Glay (band)
Encyclopedia
Glay is a rock/pop band from Hakodate
, Hokkaidō
, Japan
formed by guitarist Takuro and vocalist Teru in high school in 1988. Glay primarily composes songs in the rock and pop genres, but they have also composed songs using elements of different styles such as reggae
and gospel
. As of 2008, they had sold an estimated amount of 28 million records of forty-three singles and 23 million copies of fourteen albums. As of August 2010, Glay has sold about 37.5 million in Japan, placed as the 7th best selling artist of all time in that country, according to a ranking presented on the TV show Music Station
, with data from the Oricon
charts. Glay were sometimes associated with the visual kei
movement, especially in the beginning of their career, but generally they're too refined for that, boasting their own type of extravaganza
.
asked Takuro
, a schoolmate, to play the drums. They found a bassist but had difficulty finding a vocalist. When Teru made a tape of his singing and gave it to Takuro he was immediately recruited for the part, leaving the drums part to be filled by another person. On the search for a second guitarist, Hisashi
was asked to join but declined the offer, as he was already part of a locally well-known heavy punk/rock band called Ari, which better suited his taste in music. Hisashi eventually accepted Takuro's offer and became Glay's lead guitarist after Ari disbanded.
By the time of Takuro and Teru's graduation, Glay were enjoying some popularity in their hometown of Hakodate and were playing full live houses. Following Hisashi's high school graduation in 1990, the three moved to Tokyo
to try to further expand their musical career. The bassist and the drummer chose to stay in Hakodate. In Tokyo, they found a completely different situation: although they had been relatively popular in their hometown, it was not easy to begin a career in Tokyo. Their concerts attracted few people, and sometimes none at all, and many live houses would not accept them because they did not fit well into either rock or pop categories. The band had to conciliate their music career to part time jobs, and faced financial problems during their first years in Tokyo.
During this time, members (particularly drummers) were constantly joining and leaving the band. When their bassist quit, Takuro knew that Jiro
, who was also from Hakodate and had played with the indie band Pierrot (different from the now disbanded Pierrot
, that enjoyed mainstream popularity), had moved to Tokyo and invited him to join Glay. He too, declined the offer, insisting that he was already heading in the right direction for himself. It wasn't until Takuro asked him to play at just one show to fill in for their missing bassist that he decided to go. Following that show, Jiro continued to receive invitations to play with Glay, and eventually he became Glay's official bass player, finalizing the official four member lineup.
They promoted the band by handing out flyers on the street and giving out demo tapes. Eventually they became better known on the Tokyo live house circuit, and began drawing larger crowds. During one of these shows in October 1993, Yoshiki, then drummer and pianist for X Japan
, saw their show and offered them a contract to his label Extasy Records
. In 1994 their debut single, "Rain", and their first album, Hai to Diamond
, were released.
, peaked at #8. Their first #1 hit was in 1996 with their third album Beat Out!
, which was marked as a major turning point in Glay's career. Released later that same year, the fourth album Beloved
was their first album to sell over 1 million copies. In September 1996, Glay played the final concert of the "Beat Out! Reprise Tour" at Budokan, their first concert at the venue, which is stated by them to have been their biggest dream coming true. In August 1997, their 12th single "However
" remained at the top of the charts for two weeks in a roll and, after it was displaced by Zard
's single "Eien
" for one week, it re-appeared at the top position for other three weeks.
Since then, Glay has produced several hit singles, most of them reaching #1 on the charts. In the period between 1997 and 2000, Glay produced six million-selling singles, being the third artist with most million-selling singles of all time. Their 13th single "Yuuwaku
" topped Oricon yearly single ranking in 1998. In 1999, their 16th single "Winter, again
" was number two of the year and won the 41st Japan Record Awards
"Grand Prix" award, which is considered the most important Japanese music award. Their albums were also massively successful; both Pure Soul
(1998) and Heavy Gauge
(1999), along with the compilation album Drive - Glay Complete Best- (2000), sold more than two million copies each.
The impact of their popularity was such that, in 1998, Japan's telephone service was temporarily put out of order due to the mass number of fans trying to reserve tickets to their upcoming tour. The 1998 Winter Olympics
were being held, and press coverage of the event became chaotic because of the incident.
In this period, the band won several prizes and established some records. In 1997, the album Review - Best of Glay
stayed for five weeks in a roll at the top position of the Oricon charts and became the all-time best-selling album in Japan at the time, with almost 5 million copies sold. (at present, it is ranked at #3 spot, according to Oricon). Their 1999 video-single "Survival" sold approximately 900 thousand copies, and is up to the present the all-time best-selling video/DVD. In the same year, their first "Expo" concert would lure a record audience of 200,000 people (see "Glay Expo").
1999 was the year Glay played their first dome tour, "Glay Dome Tour "pure soul" 1999", which made the band the first to hold a consecutive 5 day "dome" concert. This tour had a total of 15 performances in four venues and attracted a total audience of 750,000 people. Glay closed the year of 1999, playing the concert "The Millennium Eve - A Christmas Present for the People Who Love Live a Lot", a joint concert with Luna Sea
, on December 23, and the "Glay Countdown Live in Messe "Come Together"" on December 31.
Takuro described the "Expo'99" as a dream come true. When the album Heavy Gauge
was released, in October 1999, Takuro wrote a diary entry in Glay's official home page, describing the album as a representation of his feelings at that moment. His feelings were not of happiness, but of "emptiness" and not knowing what to do after "doing everything" they wanted to. The album is seen as a first step to a new direction in the band's career. The band considered disbanding in 2000, after releasing their second compilation album, which was a suggestion made by fellow singer Yuki Isoya
, whose group Judy and Mary
had disbanded.
got mixed feelings among the fans, due to its disparities to their earlier works, with a different, generally poppier and experimental sound, and songs that had reggae and R&B influences. Their 2002 album Unity Roots and Family, Away
, which was almost completely made of slow paced songs and also had elements from other types of music (gospel, rap and traditional Okinawan music), was not welcomed by most fans.
In spite of the "cold" reception these works had, the band reached #1 spot in the charts with both albums. Glay continued being successful with their tours in Japan. They proved to enjoy popularity outside Japan as well, in 2001, when members visited Thailand
, Hong Kong
, Taiwan
and Korea
to promote the Expo 2001 "Global Communication" and officially invite artists Dome, Nicholas Tse
, Mayday and Jaurim
to participate in one of the Expo concerts. The next year, they played outside Japan for the first time (not counting one concert in Hawaii for their fanclub members), when they played a sold-out live performance for a 35,000 audience in Beijing. The concert is the most expensive in China
's history. Glay also met then-Chinese President Jiang Zemin.
In 2003, they made a contract transfer from Pony Canyon to Toshiba EMI, the most expensive transfer in Japan's history, at 4 billion yen. Under the new company, Glay released their first DVD—single "Itsuka" and their first B-Side compilation albums, Rare Collectives Vol.1
and Rare Collectives Vol. 2
.
Also in 2003, an art gallery dedicated to Glay was opened in their hometown, Hakodate. "Art Style of Glay" was located in the Winning Hall, a famous building in the city and remained open until 2007.
, and in order to promote the album, the band held the "Glay Concert Tour 2004 X-Rated" and later, in October, the "Glay Arena Tour 2004 "The Frustrated" -Extreme-".
On July 27 they played a "pre-Expo" concert at Universal Studios Japan and on July 31, they played the third edition of the "Glay Expo", which was the main event of the year by the band. At the end of the year they held the fan-club exclusive "Countdown Live in Messe "Come Together"" on December 31. They finished the 10th anniversary celebration with the release of the compilation Ballad Best Singles: White Road in January 2005 and with the "10th Anniversary Year Final Glay Dome Tour 2005 "White Road"" which finished with the "Glay 10th Anniversary Year Final Glay Osaka 4 Days Special 2005 "White Road"".
During that time, Jiro created a side band with the pillows
guitarist Sawao Yamanaka and Straightener
's drummer Nakayama Shinpei called The Predators, in the summer of 2005. The Predators played in summer festivals and released the mini-album Hunting!. Teru and Hisashi formed a band called Rally with The Mad Capsule Markets
drummer Motokatsu and bassist Koji Ueno from Thee Michelle Gun Elephant
. They did a cover of Buck-Tick
's "Aku no Hana" as part of a tribute CD.
