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OFF COURSE

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OFF COURSE promoting the single Koto ni Dekinai (1982)

OFF COURSE (オフコース) is a Japanese folk and rock group from 1964 to 1989.

Members

Information

OFF COURSE promoting the album Off Course 1 / Boku no Okurimono (1973)

Beginnings

The group started out a quintet in 1984 when second year high school students Oda, Suzuki, Jimeshi, and Sudou played at a arts festival. The drummer Sudou would quit the group a year later for unknown reasons. After graduating from high school two years later, Oda and Suzuki went off to college but the that didn't the stop thr band. During holidays, the group would practice in Suzuki's work at a auto shop garage. They also went onto to hold a festival for folk music called "FOLK SONGS no ..." from 1966 to 1968.

OFF COURSE got there break in 1969 when they entered and placed second in the Yamaha Light Music Contest. Inspired to win first place, the group went onto to compete in various music competitions such as Miyagi Preliminary Contest in August and Touhaku District Final Tournament in the next month. Because of the group placing first in the Touhaku District Final Tournament, the group went on to advance for the national competition, LMC Nationwide Grand Prix Competition, two months later. They group didn't achieved their dream of getting first but settled of winning second place in the contest.

Debut

The group went onto to score a record deal with Toshiba EMI after winning second in the contest. They released their first single, Gunshou no Naka de, on April 1970 under the name THE OFF COURSE. They group's name came from the English meaning of the Japanese expression "mochiron", which means of course.

Before the year was up, Kobayashi joined the group as the bassist in October. But in 1971, the other bassist, Jimeshi, would quit the group. The group joined the agency Pacific Enterprise and released their second single by the end of 1971. OFF COURSE continued to play at festivals around Japan including the Eight Person's Recital in November 1970 and the Tokyo Music Festivial in 1972.

The group renamed to OFF COURSE in 1972 when they released their third single, Osaraba. After that release, Yoshida would joined the group for a year as the chorus in April of that year. And, Kobayashi would quit as the group's bassist by the end of the year. They group would later star in their first concert Off Course Concert In Yokohama by the end of the year. They also hold their first tour, entitled Love Generation Concert, and first album, Off Course 1 / Boku no Okurimono, the year after.

The Rise

By to the mid and late 70s, OFF COURSE kept on releasing singles, albums, and had a concert every few months, including the famous OFF COURSE recitals. Their first encore happened at the end of 1976 when they were playing at a women's college, marking their first rise in popularity. They also appointed Mutou Binshi to be the director of the group in 1975. After the released of their eight single, Hitori de Ikite Yukereba, in 1976, Mutou would recruit former Janet member, Ooma Jiro, to be the drummer for the group's recording sessions. They had another drummer, Shiroma Masahiro, who was in the group from 1978 to 1979, who would play for the group's live. At the same year, OFF COURSE formed their own company, entitled OFF COURSE Company.

The band once again changed line up in 1979 by adding bassist Shimizu and Guitarist and Harmonica player Matsuo to the group. Also, Ooma would be promoted from recording drummer to the band's own drummer. The three new members first appearance made a impression in the group when their first single. Sayonara, would become the group's first top ten hit, reaching #2 on the Oricon, by the end of the decade.

Popularity

By the start of the new decade in the 80s, OFF COURSE continued to score some top ten hits but also had some singles, like Toki ni Ai wa, that flopped and only reached on the bottom of the top 50s. Original member Oda Kazumasa would release his first sound produced album by the end of 1980, entitled Waga Kokoto no Tomo for the group Iruka. Also, Suzuki Yashiro and Ooma Jiro would follow in Oda's footsteps and produce albums for other groups.

A year later, the group would also travel international and performed in Los Angeles, United States. They also were featured in a documentary produced by NHK about their concert series Wakai Hiroba. They also appeared on a TBS special a couple months after NHK program, entitled NEXT. They would also play at the Nihon Budoukan in 1982 and announced that the group would take a rest from performing live. But this didn't stop the group from their amassing popularity when their next album, [I Love You|I LOVE YOU]], was the third album to reach #1 on the Oricon charts (after over and We are).

Suzuki Yashiro became the group's first member to go solo with the single Ai wo Yoroshiku and album Sincerely by August 1983. A few months later, Suzuki would quit the group to focus more on his solo career. A year later, the group switched labels and went from Toshiba EMI to Funhouse.

Decline and Breakup

OFF COURSE started off 1985 by going to America to record their first ever English album for three months. They still continued their music in Japan by releasing their next single, call, a couple months after they came back. They would go on to perform for the charity concert Live Aid in July, performing the song ENDLESS NIGHTS.

They released their first English album in August 1985, entitled Back Streets of Tokyo. The album fared really well among their fans and was the sixth #1 album to top the Oricon charts. They also released their only English single, ENDLESS NIGHTS, by the end of 1985.

In 1986, Matsuo Kazuhiko would go onto to start his solo career and debuted with the Futsuu no Office Lady in July. This caused the other members to start their own solo careers with Oda releasing his first single 1985 and Shimizu releasing his own single, Ue wo Muite Arukou, and started his own solo project the next year. By the end of the year, the group would performed at a John Lennon memorial concert.

In 1987 and 1988, the group released a handful of singles and album when they announced that they would breakup in 1989 to let each member focus on their own solo careers. The group disbanded on February 1989 after performing for the last time at a special concert in Tokyo Dome, entitled A Night with Us.

There has no reunion of the group since their breakup in 1989. However, there was a mini reunion Matsuo, Shimizu, and Ooma got together in 1999 to formed the group Acoustic Beatles Club.

Discography

Original Albums

Live Albums

Best Of Albums

Singles

Videos / DVDs

  • [1982.11.21] NEXT VIDEO PROGRAM
  • [1983.04.21] Off Course 1982・6・30 -Concert in Budokan
  • [1984.12.01] Movie The Best Year of My Life
  • [1985.04.xx] RUNNING THROUGH '8
  • [1987.11.25] OFF COURSE TOUR 1987 as close as possible
  • [2001.09.26] Off Course 1969-1989 Digital dictionary
  • [2002.01.30] Off Course 1981.Aug.16~Oct.3 Wakai Hiroba Off Course no Sekai (Off Course 1981.Aug.16~Oct.30 若い広場 オフコースの世界)
  • [2007.06.27] Off Course 1982・6・30 Concert Special (Off Course 1982・6・30 コンサート スペシャル)

Books

  • [1980.12.19] Off Course Shashinshuu "We are" (オフコース写真集[We are] )
  • [1982.10.01] Off Course 1969～1982
  • [1984.10.31] OFF COURSE YEAR BOOK '84
  • [1985.12.18] OFF COURSE YEAR BOOK '85
  • [1987.12.20] OFF COURSE as close as possible
  • [1989.04.20] 1989.2.26 OFF COURSE FINAL

External Links

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