Big in Japan
Encyclopedia
Big in Japan was a punk
band
that emerged from Liverpool
, England
in the late 1970s. They are better known for the later successes of their band members than for their own music. According to the Liverpool Echo
, Big in Japan were "a supergroup
with a difference - its members only became super after they left."
scene as Echo & the Bunnymen
, The Teardrop Explodes
, OMD
and Dalek I Love You
, Big In Japan started off playing gigs around Liverpool
, such as Ruffwood School in Kirkby
along with Wah! Heat
, but most notably at Eric's Club
. Their stage show was unique: lead singer Jayne Casey
would perform with a lampshade over her shaved head, guitarist Bill Drummond
played in a kilt
and bassist Holly Johnson
performed in a flamboyant manner which he would later take further in Frankie Goes to Hollywood
.
As an initial idea of Deaf School
's Clive Langer
, his friend Bill Drummond
(guitar, vocals), Kevin Ward
(bass, vocals) and Phil Allen
(drums), the latter brother of Deaf School lead singer Enrico Cadillac Jr., formed the band in May 1977, playing only three gig
s, the first of them at Bretton Hall College, in Yorkshire
. In August, the line-up grew, joining Jayne Casey (vocals), Ian Broudie
(guitar) and Clive Langer (guitar), who quit in September, but not before the band recorded
their first song released, "Big In Japan", which appeared in the 7" single
compilation Brutality Religion and a dance beat
, released the same year. In October, Ambrose Reynolds
joined to replace Ward who then left that December, but Reynolds himself quit shortly afterwards and was replaced by Holly Johnson
. In January 1978, Budgie
(previously in The Spitfire Boys
and later member of Siouxsie and the Banshees) replaced Allen on drums, and in early June, Johnson was sacked and got replaced by ex-Deaf School Steve Lindsey, who was replaced in July by Dave Balfe (previously in Dalek I Love You
), the last member who joined.
Hatred of the band reached such a level that a petition calling on them to split up was launched by a jealous young Julian Cope
. Displayed in local shop Probe Records
the petition gathered numerous signatures, including those of the band themselves. According to Cope's autobiography, "Of course, Bill Drummond was into the whole thing and told us we needed 14,000 signatures, then they'd split up. We got about nine". In the 1980s, Drummond became manager
of Cope's band, The Teardrop Explodes
.
The band broke up after a last gig at Eric's on 26 August 1978. During their time, Big in Japan recorded four songs which were included in From Y to Z and Never Again
EP
, released afterwards to pay off debts. The unintentional consequence of the EP was the formation of the Zoo
label, which went on to release early material by Echo & the Bunnymen and The Teardrop Explodes, amongst others. They also recorded a Peel Session on 12 February 1979, with a line-up of Casey, Broudie, Johnson and Budgie; the session was broadcast on 6 March 1979.
Big in Japan left a recorded legacy of seven songs: one on a single, four on their EP From Y to Z and Never Again, and two released on a compilation. As of 2005, five out of these recorded songs are commercially available, on the compilation album
, The Zoo: Uncaged 1978-1982.
Ian Broudie said that:
session of 6 March 1979; "Suicide High Life", "Goodbye" and "Don't Bomb China".
A bootleg
CD
is in circulation which contains all of the material listed above as well as demo
versions of "Society for Cutting Up Men", "Boys Cry", "Big in Japan", "Space Walk" and "Match of the Day" and "Taxi". It also contains the audio from the band's performance of "Suicide A Go Go" on their Granada TV appearance of 23 March 1978 (on Tony Wilson
's, So It Goes
).
Black and white amateur home movie footage of the band performing live at Eric's still exists - excerpts of the band performing both "Big In Japan" and "Cindy And The Barbi Dolls" were used in the BBC Television
's Rock Family Trees: The New Merseybeat, originally transmitted in August 1995 and repeated in 1997.
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
that emerged from Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in the late 1970s. They are better known for the later successes of their band members than for their own music. According to the Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
The Liverpool Echo is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Saturday, and is Liverpool's evening newspaper while its sister paper, the Liverpool Daily Post, is the morning paper...
, Big in Japan were "a supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
with a difference - its members only became super after they left."
History
Coming from the same MerseysideMerseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
scene as Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen are an English post-punk band, formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine. By 1980, Pete de Freitas had joined as the band's drummer, and their debut...