Although it was believed that Glay took a break as a group to take a rest, it was later reported in the news that the band had split from their former agency, Unlimited Group. The reasons were obscure, but the event managed to delay the band's work. Information about the episode has always been unclear, as the band just refers to it as a time when they "couldn't move forward" and "had thoughts of quitting". Cyzo Magazine's October 2005 issue had reported Glay's management dispute and referred to it as a media taboo.
In February 2006, Glay ended their silence by having a two-day live performance in Zepp Tokyo and a three-day live performance at Nippon Budokan
, titled "Rock 'n' Roll Swindle", which was produced as an independent event. Here, they played many of their old songs and introduced two new written songs as their new sound. It was the start of a campaign called "Re-Birth" to promote the band's return to the music scene. Posters of their "dead" faces were displayed around the city of Tokyo and a movie of the "old" Glay burial by the "new" Glay was shown on television during the commercial breaks.
Takuro founded his own office, called Lover Soul, but the band signed up with Amuse, the office of Southern All Stars
's Keisuke Kuwata
, in 2006 until the new office was established.
On July 12, 2006, they released a new single titled "G4" after a year and seven months away from the limelight, returning to their rock and roll roots. In the following month, they collaborated with former Boowy vocalist Kyosuke Himuro
in their single "Answer". Together, they performed in "Kyosuke Himuro + Glay Swing Addiction 2006", with "Answer" being one of the songs. In August, Glay performed at Southern All Stars
's summer concert Mujintou alongside various artists. In September, "Natsuoto/Henna Yume -Thousand Dreams-" was released, with Natsuoto being the theme song to TV show Koi suru Hanikami.
Following the release of these singles was their tour, "Rock 'n' Roll Swindle -Re-Birth-" from November 2006 to early 2007.
, containing 14 tracks, which reached #1 spot and was their 10th album to do so, Until then, Glay had been the all-male band with most #1 albums in Japan, but later that year Mr. Children
would replace them. Following the release of this album was their arena tour, titled after the album.
Although there was not much to promote, Glay was very active as a live band. Over the summer of 2007, they performed at the "15th Anniversary Cue Music Jam-Boree" in Yubari on July 1 and produced the "Rock Shock. Vol. 4" on August 23, 2007. They relived the side projects: Jiro's band, The Predators, performed at the "Rising Sun Rock Festival
" in Ezo on August 17 and 18 while Teru and Hisashi's side band, Rally, performed at the "Buck-Tick
Fest 2007" in September. Glay also performed the "Highcommunications Tour 2007-2008" from November 2007 to March 2008.
As of 2008, the band continued the series of shows with the concerts "Rock Shock vol. 5", in Zepp Fukuoka, on April 19 and the "AP Bank Fes '08", on July 19 and 20. In August, they performed for the first time in the United States. The "Verb tour 2008 in U.S." was held at The Fillmore
, in San Francisco, on August 12), and at the House of Blues
, in Los Angeles, on August 15 and 16, 2008.
On September 21, the band appeared in a concert by Kyosuke Himuro held in Hokkaido. In December, the band continued their "Glay Verb Tour" in Japan, with four concerts in Zepp Sendai, Zepp Osaka, Zepp Nagoya and Zepp Tokyo for their fan-club members. On December 30 and 31 they played the "Glay Verb Tour Final "Come Together" 2008-2009", the third edition of their year-end countdown concert.
The first commemorative release was the 6 track single "Say Your Dream" on March 4, 2009. The title song is 13 minutes long and is reported to be a song about Glay's history. Takuro reported that he approached this song as the message he would like to leave if he were to die, and that it took seven year to be completed. The promotional video was divided into two parts, the first of them started broadcasting on TV channels five days before the release of the single. The second part remains accessible on internet only through a pass code obtained with the limited edition of the single. On the same premium site, there is a PV of the coupling song "Haru made wa". The single finishes Glay's series of western song covers with "The Meaning of Life" by the band The Offspring
.
During April, the band held five concerts produced by the members, the "Glay Member Produced Live 2009 - The Great Vacation- Extra-". On April 8 and 9, the band played two concerts for official fanclub "Happy Swing" members who also have been affiliated with the fanclub for over 10 years at NHK Hall. The concerts were produced by Takuro. Teru produced another edition of the "men only night" concert (as he had done in 1999), which was held on April 13 at Studio Coast. Jiro produced a "pair only" concert, which was played on April 15 at the Osaka Hall, and, on April 17, Hisashi produced "Resonance Vol. 2", which was broadcast by Yahoo!douga.
On May 25, 2009, the day Glay completed 15 years since their debut, the band released the single "I am XXX". The song was used as the main theme for the movie Blood: The Last Vampire
around Asia, chosen by producer Bill Kong. On June 10, 2009, Glay released the greatest hits
collection The Great Vacation Vol. 1 - Super Best of Glay, a triple CD containing most of their singles released after 2000, and a re-recorded version of 1998's "Yuuwaku" in the 2 first CD's, while the third CD is mostly composed of unreleased songs.
During the period between June 15 and July 6 the band held the "Glay Hall Tour 2009 - The Great Vacation", prior to their two date "Glay 15th Anniversary Special Live 2009 "The Great Vacation in Nissan Stadium"", held on August 15 and 16, which gathered a total of 150 thousand people and is said to have cost 1.5 billion yen.
In September, Glay returned to the U.S. and held "The Great Vacation U.S. Tour" in California. The band played at The Fillmore
, in San Francisco, on September 9 and at the House of Blues
on September 11 and 12.
On October 21, 2009, Glay released the second part of their greatest hits collection The Great Vacation Vol. 2 - Super Best of Glay, another triple CD containing hit singles from 1994 to 2000 and re-recorded versions of "Acid Head", "Shutter Speeds no Teema" and "Burst", as well as a remastering of the older tracks. The third disc is another collection of unreleased songs.
On October 22, 2009, a Tokyo court has ruled in favor of Glay over the ownership of 147 songs and ordered Unlimited Records to pay them 670 million yen for back royalties and unpaid contract fees. This was the issue that started in 2005 wherein royalties to Glay have ceased to be provided, leading for the four-man band to seek termination of their contract with the company.
, released on October 13.
From June 2010 to February 2011 the band performed their "Live Tour 2010-2011 Rock Around the World" in several halls and arenas all over Japan.
Glay's song "Winter, Again" was covered by 12012 on the compilation Crush! -90's V-Rock Best Hit Cover Songs-, which was released on January 26 and features current visual kei
bands covering songs from bands that were important to the '90s visual kei movement. Their song "Yuuwaku" will be covered by Hero on its sequel, Crush! 2 -90's V-Rock Best Hit Cover Songs-, that will be released on November 23, 2011.
On March 9, 2011, Glay released the albums; Rare Collectives Vol. 3 and Rare Collectives Vol. 4. Each volume is a double CD set containing the b-sides of all their singles released since 2003, as well as unreleased tracks. On May 25, the band released the video Rock Around the World 2010–2011 of the final concert of the tour performed at Saitama Super Arena
.
or stage name
s. All members were born in Hakodate, Hokkaidō
except Hisashi, who was born in Hirosaki, Aomori
, before moving to Hakodate in elementary school.
, gathered a total audience of 200,000 people, making it the largest concert ever held by a single act in Japan, certified by the Guinness World Records
.
The second edition was held in 2001. "Glay Expo 2001 - Global Communication" was divided into four performances: two in Tokyo
, one in Ishikari, and an all-night long performance in Fukuoka
, which featured artists; Dome from Thailand
, Nicholas Tse
from Hong Kong, Mayday from Taiwan
, Jaurim
from South Korea
, and The D.e.p., a group formed by Glay's producer Masahide Sakuma, Taiwanese singer Vivian Hsu
, Gota Yashiki
, Masami Tsuchiya
and Mick Karn
. This expo accumulated a total audience of over 280,000. The concert in Ishikari had part of its fuel generated from solar and aeolic energy generating devices displayed in a booth.
"Glay Expo 2004 in Universal Studio Japan - The Frustrated" celebrated their 10th anniversary, and was held in the parking lot of Universal Studios Japan
selling out the 100,000 tickets in under 15 minutes.
has also produced two "Glay only" special edition books.
