The Roosters
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- This article is about the Japanese rock band the Roosters, for other bands of the same name, see The Roosters (disambiguation)
The Roosters (ザ・ルースターズ Za Rūsutāzu) were a Japanese rock band that mixed punk, blues-rock, ska and straight-forward rock and roll. They were active throughout the 1980s and released 10 albums of original material and one live album. They formed in 1979 and disbanded nine years and 11 albums later after numerous lineup changes.
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History
They formed in 1979 in the Hakata ward of Fukuoka prefecture's capital city of Fukuoka. Although there were four different lineups throughout the life of the band--all centered around guitarist Hiroyuki Hanada--Shinya Ohe was the band's first frontman. Ohe not only sang lead vocals, but also dominated the writing of lyrics and music for the group for the first three albums. In addition to Ohe's contributions, the first two albums were made up of several cover songs. Their third album Insane was a step in a new direction, it was not only the first all-Roosters album with no cover material, but it also featured the first Roosters song not written and composed by Ohe: 'Baby Sitter', written and composed by bassist Tomio Inoue. This was the first sign of a more democratic Roosters, and it paved the way for Hanada to compose songs for their fourth album Dis.
The Roosters' sixth album φPHY was Ohe's last with the group, with only about half of the record credited to him. The rest of the album is credited to Toshiyuki Shibayama (柴山 俊之) for his lyrics and Hanada for his musical compositions. Shibayama continued to write a large portion of the lyrics for the group until they broke up, but never played with them or was an official member. In 1985 Shinya Ohe decided to take an indefinite break from making music and left the band. Despite losing an integral member of the band the Roosters pressed on and released their seventh album Neon Boy less than nine months after Ohe's departure. A single track on Neon Boy, 'Out Land', was Jun Shimoyama's first contribution as a songwriter and composer for the group. Shimoyama continued to write lyrics and music for the band along with Hanada until the band's dissolution in 1988.
Recent Events
In March of 1999 a tribute album entitled Respectable Roosters was released to much renewed interest in the Roosters. It featured Japanese bands the pillows, Thee Michelle Gun Elephant, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, Kemuri and others performing covers of songs by the Roosters. After being out of the spotlight for over ten years, this album introduced a new generation to the music of the Roosters and propelled them to the status of musical icons, garnering them recognition as a source of inspiration for many of today's Japanese rock bands.
In the year 2002, four of the original Roosters from various incarnations came together to form the Rock'n'Roll Gypsies, who have put out one album to date and continue to make music together.
In 2004 Ohe Shinya ended his lengthy musical hiatus to reunite with the original lineup of the Roosters for one last concert. Billed by their website as the Roosters' last live appearance, the Roosters performed at the 2004 Fuji Rock Festival in Naeba, Japan. They played on the first day of the three day festival: Friday July 30, 2004.
In September 2004, a box set consisting of most of the Roosters' recorded material, rarities, live recordings and several DVDs. It retails for ¥49,800 (or about US$470), and consists of 27 CDs and 6 DVDs. The set contains every original album and EP, several discs of live performances, and a few discs of unreleased studio material. The DVDs contain several live shows, including their last live performance at the Fuji Rock Festival in 2004. Also included is a documentary made by Japanese director Sogo Ishii on the band's 2004 reunion.
Their music is only distributed in Japan through Columbia—which offers the original 11 Roosters albums—and Universal, which distributes Rock'n'Roll Gypsies.
Lineups
- The Roosters (February 1979 - July 1983)
- Shinya Ohe (大江 慎也 Ōe Shin'ya) - Vocals, Guitar
- Hiroyuki Hanada (花田 裕之 Hanada Hiroyuki) - Lead Guitar
- Tomio Inoue (井上 富雄 Inoue Tomio) - Bass Guitar
- Jyunji Ikehata (池畑 潤二 Ikehata Junji) - Drums (Withdrew September 1983)
- The Roosterz (July 1983 - March 1985)
- Shinya Ohe - Vocals, Guitar
- Hiroyuki Hanada Lead Guitar
- Jun Shimoyama (下山 淳 Shimoyama Jun) - Lead Guitar
- Tomio Inoue - Bass (Withdrew January 1984)
- Kazuhiko Sakuyama (柞山 一彦 Kazuyama Kazuhiko) - Bass
- Masayuki Nadatomo (灘友 正幸 Nadatomo Masayuki) - Drums
- Koichi Ando (安藤 広一 Andō Kōichi) - Keyboards (Withdrew March 1985)
- The Roosterz (March 1985 - December 1987)
- Hiroyuki Hanada - Vocals, Guitar
- Jun Shimoyama - Guitar
- Kazuhiko Sakuyama - Bass Guitar
- Masayuki Nadatomo - Drums
- The Roosterz (December 1987 - July 1988)
- Hiroyuki Hanada - Vocals, Guitar
- Jun Shimoyama - Lead Guitar
- Nikichi Anai (穴井 仁吉 Anai Nikichi) - Bass
- Shigeo Mihara (三原 重夫 Mihara Shigeo) - Drums
- Rock'n'Roll Gypsies (2002-Present)
- Hiroyuki Hanada - Vocals, Guitar
- Tomio Inoue - Bass
- Jun Shimoyama - Guitar
- Jyunji Ikehata - Drums
- Romanization Note: Names in the credits of Roosters albums are given in the western order (given name followed by family name). There are three members of the Roosters who prefer irregular romanizations of their names, Shinya Ohe, Jyunji Ikehata and Koichi Ando. 'Modified Hepburn' romanizations are given next to their names in Japanese in their case.
Discography
- The Roosters (1980)
- The Roosters à-Gogo (1981)
- Insane (1981)
- Dis. (1983)
- Good Dreams (1984)
- φPHY (1984)
- Neon Boy (1985)
- Kaminari (1986)
- Passenger (1987)
- Four Pieces (1988)
- Four Pieces Live (1988)
External Links
- The Roosters' Official Website (Japanese) (http://columbia.jp/~roosters/)
- Rock'n'Roll Gypsies Official Website (Japanese) (http://www.universal-music.co.jp/rrg/)
- Goo 音楽 article on The Roosters (Japanese) (http://music.goo.ne.jp/artist/ARTLISD1008182.html)
- The Roosters 'Official Perfect Box' collection on amazon.co.jp (http://amazon.co.jp/o/ASIN/B0002CXCPG)