, The Teardrop Explodes
The Teardrop Explodes
The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single "Reward" the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s, the group also launched the career of group frontman...
, OMD
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are a synthpop group whose founding members are originally from the Wirral Peninsula, England...
and Dalek I Love You
Dalek I Love You
Dalek I Love You may refer to:* Dalek I Love You, a synthpop group* Dalek I Love You , the group's self-titled album* Dalek I Love You , an audio play broadcast on BBC Radio...
, Big In Japan started off playing gigs around Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, such as Ruffwood School in Kirkby
Kirkby
Kirkby is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in the metropolitan county of Merseyside in England. The town was developed from the 1950s through 1970s as a means to house the overspill of Liverpool. It is situated roughly north of Huyton, the administrative HQ of the borough and about...
along with Wah! Heat
Pete Wylie
-Studio albums:- Extended Plays :-Singles:-External links:***...
, but most notably at Eric's Club
Eric's Club
Eric's Club was a music club in Liverpool, England. It opened on October 1, 1976 in a building basement on Mathew Street opposite The Cavern Club where The Beatles and other bands of the 1960s played, and became notable for hosting early performances by many punk and post-punk bands.The club was...
. Their stage show was unique: lead singer Jayne Casey
Jayne Casey
Jayne Casey is an artistic director who was known for being involved in the Liverpool punk and new wave scene in the 1970s and 1980s, with Big in Japan, Pink Military and Pink Industry.-Big In Japan:...
would perform with a lampshade over her shaved head, guitarist Bill Drummond
Bill Drummond
William Ernest Drummond is a Scottish artist, musician, writer and record producer. He was the co-founder of late 1980s avant-garde pop group The KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with which he burned a million pounds in 1994...
played in a kilt
Kilt
The kilt is a knee-length garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland in general, or with Celtic heritage even more broadly...
and bassist Holly Johnson
Holly Johnson
Holly Johnson is an English artist, writer and musician, best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and former bassist for Big in Japan.- Big in Japan :...
performed in a flamboyant manner which he would later take further in Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Frankie Goes to Hollywood were a British dance-pop band popular in the mid-1980s. The group was fronted by Holly Johnson , with Paul Rutherford , Peter Gill , Mark O'Toole , and Brian Nash .The group's debut single "Relax" was banned by the BBC in 1984 while at number six in the charts and...
.
As an initial idea of Deaf School
Deaf School
Deaf School are an English rock band, formed in the mid 1970s and hailing from Liverpool. Their style is somewhere in between pub rock, punk, glam rock and art rock. They originally disbanded after their third album but their influence lived on...
's Clive Langer
Clive Langer
Clive Langer is a British record producer active from the mid 1970s onwards. He usually works with Alan Winstanley. He composed the music for the films Still Crazy and Brothers of the Head. Prior to his record producing career he was a guitarist with the British cult band Deaf SchoolLanger...
, his friend Bill Drummond
Bill Drummond
William Ernest Drummond is a Scottish artist, musician, writer and record producer. He was the co-founder of late 1980s avant-garde pop group The KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with which he burned a million pounds in 1994...
(guitar, vocals), Kevin Ward
Kev Ward
Kevin James Ward was a bassist who played in Big in Japan. A fellow student of the Liverpool School of Art, he did artwork for the mid 1970s Liverpool band, Deaf School...
(bass, vocals) and Phil Allen
Phil Allen
Phil Allen was a drummer in Liverpool new wave bands. He is the brother of Enrico Cadillac Jr. , the frontman of Deaf School...
(drums), the latter brother of Deaf School lead singer Enrico Cadillac Jr., formed the band in May 1977, playing only three gig
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s, the first of them at Bretton Hall College, in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. In August, the line-up grew, joining Jayne Casey (vocals), Ian Broudie
Ian Broudie
Ian Broudie is a British singer-songwriter, musician and record producer from Liverpool, England. After emerging from the post punk scene in Liverpool in the late 1970s as a member of Big in Japan, Broudie went on to form the short-lived groups Original Mirrors and Care in the early 1980s as well...
(guitar) and Clive Langer (guitar), who quit in September, but not before the band recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
their first song released, "Big In Japan", which appeared in the 7" single
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
compilation Brutality Religion and a dance beat
Brutality Religion and a dance beat
"Brutality, Religion and a Dance Beat" was a 7" single compilation of two songs. It contained the songs "Big in Japan", by eponymous band Big in Japan, and "Do The Chud", by The Chuddy Nuddies , both groups formed in the 1970s punk scene of Liverpool...