The have starred several campaigns for different products, as clothes, chocolate and Mini Discs
. To promote the "Expo '99", at the peak of their mainstream popularity, they had their faces printed on the sides of Japan Airlines
jumbo jets, the sponsor of the event. The campaign was also a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Tokyo-Hakodate route. In 2002, they starred another campaign for Japan Airlines, promoting the interchange between Japan and China.
Each member of Glay, except Teru, has written a book (Jiro has made two and Takuro, three). In 2001, as a part of their "Expo 2001" preparation, they presented the TV show Glay Global Communication
. Besides appearing in magazines and on TV, all of them have or used to have their own weekly radio shows. As of 2008, only Teru and Jiro keep their radio-shows (aired on BayFM and FM802, respectively). In January 2009, Hisashi started his first TV regular segment "RX-72 -Hisashi (Glay) VS Junichi Mogi-", every last Monday of each month on the Music-On TV channel. Takuro has also started a web radio-show, Takuro Mobile Meeting.
Live" (in which Teru has participated since 2005), the "White Band Fes" in 2005, the "Re-style Live" (organized by the DJ Hisashi Yamada) and the "AP Bank Fes" in 2008, Glay, specially Teru and Takuro, have been actively participating in different causes.
In 2001, Takuro along with Ryuichi Sakamoto
started "Artists Power", an organization of artists who want to be active in the research on renewable energy. "AP Bank", which was founded by Mr. Children
's Kazutoshi Sakurai
, composer Takeshi Kobayashi and also Ryuichi Sakamoto, is linked to this organization - "AP" stands for both "Artists Power" and "Alternative Power". The two started talking about this project when they worked in Sakamoto's charity project Zero Landmine
and the first event linked to it was the Ishikari leg of the "Glay Expo 2001" (see "Glay Expo" above).
Teru has been engaged to the "Red Ribbon
Link Project" since 2005 and has become an active spokesperson for the project. In 2008, he starred a HIV awareness campaign with posters and a CM in which he has his own blood tested.
In 2011, after Eastern Japan was affected by the 9.0 magnitude Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
, Glay joined other artists in making donations for the victim's relief. The band donated 20 million yen to the "Asahi Shimbun Social Welfare Organization". Takuro also made a donation of 10 million yen to "Mudef" (Music Design Foundation), an organization that aims at the accomplishment of all the United Nations Organization 8 MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) and seeks to help out people all over the world through music and arts. Takuro is also a board member along with singer Misia
. Teru wrote and recorded a song called "Thank You for Your Love" to send a message of support to the victims and released it via Twitter
. The song was re-recorded and will be released as a download-only
track with its profits being donated to the Japanese Red Cross
.
Hakodate, Hokkaido
is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture.Hakodate was Japan's first city whose port was opened to foreign trade in 1854 as a result of Convention of Kanagawa, and used to be the most important port in northern Japan...
, Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
formed by guitarist Takuro and vocalist Teru in high school in 1988. Glay primarily composes songs in the rock and pop genres, but they have also composed songs using elements of different styles such as reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
and gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
. As of 2008, they had sold an estimated amount of 28 million records of forty-three singles and 23 million copies of fourteen albums. As of August 2010, Glay has sold about 37.5 million in Japan, placed as the 7th best selling artist of all time in that country, according to a ranking presented on the TV show Music Station
Music Station
is a Japanese music television program. It began broadcasting on October 24, 1986 and continues to be broadcast weekly in High-definition from 8PM-9PM on tv asahi...
, with data from the Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
charts. Glay were sometimes associated with the visual kei
Visual Kei
is a movement among Japanese musicians, that is characterized by the use of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics. Some sources state that visual kei refers to a music genre, or to a sub-genre of Japanese rock, with its...
movement, especially in the beginning of their career, but generally they're too refined for that, boasting their own type of extravaganza
Extravaganza
An extravaganza is a literary or musical work characterized by freedom of style and structure and usually containing elements of burlesque, pantomime, music hall and parody. It sometimes also has elements of cabaret, circus, revue, variety, vaudeville and mime...
.
1988–1994: Indies era
Glay formed in 1988 as a high school band when TeruTeru (musician)
Teruhiko "Teru" Kobashi is the vocalist of Japanese rock band GLAY. He married singer Ami Onuki from pop group PUFFY in April 2002, and she gave birth to their daughter in March 2003...
asked Takuro
Takuro (musician)
Takuro Kubo is one of the guitarists and leader of the popular Japanese rock band Glay. He is the main composer and lyricist of Glay's songs....
, a schoolmate, to play the drums. They found a bassist but had difficulty finding a vocalist. When Teru made a tape of his singing and gave it to Takuro he was immediately recruited for the part, leaving the drums part to be filled by another person. On the search for a second guitarist, Hisashi
Hisashi (musician)
Hisashi Tonomura is the lead guitarist for the popular Japanese rock band GLAY. He used to be in a band named Ari but they broke up before he joined GLAY. Together with his bandmate Jiro, the two of them are known for their visual kei looks...
was asked to join but declined the offer, as he was already part of a locally well-known heavy punk/rock band called Ari, which better suited his taste in music. Hisashi eventually accepted Takuro's offer and became Glay's lead guitarist after Ari disbanded.
By the time of Takuro and Teru's graduation, Glay were enjoying some popularity in their hometown of Hakodate and were playing full live houses. Following Hisashi's high school graduation in 1990, the three moved to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
to try to further expand their musical career. The bassist and the drummer chose to stay in Hakodate. In Tokyo, they found a completely different situation: although they had been relatively popular in their hometown, it was not easy to begin a career in Tokyo. Their concerts attracted few people, and sometimes none at all, and many live houses would not accept them because they did not fit well into either rock or pop categories. The band had to conciliate their music career to part time jobs, and faced financial problems during their first years in Tokyo.
During this time, members (particularly drummers) were constantly joining and leaving the band. When their bassist quit, Takuro knew that Jiro
Jiro (musician)
Yoshihito "Jiro" Wayama is the bassist of popular Japanese rock band Glay. He is also the bassist in his sideband The Predators...
, who was also from Hakodate and had played with the indie band Pierrot (different from the now disbanded Pierrot
Pierrot (band)
Pierrot was a Japanese visual kei rock band, originally founded as Dizy-Lizy in 1994 by Kirito and Jun in Nagano. The original band members were Hidelow on vocals, Kirito and Jun on guitar, Kohta on bass and Luka on drums. After changing their name to Pierrot, Luka left in November and Takeo joined...
, that enjoyed mainstream popularity), had moved to Tokyo and invited him to join Glay. He too, declined the offer, insisting that he was already heading in the right direction for himself. It wasn't until Takuro asked him to play at just one show to fill in for their missing bassist that he decided to go. Following that show, Jiro continued to receive invitations to play with Glay, and eventually he became Glay's official bass player, finalizing the official four member lineup.
They promoted the band by handing out flyers on the street and giving out demo tapes. Eventually they became better known on the Tokyo live house circuit, and began drawing larger crowds. During one of these shows in October 1993, Yoshiki, then drummer and pianist for X Japan
X Japan
is a Japanese heavy metal band founded in 1982 by Yoshiki and Toshi. Originally named X , the group achieved their breakthrough success in 1989 with the release of their second album Blue Blood...
, saw their show and offered them a contract to his label Extasy Records
Extasy Records
Extasy Records is a Japanese record label founded in April 1986 by Yoshiki Hayashi, co-founder of the heavy metal band X Japan...
. In 1994 their debut single, "Rain", and their first album, Hai to Diamond
Hai to Diamond
Hai to Diamond is the first full length album by Japanese rock/pop band Glay. It was released on May 25, 1994, and peaked at #26 at Oricon charts, with more than 100,000 copies sold.- Track listing :# "" - 5:19# "" - 4:40...
, were released.
1995–2000
After the time of their debut, Glay steadily became more popular. Their 4th single "Freeze My Love" made it onto the Oricon Top 20, debuting at #19. Two months later their second album, Speed PopSpeed Pop
Speed Pop is the second album by Japanese rock/pop band Glay. It is the band's major label debut album and was released on March 3, 1995, and peaked at #8 at Oricon charts, with 320,150 copies sold.- Track listing :# "Speed Pop " - 1:20...
, peaked at #8. Their first #1 hit was in 1996 with their third album Beat Out!
Beat Out!
