Although the term “Visual-kei” did not exist in the 1980s, it was a time when many V-kei legends such as X JAPAN and BUCK-TICK emerged. In this issue, we will introduce not only songs by V-kei bands released in the 1980s, but also songs by BOØWY and others that influenced subsequent V-kei bands such as GLAY, as “related to V-kei”!
CONTENTS
“BODY TO BODY” by SOFT BALLET (1989)
This is a legendary song from the early days of SOFT BALLET. SOFT BALLET is often described as being ahead of its time, but it would be nonsense to apply their aesthetic to trends.” BODY TO BODY,” ENDO RYOICHI sings powerfully, and his bold, straightforward vocals are full of life. The contrast between FUJII MAKI’s quiet, unassuming performance and MORIOKA KEN’s avant-garde dancing in glittering costumes is also good. A cool-looking yet dynamic song, that is SOFT BALLET’s “BODY TO BODY”.
Release Date : Apr. 11, 1989
Members at the time of release : ENDO RYOICHI(Vo.), FUJII MAKI(Gt., Synth., Key.), MORIOKA KEN(Synth., Key.).
“MARIONETTE” by BOØWY (1987)
“Marionette” is one of BOØWY’s biggest hits. The intro guitar riff is impressive and the simple melodic structure of the beauty of Kyosuke Himuro’s singing voice. As one of the most popular J-ROCK bands of the 1980s, BOØWY has many followers including TERU of GLAY.
Release Date : July 22, 1987
Members at the time of release : HIMURO KYOSUKE(Vo.), HOTEI TOMOYASU(Gt.), MATSUI TUNEMATSU(Ba.), TAKAHASHI MAKOTO(Dr.)
“LOVE GENERATION” by AUTO-MOD (1981)
AUTO-MOD is a resident of the Japanese underground culture and a pioneer in the Japanese Goth world. Vocalist GENET’s unique sense of style and experimental music is full of decadence. You may have a little bit of a love/hate relationship with them, but once you get into it, you won’t be able to get out of it.” LOVE GENERATION” features an experimental sound with a ragged bass line, a rough sound, a decadent atmosphere, and rhythms that are rare in Visual Kei. Upon research, we found that this applies to the ska genre, a musical genre that began in Jamaica in the late 50s. AUTO-MOD takes music from various ethnic groups and genres and digests it into their own music, and you are sure to be captivated by it. AUTO-MOD is also famous for the fact that BOØWY’s Tomoyasu Hotei and Makoto Takahashi were members of the band.
Release Date : Feb. 1981
Members at the time of release : GENET(Vo.)
“GLORIA” by Ziggy (1988)
ZIGGY stole the hearts of many Japanese with their gorgeous appearance of long hair and flashy makeup and catchy sounding music. ZIGGY’s biggest hit, “GLORIA,” is a song with much of their appeal. Heavily influenced by foreign metal/glam rock, it may not be strictly classified as Visual-kei. However, they were featured on the cover of the first issue (October 1990) of SHOXX, a music bible specializing in V-kei, and are one of the bands that cannot be overlooked when referring to Visual-kei.
Release Date : May 25, 1988
Members at the time of release : MORISHIGE JYUICHI(Vo.), MATSUO SOUNIN(Gt.), TOSHIRO NORIO(Ba.), OYAMA MASANORI(Dr.)
“Genkai LOVERS” by SHOW-YA (1989)
SHOW-YA is a five-piece female rock band that has supported the band boom since the 1980s. They are pioneers, especially as an all-female band. In the early days of their activities, they sometimes wore cute costumes, which was against the wishes of the members, but they broke out as a heavy metal band with the big hit “Marginal Lovers. Since then, they have firmly established themselves as a heavy metal band and led the female band boom. Keiko Terada’s husky and powerful voice and each member’s power-packed performance are energizing to watch.
Release Date : Feb. 1, 1989
Members at the time of release : TERADA KEIKO(Vo.), NAKAMURA MIKI(Key.), IGARASHI ☆sun-go☆ MIKI(Gt.), SENBA SATOMI(Ba.), TSUNODA mittan MIKI(Dr.)
Did you find your favorite song? Next time, we’ll show you some songs from the 1990s!
writer：Nakajima