, released the same year. In October, Ambrose Reynolds
Ambrose Reynolds
-Early years:Began making music as a chorister at Liverpool Cathedral at the age of 7. A few years later, teaming up with David Knopov in a street busking band called The O'Boogie Brothers. The O'Boogie Brothers expanded its membership to include an Ian Broudie on Guitar and Nathan McGough...
joined to replace Ward who then left that December, but Reynolds himself quit shortly afterwards and was replaced by Holly Johnson
Holly Johnson
Holly Johnson is an English artist, writer and musician, best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and former bassist for Big in Japan.- Big in Japan :...
. In January 1978, Budgie
Budgie (drummer)
-External links:*...
(previously in The Spitfire Boys
The Spitfire Boys
The Spitfire Boys were the first Liverpool punk band to release a single . The Spitfire Boys were mainly notable for including in their line-up Peter Clarke, who went on to drum for The Slits and later Siouxsie and the Banshees as Budgie, and Paul Rutherford, later better known for being a member...
and later member of Siouxsie and the Banshees) replaced Allen on drums, and in early June, Johnson was sacked and got replaced by ex-Deaf School Steve Lindsey, who was replaced in July by Dave Balfe (previously in Dalek I Love You
Dalek I Love You
Dalek I Love You may refer to:* Dalek I Love You, a synthpop group* Dalek I Love You , the group's self-titled album* Dalek I Love You , an audio play broadcast on BBC Radio...
), the last member who joined.
Hatred of the band reached such a level that a petition calling on them to split up was launched by a jealous young Julian Cope
Julian Cope
Julian Cope is a British rock musician, author, antiquary, musicologist, poet and cultural commentator...
. Displayed in local shop Probe Records
Probe Records (shop)
Probe Records is a small independent record shop, founded in 1971, that was once, most famously, on the corner of Button Street in Liverpool, Before this it had "branches" in the basement of Silly Billies clothes shop and on Clarence Street , off Brownlow Hill. There was also a daily visit at...
the petition gathered numerous signatures, including those of the band themselves. According to Cope's autobiography, "Of course, Bill Drummond was into the whole thing and told us we needed 14,000 signatures, then they'd split up. We got about nine". In the 1980s, Drummond became manager
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
of Cope's band, The Teardrop Explodes
The Teardrop Explodes
The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single "Reward" the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s, the group also launched the career of group frontman...
.
The band broke up after a last gig at Eric's on 26 August 1978. During their time, Big in Japan recorded four songs which were included in From Y to Z and Never Again
From Y to Z and Never Again
From Y To Z and Never Again is an EP released by the seminal punk band Big in Japan. It includes four out of their six recorded songs and is most notable for being the first release on Zoo Records, the label created by band members Bill Drummond and David Balfe. It was also one of the first...
EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, released afterwards to pay off debts. The unintentional consequence of the EP was the formation of the Zoo
Zoo Records
Zoo Records was a British independent record label formed by Bill Drummond and David Balfe in 1978. Zoo was launched in order to release the work of the perennially struggling Liverpool band, Big in Japan...
label, which went on to release early material by Echo & the Bunnymen and The Teardrop Explodes, amongst others. They also recorded a Peel Session on 12 February 1979, with a line-up of Casey, Broudie, Johnson and Budgie; the session was broadcast on 6 March 1979.
Big in Japan left a recorded legacy of seven songs: one on a single, four on their EP From Y to Z and Never Again, and two released on a compilation. As of 2005, five out of these recorded songs are commercially available, on the compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, The Zoo: Uncaged 1978-1982.
Members' remembrances
Jayne Casey would later state:Ian Broudie said that:
Singles and EPs
- Brutality Religion and a dance beatBrutality Religion and a dance beat"Brutality, Religion and a Dance Beat" was a 7" single compilation of two songs. It contained the songs "Big in Japan", by eponymous band Big in Japan, and "Do The Chud", by The Chuddy Nuddies , both groups formed in the 1970s punk scene of Liverpool...