Beat Out! is the third album by Japanese rock/pop band Glay. It was released on July 2, 1996, and peaked at #1 at Oricon charts, with 821,890 copies sold.- Track listing :# "More than Love" - 4:47# "Yes, Summerdays" - 5:10...
, which was marked as a major turning point in Glay's career. Released later that same year, the fourth album Beloved
Beloved (Glay album)
Beloved is the fourth album by Japanese rock/pop band Glay. It was released on November 18, 1996, and peaked at #1 at Oricon charts, with 1,522,540 copies sold...
was their first album to sell over 1 million copies. In September 1996, Glay played the final concert of the "Beat Out! Reprise Tour" at Budokan, their first concert at the venue, which is stated by them to have been their biggest dream coming true. In August 1997, their 12th single "However
However (song)
However is the 12th single release by Japanese band Glay on August 6, 1997. It debuted at #1 on the Oricon chart, appearing at that position for 5 weeks in total, selling 1,341,980 copies....
" remained at the top of the charts for two weeks in a roll and, after it was displaced by Zard
Zard
was a Japanese pop group. Originally a group of five members, with lead vocalist Izumi Sakai as group leader. However, Sakai was the only member who stayed on in the group while others joined and left regularly. As such, Zard and Sakai may be referred to interchangeably. Zard's work was sold under...
's single "Eien
Eien (song)
is Zard's 22nd single released on August 20, 1997. The song "Eien" was composed by Akihito Tokunaga with the lyrics written by Izumi Sakai. The song was used as the main theme of Japanese television drama adaptation of the novel A Lost Paradise. Junichi Watanabe, the writer of the novel, wrote the...
" for one week, it re-appeared at the top position for other three weeks.
Since then, Glay has produced several hit singles, most of them reaching #1 on the charts. In the period between 1997 and 2000, Glay produced six million-selling singles, being the third artist with most million-selling singles of all time. Their 13th single "Yuuwaku
Yuuwaku (song)
"Yuuwaku" is the 13th single by Japanese band Glay. It reached #1 on the weekly Oricon charts and sold 1,611,920 copies in 1998, becoming the best selling Japanese single of the year. It charted for 20 weeks and sold a total of 1,625,520 copies. The title song was used as the TDK "Mini Disc" CM song....
" topped Oricon yearly single ranking in 1998. In 1999, their 16th single "Winter, again
Winter, Again (song)
"Winter, Again" is the 16th single by Japanese band Glay. It reached #1 on the weekly Oricon charts and sold 1,638,120 copies in 1999, becoming the #2 single of the year. It charted for 18 weeks and sold a total of 1,642,530 copies, becoming Glay's best selling single...
" was number two of the year and won the 41st Japan Record Awards
41st Japan Record Awards
The 41st Annual Japan Record Awards took place on December 31, 1999, starting at 6:30PM JST. The primary ceremonies were televised in Japan on TBS.- Award winners :*Japan Record Award:**Glay for "Winter,again"*Best Vocalist:**Hiromi Go*Best New Artist:...
"Grand Prix" award, which is considered the most important Japanese music award. Their albums were also massively successful; both Pure Soul
Pure Soul
Pure Soul is the fifth released album from the Japanese rock band Glay. The album was a slight departure from the rock and power ballad sound the band sported with their previous albums. Pure Soul brought forth a faster rock sound. The album contains such hits as "Yuuwaku", "Soul Love", the concert...
(1998) and Heavy Gauge
Heavy Gauge
Heavy Gauge is the 6th album by Japanese rock band Glay. In this album Glay dabbles in the gospel genre for the first time, using gospel choirs in songs such as "Will Be King" and "Happiness". This album also marks a milestone in Glay's career with their hit song "Winter, Again". The song won...
(1999), along with the compilation album Drive - Glay Complete Best- (2000), sold more than two million copies each.
The impact of their popularity was such that, in 1998, Japan's telephone service was temporarily put out of order due to the mass number of fans trying to reserve tickets to their upcoming tour. The 1998 Winter Olympics
1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...
were being held, and press coverage of the event became chaotic because of the incident.
In this period, the band won several prizes and established some records. In 1997, the album Review - Best of Glay
Review (album)
Review is the first released greatest hits album from the Japanese rock band, Glay. It was released on October 10, 1997, and this album contains Glay's most popular singles and tracks from their 1994 album Hai to Diamond to their 1996 one Beloved...
stayed for five weeks in a roll at the top position of the Oricon charts and became the all-time best-selling album in Japan at the time, with almost 5 million copies sold. (at present, it is ranked at #3 spot, according to Oricon). Their 1999 video-single "Survival" sold approximately 900 thousand copies, and is up to the present the all-time best-selling video/DVD. In the same year, their first "Expo" concert would lure a record audience of 200,000 people (see "Glay Expo").
1999 was the year Glay played their first dome tour, "Glay Dome Tour "pure soul" 1999", which made the band the first to hold a consecutive 5 day "dome" concert. This tour had a total of 15 performances in four venues and attracted a total audience of 750,000 people. Glay closed the year of 1999, playing the concert "The Millennium Eve - A Christmas Present for the People Who Love Live a Lot", a joint concert with Luna Sea
Luna Sea
Luna Sea is a rock band from Kanagawa, Japan, formed in 1989. The band was initially founded by bassist J and rhythm guitarist Inoran, when they were in high school. They soon recruited lead guitarist and violinist Sugizo, drummer Shinya and vocalist Ryuichi, a lineup that has remained the same...
, on December 23, and the "Glay Countdown Live in Messe "Come Together"" on December 31.
Takuro described the "Expo'99" as a dream come true. When the album Heavy Gauge
Heavy Gauge
Heavy Gauge is the 6th album by Japanese rock band Glay. In this album Glay dabbles in the gospel genre for the first time, using gospel choirs in songs such as "Will Be King" and "Happiness". This album also marks a milestone in Glay's career with their hit song "Winter, Again". The song won...
was released, in October 1999, Takuro wrote a diary entry in Glay's official home page, describing the album as a representation of his feelings at that moment. His feelings were not of happiness, but of "emptiness" and not knowing what to do after "doing everything" they wanted to. The album is seen as a first step to a new direction in the band's career. The band considered disbanding in 2000, after releasing their second compilation album, which was a suggestion made by fellow singer Yuki Isoya
Yuki Isoya
is a Japanese musician who performs under the name Yuki . She debuted in the music industry in 1991 as the lead vocalist for the rock band Judy and Mary, and as a solo artist in 2002...
, whose group Judy and Mary
Judy and Mary
Judy and Mary was a Japanese multi-genre band formed in 1991 in Hakodate, Hokkaido by bassist and vocalist , with drummer and guitarist completing the lineup in 1992. Guitarist replaced Taiji the following year...
had disbanded.
2001–2003
After this period of massive success and a considerably steady style in their music, Glay's work took a turn in 2001. Their 2001 album One LoveOne Love (Glay album)
One Love is the seventh released album from the Japanese rock band Glay. This album is the first one to have song compositions from each member .The single "Global Communication" quickly rose up the charts to the number one spot...
got mixed feelings among the fans, due to its disparities to their earlier works, with a different, generally poppier and experimental sound, and songs that had reggae and R&B influences. Their 2002 album Unity Roots and Family, Away
Unity Roots and Family, Away
Unity Roots and Family, Away is the eighth released album from the Japanese rock band Glay. It reached #1 on Oricon charts and sold about 436,180 copies. In this album Glay takes a new turn and dabbles in genres such as Gospel, R&B and Blues...
, which was almost completely made of slow paced songs and also had elements from other types of music (gospel, rap and traditional Okinawan music), was not welcomed by most fans.
In spite of the "cold" reception these works had, the band reached #1 spot in the charts with both albums. Glay continued being successful with their tours in Japan. They proved to enjoy popularity outside Japan as well, in 2001, when members visited Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
to promote the Expo 2001 "Global Communication" and officially invite artists Dome, Nicholas Tse
Nicholas Tse
Nicholas Tse is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter, actor and musician, and son of actor Patrick Tse. He is a member of the Emperor Entertainment Group...
, Mayday and Jaurim
Jaurim
Jaurim is a rock band from Seoul, South Korea. They had performed in the indie scene before 1997, and became major with their first released single 'Hey Hey Hey'...
to participate in one of the Expo concerts. The next year, they played outside Japan for the first time (not counting one concert in Hawaii for their fanclub members), when they played a sold-out live performance for a 35,000 audience in Beijing. The concert is the most expensive in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
's history. Glay also met then-Chinese President Jiang Zemin.
