to protest its usage in the track. Subsequently, leading the band to revise its choice and remove its usage from the album, the last quarter of the year would end with them releasing a compilation of singles titled Catalogue 1987 – 1995. Seemingly back to the regular release schedule, The band released the album Cosmos in 96, this time, coupled with a different look for the band instead of their usual dark attire. The group opted for a more classic look with the group mainly sporting suits and Toll specifically, a zoot suit inspired fedora with his hair popping through the top. This as well was coupled with a musical style that was more inspired by electronic. Marking Buck-Tick’s shift into a more cyberpunk influenced sound. And as expected, they set off for yet another tour. The Chaos tour. This being their 11th major tour since their debut, but noticeably shorter than previous ones, only lasting about 23 dates. To supplement for this, the band had decided to expand this tour for an extra nine dates beginning in December. However, misfortune would strike Sakurai once again, and these nine dates would have to be canceled. Whilst away in Nepal for a photoshoot Sakurai had begun experiencing incredible abdominal pains, but him being the intensely dedicated man that he is, decided to ignore the pain for six whole hours during the shoot before politely asking to be taken to the hospital. Only one problem. Once upon arrival at the hospital, there was no space left. He would have to be rushed to Singapore and be operated on effective immediately. Sakurai, however, thinking to be in his final moments, pleaded to be taken to Tokyo, he thought, "If I am to die, let me die in Tokyo." Once in Tokyo, he underwent an operation for peritonitis and miraculously was told that if he had arrived only one day later that he would have died. Following this harrowing event, both him and the band thought it necessary to take a proper break before resuming normal operations. Following this rest period, they would have yet another album prepared for release in 97. Not even the chilling hand of death is enough to threaten the dedication of Buck Tick. This new album, Sexy Streamliner, was the first to be released under Mercury/Polygram after having just left Victor and would once again see the band lean into their actively forming cyberpunk sound with Hisashi, experimenting with a theremin on this album. Always ahead of the curve and never afraid to experiment, Buck Tick once again succeeded in their adoption of a new style. The end of the century would be fairly quiet for the group, with them not releasing another album until September of 2000, making this the longest interlude between albums since their conception as a band. The release of the album One Life, One Death saw the band once again change labels, this time to BMG/Funhouse, which, funnily enough, is owned by Victor. The two albums following this Kyokuto I Love You and Mona Lisa Overdrive would be the final times that the band would explore the sonics of cyberpunk before once again deciding to experiment with a new sound. The rest of the 2000s would see plenty of change for this ever evolving group. 2004 specifically, with the group briefly halted for all members discounting Hide to release music for their respective side projects. Sakurai had launched a solo career and released the album Ai No Wakusei. Imai formed the group Lucy with musicians, Kiyoshi and Katsushige Okazaki and released the album Rockarollica. And lastly, the brothers Toll and U-ta released albums with their respective groups. – Yagami Toll & The Blue Sky and WIld Wise Apes. Come 2005, the band would once again experiment with the concept of a novel sound and for the first time would base an album around the theme of Goth. On the record of Juusankai Wa Gekkou with a heavy emphasis on the atmosphere of cabarets, clowns and gothic theater. Despite their already well cultivated, dark and gothic leaning image, this would be the first time they would properly release an album in this style. Following this release, they would start exploring the style of a straight band sound, meaning a pull back on the gothic elements and more of a focus on the sound of a traditional group. All releases from 2005 to 2011 would follow this sound. The band was once again on a fairly consistent release schedule. Seeing a new album followed by a tour annually or biennially with the release of eight new albums within this period, they would once again switch labels in 2012. The trajectory of the band had seemed to be going perfectly smoothly. Having just finished the tour for their latest release, Izora released the 12th of April 2023, it appeared to be that Buck Tick were truly an indestructible band. But as it always is in life, the flames that burn the brightest always extinguish too quickly. October 19th, during a concert held exclusively for the members of Buck Tick’s fan club, Sakurai fell gravely ill during the performance and would sadly pass away later that same night due to a brainstem hemorrhage. Since their professional debut in 87, Buck-Tick have always been on the cutting edge of innovation and experimentation, never doing the same thing twice and always hungry for evolution – they pushed the limits of what was possible within the scene of Japanese music and opened doors for countless acts to follow in the future. Being one of the founding pillars of Visual Kei, which saw immense popularity in the late nineties and early 2000s, as well as their intense popularity in Japanese media as well them being an inspiration for many and even having a manga series based on their early years titled Hearts by Kumi Himeno and as well with Sakurai being an inspiration for the character of Takumi in the manga series and anime Nana. Although author Ai Yazawa denies this claim. And 40 years after their formation, they still continue on strong with death itself not strong enough to halt the band’s march forward. As the rest of the group has stated that they will continue as Buck Tick and will proceed to record a brand new album in 2024. There are many, many, many, many, many, many details that were omitted for the sake of making this video less than 3 hours long. But I hope that this gives you a proper overview of this legendary group’s vast career from the beginnings as a group of bored high schoolers with a passion for music to one of Japan’s most influential figures in rock music. The history of Buck-Tick is nothing short of legendary, having influenced millions of listeners and inspired countless artists, genres and subgenres. Their impact in the world of music has been engraved for years to come, and I am excited to see what the world’s busiest band has in store for the future. Hey, thank you for making it to the end of this video. If you’ve liked what you’ve seen so far, go ahead and drop me a like and then subscribe. If you’d like to see more like this in the future, I am a one man machine working on these projects, so it really means a lot to me when you guys show me your support. And once again, if you have any questions or if I missed something, feel free to let me know in the comments below. I read every last one of them and I enjoy the discussions that are had. That’s all for today. Thanks again and see in the next one. Peace!!!
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All Sources Used:
https://www.bucktickzone.com/history.shtml
https://www.generasia.com/wiki/BUCK-TICK
BUCK-TICK | [26 Oct 2023] Real Sound: In memoriam BUCK-TICK’s Sakurai Atsushi
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/buck-tick-mn0000941535
https://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/linguasounda/b-t35th/history.html
http://nopperabou.net/bt-interviews/bt-inter/snob-ja2005.htm
[ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9-FZ4pBQ5o](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9-FZ4pBQ5o)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETceNa-WLdY&t=207s
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