Happy End (band)
| Happy End | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Blue Valentine |
| Origin | Japan |
| Genres | Folk rock, avant-garde |
| Years active | 1970–1972 1973 & 1985 (reunion shows) |
| Labels | URC Records, Bellwood Records |
| Associated acts | Yellow Magic Orchestra, Tin Pan Alley, Apryl Fool |
| Past members | |
| Haruomi Hosono Eiichi Ohtaki Shigeru Suzuki Takashi Matsumoto |
|
Happy End (はっぴいえんど) was a Japanese folk rock band, which existed from 1970 to 1973. The band's pioneering avant-garde sound is highly revered, and they are considered to be one of the most influential bands in Japanese music.[1] Being ranked by HMV Japan in 2003 as number 4 on their list of 100 most important Japanese pop acts.[1] In September 2007, Rolling Stone Japan named Kazemachi Roman the greatest Japanese rock album of all time.[2]
The members were Haruomi Hosono, Takashi Matsumoto, Eiichi Ohtaki and Shigeru Suzuki. Haruomi Hosono and Takashi Matsumoto (using the given name Reiji) were previously in the short-lived but influential psychedelic rock band Apryl Fool. When Happy End disbanded, Hosono and Suzuki formed Tin Pan Alley with Masataka Matsutoya, Hosono then formed the Yellow Magic Orchestra while Suzuki continued work as a guitarist and solo musician. Matsumoto became a successful lyricist and Ohtaki worked as a songwriter and solo artist, releasing one of Japan's best selling albums, A Long Vacation in 1981. In 2003, their song "Kaze wo Atsumete" appeared in the American movie Lost In Translation and on its soundtrack.[3]
Contents |
[edit] Members
- Haruomi Hosono (細野晴臣) – bass, vocals, keyboards
- Eiichi Ohtaki (大瀧詠一) – guitar, vocals
- Shigeru Suzuki (鈴木茂) – guitar
- Takashi Matsumoto (松本隆) – drums, main lyricist
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Happy End (はっぴいえんど, August 5, 1970)
- Kazemachi Roman (風街ろまん, November 20, 1971)
- Happy End (February 25, 1973)
- City - Happy End Best Album (CITY／はっぴいえんどベスト・アルバム, September 10, 1973, compilation album)
- Live Happy End (ライブ・はっぴいえんど, January 15, 1974, live album)
- Singles (シングルス, June 25, 1974, compilation album)
- Best Collection (ベスト・コレクション, 197?)
- Happy End Story (はっぴいえんどストーリー, 1982)
- Happy End & Kazemachi Roman (はっぴいえんど&風街ろまん, 1984)
- The Happy End (September 5, 1985, live album)
- Best (ベスト, 1985)
- Happy End Greeeatest Live! On Stage (はっぴいえんど GREEEATEST LIVE! ON STAGE, July 15, 1986, live album)
- Happy End Live On Stage (はっぴいえんど LIVE ON STAGE, August 25, 1989, live album)
- Happy End Best (はっぴいえんどベスト, 1993)
- Happy End (May 25, 1993, box set)
- Happy End Box (はっぴいえんどBOX, March 31, 2004, box set)
[edit] Singles
- "12 Gatsu no Ame no hi" (１２月の雨の日, April 1, 1971)
- "Hanaichimonme" (花いちもんめ, December 10, 1971)
- "Sayonara America Sayonara Nippon" (さよならアメリカさよならニッポン, February 25, 1973)
- "Ashita Tenki ni Naare / Kaze wo Atsumete / Ayakashi no Dōbutsuen (Live Version)" (あしたてんきになあれ／風をあつめて／あやか市の動物園(ライヴ・ヴァージョン), November 26, 1999)
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Top 100 Japanese pops Artists - No.4" (in Japanese). hmv.co.jp. http://www.hmv.co.jp/news/newsDetail.asp?newsnum=311040087. Retrieved 2011-09-06.
- ^ Neojaponisme blog's English translation and summary of the Rolling Stone Japan article. Accessed 2012-01-15
- ^ "Bande originale : Lost in translation". EcranLarge. 2005-08-18. http://www.ecranlarge.com/article-details-5155.php. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