In 2003, they made a contract transfer from Pony Canyon to Toshiba EMI, the most expensive transfer in Japan's history, at 4 billion yen. Under the new company, Glay released their first DVD—single "Itsuka" and their first B-Side compilation albums, Rare Collectives Vol.1
Glay Rare Collectives vol. 1 and 2
Glay Rare Collectives Vol. 1 and 2 are the third and fourth released collection albums from the Japanese rock band, Glay. Unlike Review and Drive: Glay Complete Best, these two double disc CDs feature all of the B sides from their singles that were released from their debut to "mata koko de...
and Rare Collectives Vol. 2
Glay Rare Collectives vol. 1 and 2
Glay Rare Collectives Vol. 1 and 2 are the third and fourth released collection albums from the Japanese rock band, Glay. Unlike Review and Drive: Glay Complete Best, these two double disc CDs feature all of the B sides from their singles that were released from their debut to "mata koko de...
.
Also in 2003, an art gallery dedicated to Glay was opened in their hometown, Hakodate. "Art Style of Glay" was located in the Winning Hall, a famous building in the city and remained open until 2007.
2004: 10th Anniversary
In 2004, Glay had several activities to celebrate their 10th anniversary since their major debut. As a start to this celebration, Glay presented the concert "Rock Shock vol. 3" in 2003. The name was taken from an indie festival organized by Glay in 1989, which had had two editions. In March of that year, they released their 9th studio album, The FrustratedThe Frustrated
The Frustrated is the ninth album by Japanese Rock/Pop band Glay. It was released on March 24, 2004, and peaked at #2 at Oricon charts, with 241,485 copies sold...
, and in order to promote the album, the band held the "Glay Concert Tour 2004 X-Rated" and later, in October, the "Glay Arena Tour 2004 "The Frustrated" -Extreme-".
On July 27 they played a "pre-Expo" concert at Universal Studios Japan and on July 31, they played the third edition of the "Glay Expo", which was the main event of the year by the band. At the end of the year they held the fan-club exclusive "Countdown Live in Messe "Come Together"" on December 31. They finished the 10th anniversary celebration with the release of the compilation Ballad Best Singles: White Road in January 2005 and with the "10th Anniversary Year Final Glay Dome Tour 2005 "White Road"" which finished with the "Glay 10th Anniversary Year Final Glay Osaka 4 Days Special 2005 "White Road"".
2005–2006: Re-birth
In 2005, after years of touring, promoting, and recording, the four took a hiatus. Their only new release as a group was the single "Scream", their first collaboration work, with the vocal–dance group Exile. "Scream", which was released under Exile's record company, was the fifth best selling single of the year.During that time, Jiro created a side band with the pillows
The pillows
The Pillows are a Japanese rock band. The group has released more than a dozen original studio albums, along with several EPs, singles and compilations...
guitarist Sawao Yamanaka and Straightener
Straightener
Straightener is a Japanese rock band. The band started out as a duo with Atsushi Horie and Shinpei Nakayama in 1998. They established an independent label named Ghost Records in 2002. Hidekazu Hinata joined the band as bassist in 2003, giving the band a heavier sound...
's drummer Nakayama Shinpei called The Predators, in the summer of 2005. The Predators played in summer festivals and released the mini-album Hunting!. Teru and Hisashi formed a band called Rally with The Mad Capsule Markets
The Mad Capsule Markets
The Mad Capsule Markets were a Japanese band that formed in 1990 and were active until 2006...
drummer Motokatsu and bassist Koji Ueno from Thee Michelle Gun Elephant
Thee Michelle Gun Elephant
Thee Michelle Gun Elephant was a Japanese garage rock band formed in 1991.-History:The band was formed in 1991, while the members were students at Tokyo's Meiji Gakuin University. They later drew influence from The Roosters...
. They did a cover of Buck-Tick
Buck-Tick
Buck-Tick is a rock band formed in 1983 in Fujioka, Japan. The band has consisted of Atsushi Sakurai , Hisashi Imai , Hidehiko Hoshino , Yutaka Higuchi and Toll Yagami for the majority of its existence...
's "Aku no Hana" as part of a tribute CD.
Although it was believed that Glay took a break as a group to take a rest, it was later reported in the news that the band had split from their former agency, Unlimited Group. The reasons were obscure, but the event managed to delay the band's work. Information about the episode has always been unclear, as the band just refers to it as a time when they "couldn't move forward" and "had thoughts of quitting". Cyzo Magazine's October 2005 issue had reported Glay's management dispute and referred to it as a media taboo.
In February 2006, Glay ended their silence by having a two-day live performance in Zepp Tokyo and a three-day live performance at Nippon Budokan
Nippon Budokan
The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena in central Tokyo, Japan.This is the location where many "Live at the Budokan" albums were recorded...
, titled "Rock 'n' Roll Swindle", which was produced as an independent event. Here, they played many of their old songs and introduced two new written songs as their new sound. It was the start of a campaign called "Re-Birth" to promote the band's return to the music scene. Posters of their "dead" faces were displayed around the city of Tokyo and a movie of the "old" Glay burial by the "new" Glay was shown on television during the commercial breaks.
Takuro founded his own office, called Lover Soul, but the band signed up with Amuse, the office of Southern All Stars
Southern All Stars
, also known by the abbreviations or SAS, is a Japanese pop/rock band that formed in the mid 1970s.The band is composed of Keisuke Kuwata , Yuko Hara , Kazuyuki Sekiguchi , Hiroshi Matsuda and Hideyuki "Kegani" Nozawa...
's Keisuke Kuwata
Keisuke Kuwata
has gained fame as a Japanese multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and frontman for the Southern All-Stars, as well as his own solo band, the Kuwata band. He has also done significant amount of scoring music for films. He went to Aoyama Gakuin University....
, in 2006 until the new office was established.
On July 12, 2006, they released a new single titled "G4" after a year and seven months away from the limelight, returning to their rock and roll roots. In the following month, they collaborated with former Boowy vocalist Kyosuke Himuro
Kyosuke Himuro
is a popular Japanese singer. He was a member of the rock group Boøwy from 1981 to 1988. After the group disbanded he started a successful solo career. In 2003, HMV Japan ranked Himuro at number 76 on their list of the 100 most important Japanese pop acts...
in their single "Answer". Together, they performed in "Kyosuke Himuro + Glay Swing Addiction 2006", with "Answer" being one of the songs. In August, Glay performed at Southern All Stars
Southern All Stars
, also known by the abbreviations or SAS, is a Japanese pop/rock band that formed in the mid 1970s.The band is composed of Keisuke Kuwata , Yuko Hara , Kazuyuki Sekiguchi , Hiroshi Matsuda and Hideyuki "Kegani" Nozawa...
's summer concert Mujintou alongside various artists. In September, "Natsuoto/Henna Yume -Thousand Dreams-" was released, with Natsuoto being the theme song to TV show Koi suru Hanikami.
Following the release of these singles was their tour, "Rock 'n' Roll Swindle -Re-Birth-" from November 2006 to early 2007.
2007–2008
On January 31, 2007, Glay released their tenth full length studio album, Love is BeautifulLove is Beautiful (album)
Love Is Beautiful is the tenth album by Japanese band Glay. The album was released on January 31, 2007. It reached #1 on Oricon charts with 193,530 sales.The album is certified for shipment of 250,000 copies.-Standard Edition:...
, containing 14 tracks, which reached #1 spot and was their 10th album to do so, Until then, Glay had been the all-male band with most #1 albums in Japan, but later that year Mr. Children
Mr. Children
, commonly called , is a Japanese rock band formed in 1988 by Kazutoshi Sakurai, Kenichi Tahara, Keisuke Nakagawa, and Hideya Suzuki. As a group, they are one of the most successful Japanese rock artists, having sold over 50 million records and creating the in the mid 1990s in Japan...
would replace them. Following the release of this album was their arena tour, titled after the album.
