ZELDA was a Japanese rock band active in the 1980s and 1990s. They played a pioneering role as one of Japan's first all-girl bands. They were also the longest running all-girl band and are listed as such in the Guinness Book of Records.

Led by Sachiho Kojima (小嶋さちほ), the band covered an impressive range of musical genres, from new wave

New Wave music

New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...

, punk

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...

, pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

, and funk

Funk

Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...

 to black music. Zelda played a seminal role for later bands with their forays into roots music and experimental sounds.

The name of the band is based on that of Zelda Fitzgerald

Zelda Fitzgerald

Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald , born Zelda Sayre in Montgomery, Alabama, was an American novelist and the wife of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. She was an icon of the 1920s—dubbed by her husband "the first American Flapper"...

, the wife of American author F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...

.

History

• 1980: Sayoko Takahashi (高橋佐代子) joins as vocalist at age 15.
• 1982: The band have their major debut on 25 August with the simultaneous release of their first album ZELDA and the single Mirage Lover through Nippon Phonogram (later Mercury Music Entertainment, now absorbed by Universal Music KK). The band lineup at the time is: Kojima, Takahashi, Yōko Suzuki (鈴木洋子, guitar) and Kuniko Nozawa (野沢久仁子, drums).
• 1983: Fukie Ishihara (石原富紀江) takes over as guitarist. Ako Ozawa (小沢亜子) becomes the band's drummer.
• 1984: Kojima and Takahashi form Maneki-neko Kagekidan (招き猫歌劇団) as a separate musical unit, releasing the album Dai-ichi Kakyoku-shū (第一歌曲集) in September.
• 1985: ZELDA moves to CBS Sony (Sony Music Entertainment
  Sony Music Entertainment
  Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
  
  ).
• 1986: ZELDA appears in the movie The New Dawn of Billy the Kid (ビリー・ザ・キッドの新しい夜明け).
• 1990: Ishihara leaves the band. ZELDA takes a one-year break, during which time they move to the cutting edge label (avex).
• 1991: Naomi Motomura (本村直美) joins as guitarist.
• 1996: ZELDA disbands.

Members

• Sachiho Kojima, born 26 December 1958, bass and band leader. Later married to Bo Gumbo's vocalist Donto (deceased).
• Sayoko Takahashi, born 10 October 1964, vocals.
• Yōko Suzuki, guitar (prior to 1983).
• Fukie Ishihara, born 23 December 1960, guitar (1983–90).
• Naomi Motomura, guitar (1991–96).
• Kuniko Nozawa, nickname "Maru", drums (prior to 1983).
• Ako Ozawa, born 16 February 1963, drums (1983–96).

Singles

From Junk Connection

• ZELDA EP (10 October 1980)

From Aspirin Record

• ZELDA & Mr. $$$ (January 1981) flexi disc

From Nippon Phonogram

• Mirage Lover (ミラージュ・ラヴァー) (25 August 1982)

From CBS Sony

• Mizuumi no STEP / STEP ON THE LAKE (湖のステップ / STEP ON THE LAKE) (1985) 12" promo single

• Ōgon no toki (黄金の時間) (21 May 1986) 12" single

• Electric Sweetie (1 April 1987) one side single

From Cutting edge (under sales arrangement with Toshiba EMI)

• MY LITTLE CRYING (1 October 1992)

• LOVE LIVE LIFE (21 April 1993)

• Tsumetaku shinaide (冷たくしないで) (21 October 1993)

• Anata dake ga subete ja nai (あなただけがすべてじゃない) (8 November 1995)

• Kanashikute (かなしくて) (27 March 1996)

• Kinmokusei (金木犀) (9 October 1996)

Albums

From Nippon Phonogram

• ZELDA (25 August 1982)

• CARNAVAL (5 November 1983)

From CBS Sony

• Sora-iro Bōshi no Hi (空色帽子の日) (21 October 1985)

• C-ROCK WORK (1 April 1987)

• Dancing Days (22 June 1988) live album + Ōgon no Toki

• SHOUT SISTER SHOUT (21 October 1988)

• D.R.O.P. (21 September 1989)

From cutting edge

• LOVE LIVE LIFE (21 October 1992)

• FULLMOON PUJAH (21 October 1993)

• Niji-iro no Awa (虹色のあわ) (2 May 1996)

From Alfa Records

• JAHPANG STYLEE - LOVE LIVE LIFE MIX (21 April 1993) remix album

From Sony Music House Inc.

• GOLDEN☆BEST / ZELDA - time spiral (19 March 2003) 2 CD compilation

Original Soundtrack

From CBS Sony

• TO-Y - Original Image Album (「TO―Y」オリジナル・イメージ・アルバム) (1 October 1987) with the song Tokei jikake no setsuna (時計仕掛けのせつな)

Videos

• Dancing Days (1988, CBS Sony)

• LOVE LIVE LIFE (10 September 1992, featuring Nissin Power Station live footage)

• FULLMOON PUJAH (1993)

Books

• Otome no rock dango (乙女のロックだんご) (10 January 1986, Sachiho Kojima and Miyuki Shinbo, MUSIC MAGAZINE)

• ZELDA monogatari (ZELDA物語) (10 December 1988, Eiko Fujisawa, JICC Shuppankyoku)