Photographs from a small group of islands
Due to a popular drama’s use of a Queen song, the big haired and spandex clad rockers are back. With a vengeance too. Not only do the music charts once again have Queen albums amongst their numbers, but fashionable shops are even selling Queen T-shirts.
Has the nation gone mad?
Yes, Hide with Spread Beaver. How’s that for a pop group’s name?
The first time I saw somebody wearing one of the band’s t-shirts, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Ok, some of the fashion industry’s English can be a bit dodgy, but still, Spread Beaver!?
Hide was the guitarist of the relatively well known X Japan, and his collaboration with, ahem, Spread Beaver was one of his side projects. Unfortunately Hide died at a wastefully young age in 1998, and in true rock ‘n roll style, his death is shrouded in mystery. Some people claim it was suicide, whilst others insist it was an accident.
But either way it wasn’t good for Spread Beaver, who/it hasn’t been heard of or seen since. A pity, as I’m sure I could have got plenty of mileage out of it.
Or Ayumi Hamasaki to use her full name.
This female singer is arguably the biggest name and most recognizable face in Japanese pop music at the moment. But despite her detractors, Ms Hamasaki (or whoever looks after the singer) isn’t stupid. Her time at the top could well be over before she knows it, especially as Japanese consumers are perhaps even more fickle than their western counterparts, so understandably she is making hay whilst the sun shines. Not only does Ayu regularly release new music, but she also lends her face to countless products, and even has her own fashion label. But who can blame her?
From all accounts, Hamasaki’s childhood wasn’t the happiest, and at the tender age of 14 she moved to Tokyo in search of fame and fortune. But after bit parts in low-budget movies and relatively unsuccessful dramas, the young Ayu was left to wile away her time hanging around in the city’s fashionable Shibuya district. Until that is a chance encounter with a record producer from one of Japan’s biggest labels.
Some accounts say he spotted her on the streets, whilst others claim they were introduced in a karaoke parlour. A few even suggest she used her womanly charms. Yet either way, the rest as they say is history.
Just as Ayu could soon be…
When it comes to lunchtime at work, some people like to sit and read the newspaper, while others would rather eat out. But this young fella prefers to take his drum to the incredibly busy Yoyogi park and hammer away on it for all he’s worth.
But this music loving salary man wasn’t just content with playing the drums. He was singing too. Although I use the word singing rather loosely. Now I’m not in any position to criticize others for their vocal ability (as those who have witnessed one of my rare performances in a karaoke box will testify), but his efforts were truly appalling. And as you’ll notice from the picture, he was wearing headphones, so he obviously had no concept of volume. He mustn’t have done, as he was loud. Excruciatingly so.
But if nothing else, there was no shortage of passion. So for the big finale, take it away maestro!
As a brief bit of background information, this is a picture of Ayumi Hamasaki (or Ayu as she is commonly known).
Not only is she pretty, but it’s probably fair to say that she’s Japan’s most popular female singer, having produced a steady string of hits over the last few years.
But sadly, like many pop stars, some of Hamasaki’s fans can be a little obsessive. Although perhaps non more so than 35 year old Masashi Tsueda. A man who was arrested this week for a series of robberies he committed to feed his love of attending concerts and buying Ayu merchandise.
Since July 2001, Tsueda is alleged to have committed around 170 robberies. Although before you immediately condemn him, he was a criminal with a conscience, as he made a rule of never stealing more than 200,000 Yen (about 1,000 pounds) in a single day! But even after heroically restricting himself in this way, the besotted fan managed to acquire over 22 million Yen (112,000 pounds) in his crime spree.
You’ve got to wonder what he was buying though. 22 million Yen! I don’t care how many concerts you go to, or posters you buy, getting through that kind of money would be quite a challenge. But by the sounds of it, one that Masashi Tsueda was obviously up to.