(Eric's, September 1977) - split with Chuddie NuddiesYachts (band)Yachts were a British pop/rock band, best remembered for their 1977 single, "Suffice To Say", and “minor new wave classic”, "Love You, Love You".-Career:... - From Y to Z and Never AgainFrom Y to Z and Never AgainFrom Y To Z and Never Again is an EP released by the seminal punk band Big in Japan. It includes four out of their six recorded songs and is most notable for being the first release on Zoo Records, the label created by band members Bill Drummond and David Balfe. It was also one of the first...
(Zoo, 1978)
Compilations
- Street To Street: A Liverpoool Album (1978)
- To the Shores of Lake Placid (1982)
- The Zoo: Uncaged 1978-1982 (1990)
Other work
Three unreleased songs were recorded for the band's only John PeelJohn Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
session of 6 March 1979; "Suicide High Life", "Goodbye" and "Don't Bomb China".
A bootleg
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
is in circulation which contains all of the material listed above as well as demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
versions of "Society for Cutting Up Men", "Boys Cry", "Big in Japan", "Space Walk" and "Match of the Day" and "Taxi". It also contains the audio from the band's performance of "Suicide A Go Go" on their Granada TV appearance of 23 March 1978 (on Tony Wilson
Tony Wilson
Anthony Howard Wilson, commonly known as Tony Wilson , was an English record label owner, radio presenter, TV show host, nightclub manager, impresario and journalist for Granada Television and the BBC....
's, So It Goes
So It Goes (TV series)
So It Goes was a British TV music show presented by Tony Wilson on Granada Television between 1976 and 1977. It is most famous for showcasing the then burgeoning Punk rock movement...
).
Black and white amateur home movie footage of the band performing live at Eric's still exists - excerpts of the band performing both "Big In Japan" and "Cindy And The Barbi Dolls" were used in the BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
's Rock Family Trees: The New Merseybeat, originally transmitted in August 1995 and repeated in 1997.
Band members
- Bill DrummondBill DrummondWilliam Ernest Drummond is a Scottish artist, musician, writer and record producer. He was the co-founder of late 1980s avant-garde pop group The KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with which he burned a million pounds in 1994...
– guitar, vocals (1977–1978) - Kev WardKev WardKevin James Ward was a bassist who played in Big in Japan. A fellow student of the Liverpool School of Art, he did artwork for the mid 1970s Liverpool band, Deaf School...
– bass, vocals (1977) - Phil AllenPhil AllenPhil Allen was a drummer in Liverpool new wave bands. He is the brother of Enrico Cadillac Jr. , the frontman of Deaf School...
– drums (1977) - Jayne CaseyJayne CaseyJayne Casey is an artistic director who was known for being involved in the Liverpool punk and new wave scene in the 1970s and 1980s, with Big in Japan, Pink Military and Pink Industry.-Big In Japan:...
– vocals (1977–1978, 1979) - Ian BroudieIan BroudieIan Broudie is a British singer-songwriter, musician and record producer from Liverpool, England. After emerging from the post punk scene in Liverpool in the late 1970s as a member of Big in Japan, Broudie went on to form the short-lived groups Original Mirrors and Care in the early 1980s as well...
– guitar (1977–1978, 1979) - Clive LangerClive LangerClive Langer is a British record producer active from the mid 1970s onwards. He usually works with Alan Winstanley. He composed the music for the films Still Crazy and Brothers of the Head. Prior to his record producing career he was a guitarist with the British cult band Deaf SchoolLanger...
– guitar (1977) - Ambrose ReynoldsAmbrose Reynolds-Early years:Began making music as a chorister at Liverpool Cathedral at the age of 7. A few years later, teaming up with David Knopov in a street busking band called The O'Boogie Brothers. The O'Boogie Brothers expanded its membership to include an Ian Broudie on Guitar and Nathan McGough...
– bass (1977) - Holly JohnsonHolly JohnsonHolly Johnson is an English artist, writer and musician, best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and former bassist for Big in Japan.- Big in Japan :...
– bass, vocals (1977–1978, 1979) - BudgieBudgie (drummer)-External links:*...
– drums (1978, 1979) - Steve Lindsey – bass (1978)
- David BalfeDavid BalfeDavid Balfe is most notable for playing keyboards with The Teardrop Explodes, founding the Zoo and Food record labels, signing Blur and for being the subject of their number one hit - "Country House".-Biography:...
– bass (1978)