| 15th | Top performers on Top of the Pops: 1981 |
| 95th | Top New Wave bands and artists |
| Japan | |
|---|---|
 Steve Jansen, Mick Karn, David Sylvian, Rich Barbieri, and Masami Tsuchiya (L to R)
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| Background information | |
| Origin | United Kingdom |
| Genres | New Wave Post-Punk Synth-Pop |
| Years active | 1974-1982, 1991 |
| Labels | Hansa Virgin |
| Associated acts | The Dolphin Brothers Nine Horses Porcupine Tree |
| Former members | |
| Mick Karn Richard Barbieri Rob Dean Steve Jansen David Sylvian |
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Japan were a British pop/rock group, formed in 1974 in Lewisham, South London. The band achieved success in the late 1970s/early 1980s, when they were often associated with the burgeoning New Romantic fashion movement (though the band themselves have downplayed any such connection).
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Original members:
The band debuted on record with the 1978 album Adolescent Sex and followed up with Obscure Alternatives. Both albums sold well in Japan (where the band's name helped them to gain a devoted cult following) and the Netherlands where the single "Adolescent Sex" was a Top 30 hit, they also gained some popularity in Canada. However in their native Britain those albums were largely ignored.
Though influenced by artists such as the New York Dolls, Roxy Music and David Bowie, both albums were widely dismissed by the British music press as being distinctly outmoded at a time when punk and New Wave bands were in ascendence. The band were managed by Simon Napier-Bell who also managed The Yardbirds, Marc Bolan, London and Wham!.
Their third album, 1979's Quiet Life, heralded a significant change in musical style from the earlier largely guitar-based music to a more electronic sound, with more emphasis on Barbieri's synthesisers, Sylvian's svelte baritone style of singing, Karn's distinctive fretless bass sound and Steve Jansen's odd-timbred and intricate percussion work with Dean's guitar playing becoming increasingly sparse and atmospheric. Quiet Life was their last studio album for Hansa-Ariola, though the label would later issue a compilation album (Assemblage) featuring highlights from the band's tenure on the label, followed by a series of remixed and re-released singles.
Their final two studio albums, Gentlemen Take Polaroids (1980) and Tin Drum (1981), were released on the Virgin label, and continued to expand their audience as the band refined its new sound and, somewhat unintentionally, became associated with the early-1980s New Romantic movement. Tin Drum in particular is critically regarded as one of the most innovative albums of the 1980s, with its startlingly original fusion of occidental and oriental sounds, and peaked just outside the UK Top 10. Its unconventional single "Ghosts" reached #5 on the UK charts, becoming Japan's biggest domestic hit and one of only a very few such 'minimalist' songs to achieve such heights.
With personality conflicts leading to rising tensions between band members, Tin Drum was to be the band's final studio album. Long-simmering differences among the bandmembers came to a head when Karn's girlfriend, photographer Yuka Fujii, moved in with Sylvian and the individual members forged ahead with their own projects. Rob Dean had already departed towards the end of the Gentlemen Take Polaroids sessions, as his electric guitar work was increasingly regarded as superfluous. During this period, Japanese multi-instrumentalist and experimental keyboardist Ryuichi Sakamoto briefly collaborated with the band, and worked directly alongside Sylvian on tracks such as "Taking Islands In Africa". He would continue to work with Sylvian after the band split, and the pair would achieve the hit singles "Bamboo Houses" (1982) and "Forbidden Colours" (1983).
The group's final UK performance came in November 1982, culminating in a six-night sell-out stint at London's Hammersmith Odeon. During this period, guitarist and keyboardist Masami Tsuchiya performed with the band on stage. Japan's last ever performance was on 16 December 1982 in Nagoya, Japan. The band's final Hammersmith concerts were recorded to produce Oil On Canvas, a live album and video released in June 1983. Ironically, the band decided to split just as they were beginning to obtain long-overdue commercial success both in their native UK and internationally, with Oil On Canvas becoming their highest charting British album, reaching #5. Both Hansa-Ariola and Virgin Records continued to release Japan singles into 1983.
All of the band members went on to work on other projects, with varying degrees of success. A reformation of the band members (Sylvian, Karn, Jansen, & Barbieri) in 1989-1990 under the name Rain Tree Crow produced only one eponymously-titled album, released in April 1991, which was well-received by music critics and reached the UK Top 25. Once again, the band dissolved following frictions between Sylvian and the other members.
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilations
A bewildering number of Japan compilation albums have been released. The following albums were compiled in consultation with group members and include some non-album and previously unavailable material.
In 2003, Virgin Records re-issued remastered editions of Gentlemen Take Polaroids, Tin Drum and Oil on Canvas. BMG followed suit next year, and re-issued Adolescent Sex, Obscure Alternatives, Quiet Life, and Assemblage. All of these re-releases came in the 'digipak' format, collecting many bonus tracks. In 2006 all were repackaged in jewel cases to allow sale at a lower price point.
The Tin Drum digipak re-issue was of particular interest as it was packaged in a cardboard box and contained a bonus 5-inch single The Art of Parties, which comprised The Art of Parties (7" single and live versions), Ghosts (single version) and Life Without Buildings (B-side to The Art of Parties single). The package also included a booklet with black-and-white photos of the band members.
The following Japan tracks appeared on vinyl but have not yet been released on CD:
"Life In Tokyo - A Tribute to Japan" (BMG Japan) 1996
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   | - Blogs dedicated only to Japan/David Sylvian - JAPAN-DAVID SYLVIAN on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads |
| | Japan Life in Tokyo - Fan Site - Japan & David Sylvian - Life in Tokyo |
| | Steve Jansen interview at RememberTheEighties.com - Remember The Eighties - 80s Music Up To Date |
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