Although there was not much to promote, Glay was very active as a live band. Over the summer of 2007, they performed at the "15th Anniversary Cue Music Jam-Boree" in Yubari on July 1 and produced the "Rock Shock. Vol. 4" on August 23, 2007. They relived the side projects: Jiro's band, The Predators, performed at the "Rising Sun Rock Festival
Rising Sun Rock Festival
Rising Sun Rock Festival is an annual rock festival held in Ishikari, Hokkaido, Japan. The two-day event is organized by WESS. The festival sells itself as "A True Rock Festival", referring to the fact that only Japanese artists perform at this event...
" in Ezo on August 17 and 18 while Teru and Hisashi's side band, Rally, performed at the "Buck-Tick
Buck-Tick
Buck-Tick is a rock band formed in 1983 in Fujioka, Japan. The band has consisted of Atsushi Sakurai , Hisashi Imai , Hidehiko Hoshino , Yutaka Higuchi and Toll Yagami for the majority of its existence...
Fest 2007" in September. Glay also performed the "Highcommunications Tour 2007-2008" from November 2007 to March 2008.
As of 2008, the band continued the series of shows with the concerts "Rock Shock vol. 5", in Zepp Fukuoka, on April 19 and the "AP Bank Fes '08", on July 19 and 20. In August, they performed for the first time in the United States. The "Verb tour 2008 in U.S." was held at The Fillmore
The Fillmore
The Fillmore Auditorium is a historic music venue in San Francisco, California, made famous by Bill Graham. Named for its original location at the intersection of Fillmore Street and Geary Boulevard, it lies on the boundary of the Western Addition and the Pacific Heights neighborhoods.In 1968,...
, in San Francisco, on August 12), and at the House of Blues
House of Blues
House of Blues is a chain of 13 live music concert halls and restaurants in major markets throughout the United States. House of Blues first location was in Cambridge's Harvard Square. It was opened in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, star of The Blues Brothers...
, in Los Angeles, on August 15 and 16, 2008.
On September 21, the band appeared in a concert by Kyosuke Himuro held in Hokkaido. In December, the band continued their "Glay Verb Tour" in Japan, with four concerts in Zepp Sendai, Zepp Osaka, Zepp Nagoya and Zepp Tokyo for their fan-club members. On December 30 and 31 they played the "Glay Verb Tour Final "Come Together" 2008-2009", the third edition of their year-end countdown concert.
2009: 15th Anniversary
In 2009, Glay celebrates 15 years since the release of their debut single "Rain". In January 2009, the band announced several activities as concert tours during the year and two special concerts at the Nissan Stadium in August.The first commemorative release was the 6 track single "Say Your Dream" on March 4, 2009. The title song is 13 minutes long and is reported to be a song about Glay's history. Takuro reported that he approached this song as the message he would like to leave if he were to die, and that it took seven year to be completed. The promotional video was divided into two parts, the first of them started broadcasting on TV channels five days before the release of the single. The second part remains accessible on internet only through a pass code obtained with the limited edition of the single. On the same premium site, there is a PV of the coupling song "Haru made wa". The single finishes Glay's series of western song covers with "The Meaning of Life" by the band The Offspring
The Offspring
The Offspring is an American punk rock band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1984. Known as Manic Subsidal until 1986, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Dexter Holland, lead guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman, bassist Greg K. and drummer Pete Parada...
.
During April, the band held five concerts produced by the members, the "Glay Member Produced Live 2009 - The Great Vacation- Extra-". On April 8 and 9, the band played two concerts for official fanclub "Happy Swing" members who also have been affiliated with the fanclub for over 10 years at NHK Hall. The concerts were produced by Takuro. Teru produced another edition of the "men only night" concert (as he had done in 1999), which was held on April 13 at Studio Coast. Jiro produced a "pair only" concert, which was played on April 15 at the Osaka Hall, and, on April 17, Hisashi produced "Resonance Vol. 2", which was broadcast by Yahoo!douga.
On May 25, 2009, the day Glay completed 15 years since their debut, the band released the single "I am XXX". The song was used as the main theme for the movie Blood: The Last Vampire
Blood: The Last Vampire
Blood: The Last Vampire is a 2000 anime film produced by Production I.G and SPE Visual Works and directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo. The film premiered in theaters in Japan on November 18, 2000...
around Asia, chosen by producer Bill Kong. On June 10, 2009, Glay released the greatest hits
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
collection The Great Vacation Vol. 1 - Super Best of Glay, a triple CD containing most of their singles released after 2000, and a re-recorded version of 1998's "Yuuwaku" in the 2 first CD's, while the third CD is mostly composed of unreleased songs.
During the period between June 15 and July 6 the band held the "Glay Hall Tour 2009 - The Great Vacation", prior to their two date "Glay 15th Anniversary Special Live 2009 "The Great Vacation in Nissan Stadium"", held on August 15 and 16, which gathered a total of 150 thousand people and is said to have cost 1.5 billion yen.
In September, Glay returned to the U.S. and held "The Great Vacation U.S. Tour" in California. The band played at The Fillmore
The Fillmore
The Fillmore Auditorium is a historic music venue in San Francisco, California, made famous by Bill Graham. Named for its original location at the intersection of Fillmore Street and Geary Boulevard, it lies on the boundary of the Western Addition and the Pacific Heights neighborhoods.In 1968,...
, in San Francisco, on September 9 and at the House of Blues
House of Blues
House of Blues is a chain of 13 live music concert halls and restaurants in major markets throughout the United States. House of Blues first location was in Cambridge's Harvard Square. It was opened in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, star of The Blues Brothers...
on September 11 and 12.
On October 21, 2009, Glay released the second part of their greatest hits collection The Great Vacation Vol. 2 - Super Best of Glay, another triple CD containing hit singles from 1994 to 2000 and re-recorded versions of "Acid Head", "Shutter Speeds no Teema" and "Burst", as well as a remastering of the older tracks. The third disc is another collection of unreleased songs.
On October 22, 2009, a Tokyo court has ruled in favor of Glay over the ownership of 147 songs and ordered Unlimited Records to pay them 670 million yen for back royalties and unpaid contract fees. This was the issue that started in 2005 wherein royalties to Glay have ceased to be provided, leading for the four-man band to seek termination of their contract with the company.
2010–present: Loversoul Music & Associates
On April 1, 2010, Glay released "Apologize", a free digital single that, according to Takuro, was a signal of gratitude to the fans. In June, the band announced the establishment of their own label, Loversoul Music & Associates. Their first work under their new label was the single "Precious", released on September 8, followed by their tenth studio album GlayGlay (album)
Glay is the eleventh studio album by Japanese band Glay. The album was released on October 13, 2010. It reached #1 on Oricon charts and sold a total of 125,081 as of January 3, 2011...
, released on October 13.
From June 2010 to February 2011 the band performed their "Live Tour 2010-2011 Rock Around the World" in several halls and arenas all over Japan.
Glay's song "Winter, Again" was covered by 12012 on the compilation Crush! -90's V-Rock Best Hit Cover Songs-, which was released on January 26 and features current visual kei
Visual Kei
is a movement among Japanese musicians, that is characterized by the use of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics. Some sources state that visual kei refers to a music genre, or to a sub-genre of Japanese rock, with its...
bands covering songs from bands that were important to the '90s visual kei movement. Their song "Yuuwaku" will be covered by Hero on its sequel, Crush! 2 -90's V-Rock Best Hit Cover Songs-, that will be released on November 23, 2011.
On March 9, 2011, Glay released the albums; Rare Collectives Vol. 3 and Rare Collectives Vol. 4. Each volume is a double CD set containing the b-sides of all their singles released since 2003, as well as unreleased tracks. On May 25, the band released the video Rock Around the World 2010–2011 of the final concert of the tour performed at Saitama Super Arena
Saitama Super Arena
is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, Saitama City, Saitama, Japan. Its spectator capacity is 37,000 at maximum settings.This main arena capacity is between 19,000-22,500 when events such as basketball, volleyball, tennis, ice hockey, gymnastics, boxing, mixed martial arts and...
.
Members
As with numerous other Japanese bands, the members of Glay are usually credited with their givenGiven name
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
or stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
s. All members were born in Hakodate, Hokkaidō
Hakodate, Hokkaido
is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture.Hakodate was Japan's first city whose port was opened to foreign trade in 1854 as a result of Convention of Kanagawa, and used to be the most important port in northern Japan...
except Hisashi, who was born in Hirosaki, Aomori
Hirosaki, Aomori
is a city located in southwest Aomori Prefecture, Japan. It is a castle town and was the Tsugaru clan ruled the 100,000 koku tozama han Hirosaki Domain from Hirosaki Castle during the Edo period. The city is currently a regional commercial center and the largest producer of apples in Japan...
, before moving to Hakodate in elementary school.
- TeruTeru (musician)Teruhiko "Teru" Kobashi is the vocalist of Japanese rock band GLAY. He married singer Ami Onuki from pop group PUFFY in April 2002, and she gave birth to their daughter in March 2003...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
(originally drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
) - TakuroTakuro (musician)Takuro Kubo is one of the guitarists and leader of the popular Japanese rock band Glay. He is the main composer and lyricist of Glay's songs....
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
(leaderBandleaderA bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
and primary songwriter) - HisashiHisashi (musician)Hisashi Tonomura is the lead guitarist for the popular Japanese rock band GLAY. He used to be in a band named Ari but they broke up before he joined GLAY. Together with his bandmate Jiro, the two of them are known for their visual kei looks...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - JiroJiro (musician)Yoshihito "Jiro" Wayama is the bassist of popular Japanese rock band Glay. He is also the bassist in his sideband The Predators...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Former members
- Shingo – drums (1990–1992)
- Iso – drums (1992)
- Akira – drums (1992–1994)
- Nobumasa – drums (1994–1995)
Support members
- Masahide Sakuma – guitar, keyboards, producer (mid-1994–present)
- Toshimitsu "Toshi" Nagai – drums (1995–present)
- Seiichiro Nagai – keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
(2007–present)
Former support members
- Daijiro "D.I.E." Nozawa – keyboards (1995–1998)
- Shigeo "Shige/sk55" Komori – keyboards (1998–2004)
- Yuta Saitou – keyboards (2004–2005)
Name
Officially, the name "Glay" is a deliberate misspelling of the word "gray" and represents the style of music they wanted to play: a mixture between rock (black) and pop (white). However, it is thought by many English-speaking residents that the misspelling of the band's name may actually have been due to a genuine error, and the official reason was only decided in retrospect. In support of this, they point out that confusing the R and L is a very common mistake amongst Japanese speakers of English, because the Japanese language does not distinguish between the retroflex ("r") and lateral ("l")Glay Expo
From time to time, not in a regular basis, Glay holds an exposition and a concert called "Glay Expo", which is always expensively produced and lures greater audiences than their normal stadium concerts. The first edition of the event was held on July 31, 1999. The "Glay Expo '99 - Survival" at Makuhari MesseMakuhari Messe
is a Japanese convention center outside Tokyo, located in the Mihama-ku ward of Chiba city, in the northwest corner of Chiba prefecture. Designed by Fumihiko Maki, it is easily accessible by Tokyo's commuter rail system. Makuhari is the name of the area, and Messe is a German word meaning "trade...
, gathered a total audience of 200,000 people, making it the largest concert ever held by a single act in Japan, certified by the Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
.
The second edition was held in 2001. "Glay Expo 2001 - Global Communication" was divided into four performances: two in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, one in Ishikari, and an all-night long performance in Fukuoka
Fukuoka, Fukuoka
is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by...
, which featured artists; Dome from Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Nicholas Tse
Nicholas Tse
Nicholas Tse is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter, actor and musician, and son of actor Patrick Tse. He is a member of the Emperor Entertainment Group...
from Hong Kong, Mayday from Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Jaurim
Jaurim
Jaurim is a rock band from Seoul, South Korea. They had performed in the indie scene before 1997, and became major with their first released single 'Hey Hey Hey'...
from South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, and The D.e.p., a group formed by Glay's producer Masahide Sakuma, Taiwanese singer Vivian Hsu
Vivian Hsu
Vivian Hsu is a Taiwanese singer, actress, and model who has gained remarkable popularity in East Asia, mainly in Taiwan and Japan.Hsu rose to prominence in Japan, where she made her first appearance in 1995 and has become a highly-recognized celebrity with her countless appearances in media...
, Gota Yashiki
Gota Yashiki
Gota Yashiki is both an independent acid jazz artist and drum player, as a member of the band Simply Red. He was born in Kyoto, Japan, on 26 February 1962, where at a young age he learned how to play traditional Japanese drums. This interest in drumming propelled him into the music scene, and he...
, Masami Tsuchiya
Masami Tsuchiya
Masami Tsuchiya is a Japanese singer-songwriter and musician. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead vocalist and guitarist in the group Ippu-Do. His subsequent output includes solo work and collaborations...
and Mick Karn
Mick Karn
Andonis Michaelides , better known as Mick Karn, was an English multi-instrumentalist musician and songwriter, who came to fame as the bassist for the art rock band Japan, from 1974 to 1982....
. This expo accumulated a total audience of over 280,000. The concert in Ishikari had part of its fuel generated from solar and aeolic energy generating devices displayed in a booth.
"Glay Expo 2004 in Universal Studio Japan - The Frustrated" celebrated their 10th anniversary, and was held in the parking lot of Universal Studios Japan
Universal Studios Japan
, located in Osaka, is one of four Universal Studios theme parks, owned and operated by USJ Co., Ltd. . The park is similar to Universal Orlando Resort, since it contains many of the same rides. Most visitors are Japanese tourists or tourists from other Asian countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong,...
selling out the 100,000 tickets in under 15 minutes.
Media exposure and works outside music
Glay has appeared on several TV programs and front covers of many famous band/music magazines in Japan, such as Gigs, What's In?, BPass, Ongaku to Hito, PatiPati, Newsmaker, etc. Kadokawa ShotenKadokawa Shoten
is a well-known Japanese publishing company based in Tokyo, Japan. Kadokawa has published both manga novels and magazines, such as Newtype magazine...
has also produced two "Glay only" special edition books.
The have starred several campaigns for different products, as clothes, chocolate and Mini Discs
MiniDisc
The disc is permanently housed in a cartridge with a sliding door, similar to the casing of a 3.5" floppy disk. This shutter is opened automatically by a mechanism upon insertion. The audio discs can either be recordable or premastered. Recordable MiniDiscs use a magneto-optical system to record...
. To promote the "Expo '99", at the peak of their mainstream popularity, they had their faces printed on the sides of Japan Airlines
Japan Airlines
is an airline headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. It is the flag carrier of Japan and its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Tokyo International Airport , as well as Nagoya's Chūbu Centrair International Airport and Osaka's Kansai International Airport...
jumbo jets, the sponsor of the event. The campaign was also a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Tokyo-Hakodate route. In 2002, they starred another campaign for Japan Airlines, promoting the interchange between Japan and China.
Each member of Glay, except Teru, has written a book (Jiro has made two and Takuro, three). In 2001, as a part of their "Expo 2001" preparation, they presented the TV show Glay Global Communication
Glay Global Communication
GLAY Global Communication was an 11 episode, thirty minute, television series aired on the Fuji Television Networks hosted by the Japanese rock band, GLAY...
. Besides appearing in magazines and on TV, all of them have or used to have their own weekly radio shows. As of 2008, only Teru and Jiro keep their radio-shows (aired on BayFM and FM802, respectively). In January 2009, Hisashi started his first TV regular segment "RX-72 -Hisashi (Glay) VS Junichi Mogi-", every last Monday of each month on the Music-On TV channel. Takuro has also started a web radio-show, Takuro Mobile Meeting.
Humanitarian and environmental works
Besides performing in charity festivals as the "Red RibbonRed ribbon
The red ribbon, as an awareness ribbon colored red, has several different meanings in different contexts. Foremost, it is the symbol of solidarity of people living with HIV/AIDS.-Awareness symbol:...
Live" (in which Teru has participated since 2005), the "White Band Fes" in 2005, the "Re-style Live" (organized by the DJ Hisashi Yamada) and the "AP Bank Fes" in 2008, Glay, specially Teru and Takuro, have been actively participating in different causes.
In 2001, Takuro along with Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto
After working as a session musician with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1977, the trio formed the internationally successful electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978. Known for their seminal influence on electronic music, the group helped pioneer electronic genres such as...
started "Artists Power", an organization of artists who want to be active in the research on renewable energy. "AP Bank", which was founded by Mr. Children
Mr. Children
, commonly called , is a Japanese rock band formed in 1988 by Kazutoshi Sakurai, Kenichi Tahara, Keisuke Nakagawa, and Hideya Suzuki. As a group, they are one of the most successful Japanese rock artists, having sold over 50 million records and creating the in the mid 1990s in Japan...
's Kazutoshi Sakurai
Kazutoshi Sakurai
is a Japanese musician and entrepreneur. He composes and writes almost all of the songs for his band Mr. Children, in addition to writing lyrics and singing for his solo project group Bank Band. In 2006, Sakurai ranked #8 in HMV's "Top 30 Best Japanese Singers of All Time" and in 2007 was voted #4...
, composer Takeshi Kobayashi and also Ryuichi Sakamoto, is linked to this organization - "AP" stands for both "Artists Power" and "Alternative Power". The two started talking about this project when they worked in Sakamoto's charity project Zero Landmine
Zero Landmine
Zero Landmine is an Extended play recording created to promote awareness of the problem of landmines and to promote a ban on landmines...
and the first event linked to it was the Ishikari leg of the "Glay Expo 2001" (see "Glay Expo" above).
Teru has been engaged to the "Red Ribbon
Red ribbon
The red ribbon, as an awareness ribbon colored red, has several different meanings in different contexts. Foremost, it is the symbol of solidarity of people living with HIV/AIDS.-Awareness symbol:...
Link Project" since 2005 and has become an active spokesperson for the project. In 2008, he starred a HIV awareness campaign with posters and a CM in which he has his own blood tested.
In 2011, after Eastern Japan was affected by the 9.0 magnitude Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
, Glay joined other artists in making donations for the victim's relief. The band donated 20 million yen to the "Asahi Shimbun Social Welfare Organization". Takuro also made a donation of 10 million yen to "Mudef" (Music Design Foundation), an organization that aims at the accomplishment of all the United Nations Organization 8 MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) and seeks to help out people all over the world through music and arts. Takuro is also a board member along with singer Misia
MISIA (Japanese singer)
, commonly stylized as MISIA, is a Japanese R&B singer originally from Fukuoka. She debuted in 1998 on BMG Japan, but has since moved to Sony Music Japan's Ariola Japan imprint...
. Teru wrote and recorded a song called "Thank You for Your Love" to send a message of support to the victims and released it via Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
. The song was re-recorded and will be released as a download-only
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
track with its profits being donated to the Japanese Red Cross
Japanese Red Cross
The ' is the Japanese affiliate of the International Red Cross.The Imperial Family of Japan traditionally has supported the society, with Empress as Honorary President and other royal family members as vice-presidents. Its headquarters is located in Tokyo and local chapters are set up in all 47...
.
Studio albums
- Hai to DiamondHai to DiamondHai to Diamond is the first full length album by Japanese rock/pop band Glay. It was released on May 25, 1994, and peaked at #26 at Oricon charts, with more than 100,000 copies sold.- Track listing :# "" - 5:19# "" - 4:40...
(灰とダイヤモンド, 1994) - Speed PopSpeed PopSpeed Pop is the second album by Japanese rock/pop band Glay. It is the band's major label debut album and was released on March 3, 1995, and peaked at #8 at Oricon charts, with 320,150 copies sold.- Track listing :# "Speed Pop " - 1:20...
(1995) - Beat Out!Beat Out!Beat Out! is the third album by Japanese rock/pop band Glay. It was released on July 2, 1996, and peaked at #1 at Oricon charts, with 821,890 copies sold.- Track listing :# "More than Love" - 4:47# "Yes, Summerdays" - 5:10...
(1996) - BelovedBeloved (Glay album)Beloved is the fourth album by Japanese rock/pop band Glay. It was released on November 18, 1996, and peaked at #1 at Oricon charts, with 1,522,540 copies sold...
(1996) - Pure Soul (1998)
- Heavy GaugeHeavy GaugeHeavy Gauge is the 6th album by Japanese rock band Glay. In this album Glay dabbles in the gospel genre for the first time, using gospel choirs in songs such as "Will Be King" and "Happiness". This album also marks a milestone in Glay's career with their hit song "Winter, Again". The song won...
(1999) - One LoveOne Love (Glay album)One Love is the seventh released album from the Japanese rock band Glay. This album is the first one to have song compositions from each member .The single "Global Communication" quickly rose up the charts to the number one spot...
(2001) - Unity Roots and Family, AwayUnity Roots and Family, AwayUnity Roots and Family, Away is the eighth released album from the Japanese rock band Glay. It reached #1 on Oricon charts and sold about 436,180 copies. In this album Glay takes a new turn and dabbles in genres such as Gospel, R&B and Blues...
(2002) - The FrustratedThe FrustratedThe Frustrated is the ninth album by Japanese Rock/Pop band Glay. It was released on March 24, 2004, and peaked at #2 at Oricon charts, with 241,485 copies sold...
(2004) - Love Is BeautifulLove is Beautiful (album)Love Is Beautiful is the tenth album by Japanese band Glay. The album was released on January 31, 2007. It reached #1 on Oricon charts with 193,530 sales.The album is certified for shipment of 250,000 copies.-Standard Edition:...
(2007) - GlayGlay (album)Glay is the eleventh studio album by Japanese band Glay. The album was released on October 13, 2010. It reached #1 on Oricon charts and sold a total of 125,081 as of January 3, 2011...
(2010)
Awards
- 1996
- 29th All Japan Cable Broadcast Awards "Gold Request Award" - "Beloved"
- 1997
- 30th All Japan Cable Broadcast Awards "Grand Prize"
- 30th Japan Cable Broadcast Awards "Grand Prize" - "However"
- 39th Annual Japan Record Awards "Grand Prize - Album" - Beloved
- 39th Annual Japan Record Awards " Best Album" - Beloved
- 39th Annual Japan Record Awards "Excellent work prize" - "However"
- 1998
- 35th Golden Arrow Awards "Grand Prize"
- World Music AwardsWorld Music AwardsThe World Music Awards is an international awards show founded in 1989 that annually honors recording artists based on worldwide sales figures provided by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry . John Martinotti is an executive producer and co-founder of the show...
"Best Selling Japanese Artist" - 12th Annual Japan Gold Disc AwardJapan Gold Disc AwardThe Japan Gold Disc Awards for Music sales in the Recording Industry Association of Japan, is major music awards held annually in Japan also released as a CD.- List of the Artists of the Year :************...
"Rock Album of the Year" - 12th Annual Japan Gold Disc Award "Musical Video of the Year"
- 12th Annual Japan Gold Disc Award "Artist of the Year - Grand Prize"
- 40th Annual Japan Record Awards "Best Album" - Pure Soul
- 40th Annual Japan Record Awards "Excellent work prize" - "Soul Love"
- 1999
- 13th Annual Japan Gold Disc Awards "Song Of The Year" - "Yuuwaku"
- 13th Annual Japan Gold Disc Award "Song Of The Year" - "Soul Love"
- 13th Annual Japan Gold Disc Award "Song Of The Year" - "Be with You"
- 13th Annual Japan Gold Disc Award "Rock Album Of The Year" - Pure Soul
- Grand Prize winner at the "32nd All Japan Cable Broadcast Awards" - "Winter, Again"
- 32nd Japan Cable Broadcast Awards "Most Requested Artist"
- 41st Annual Japan Record Awards "Best single - Grand Prize" - "Winter, Again"
- 41st Annual Japan Record Awards "Excellent work prize" - "Winter, Again"
- 2000
- 14th Annual Japan Gold Disc Award "Song Of The Year" - "Kokodeha nai Dokoka"
- 14th Annual Japan Gold Disc Award "Song Of The Year" - "Winter, Again"
- 14th Annual Japan Gold Disc Award "Rock Album Of The Year" - Heavy Gauge
- 2001
- 15th Annual Japan Gold Disc Award "Song Of The Year" - "Tomadoi/Special Thanks"
- 15th Annual Japan Gold Disc Award "Rock Album Of The Year" - Drive -Glay complete Best-
- 2003
- 16th Annual Japan Gold Disc Award "Song Of The Year" - "Way of Difference"
- 2005
- Special prize for their career at the "Space Shower Music Video Awards"
- 2006
- 20th Annual Japan Gold Disc Award "Song of the Year" - "Scream" (Glay x Exile)
- 2009
- Short Shorts Video Festival and Asia 2009 "Best Music Short" - "Say Your Dream"