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GLAY

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GLAY (August 2007)
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GLAY (August 2007)

One of Japan's most popular rock bands, GLAY's name originated from a deliberate misspelling of "gray" representing the wide range of genres the band can fit into without being classified as "black" or "white". GLAY has not been afraid to experiment with different styles of music, and with songs ranging from gospel to pure rock.

Since their debut single, RAIN (produced by X Japan's YOSHIKI), they have produced over 8 albums and 25 singles. With record numbers of audiences attending their concerts and releases reaching #1 spot on charts, GLAY continues to have an impact on the Japanese music scene. GLAY celebrated its 10th Year Anniversary in 2004.


Members

  • TERU (Vocals & Acoustic Guitar)
  • HISASHI (Guitar)
  • TAKURO (Guitar, Keyboard & Background Vocals)
  • JIRO (Bass)

ex-Members

Along with the three members are supporting musicians Nagai Toshi (drums) and D.I.E. (keyboard) who was later replaced by Komori "sk55" Shigeo when he left to pursue a solo career. In some live performances, Sakuma Masahide, GLAY's producer/manager, also played as a supporting musician.

Biography

The band was formed in 1988 by TAKURO and TERU. HISASHI joined shortly after, when his band ARI broke up. The band became popular in their hometown. In 1990, when the members gratuated from highschool, they headed down to Tokyo to try and push their career even further.

However, things were dificult in Tokyo. The band performed for very small audiences, sometimes for only one person. The members had to work very hard to be able to keep themselves and the band. It was not until JIRO joined the band, in 1992, that things started to change. JIRO came with new ideas that opened the doors for them and helped them to get more success in the indies circuit.

In 1993, YOSHIKI watched one of their performances and signed them under his label, EXTASY RECORDS. Since then, they've been very successful, with consecutive #1 hits and million selling albums and singles. The band has done remarkable events like the GLAY EXPO's (they've done three editions so far), which always gather hundreds of thousands of people and stablished a record with the EXPO '99, as it had the largest audience in Japan.

In 2004 GLAY celebrated their 10th year as a major band with the EXPO 2004, which was attended by 100,000 people. It was one of the busiest years in the band's career, with the release of the album THE FRUSTRATED and four singles, along with other products, and appearances in a number of TV shows. The celebration was finished only in 2005, with the GLAY DOME TOUR 2005 "WHITE ROAD" in TOKYO DOME and the release of the compilation WHITE ROAD -Ballad Best Singles-.

Although GLAY had just celebrated a decade of success, the band faced serious problems with its record label in 2005. They did not give details of it, but, reportedly, someone had been devianting money from them. The band splited with Unlimited Records. They did not release any material that year, besides the best album and the DVD of the 2005 Dome Tour. Their only new work was the single SCREAM, in collaboration with group EXILE, which was released under EXILE's record label.

In early 2006, still without a record label, they produced the tour "ROCK'N'ROLL SWINDLE 2006". Later, they signed up with Capitol Records and released three singles, G4, Natsuoto / Hen na Yume ~THOUSAND DREAMS~ and ANSWER, the latter, with their idol, Kyosuke Himuro. They also performed the concert "KYOSUKE HIMURO + GLAY SWING ADDICTION 2006" and the tour "GLAY TOUR 2006 ROCK'N'ROLL SWINDLE~Re-birth~", at the end of the year.

In January, 2007 the band released the single 100 mankai no KISS and, a week later, their 10th original album LOVE IS BEAUTIFUL which managed to reach # 1 on the charts in spite of the low sales compared to previous releases. In April 4th they released the single Kodou, wich is the theme song for the movie Taitei no Ken.

Interesting facts

  • Their expo concert held in 1999 in Makuhari which pulled 200,000 fans is the biggest concert ever held in jpop/jrock history.
  • Their first compilation album, REVIEW, used to be the biggest selling album of all time in Japan back in 1997. It is now ranked at No.3.
  • Yuuwaku is the biggest selling single in 1998.
  • GLAY is # 3 on the Oricon million seller singles ranking (total of 6 singles).
  • They are the # 7 on the Oricon total sales ranking (over 36 million copies).
  • The band is also the # 6 on the general ranking and the # 4 on the male ranking of the artists who reached # 1 on the Oricon singles chart (total of 21 singles).
  • Their transfer from Pony Canyon to Toshiba EMI is the most expensive transfer in Japan.
  • In 1998, Japan's telephone system was put out of service because the fans massively tried to book tickets for GLAY's tour. It happened again in February 1999, in Hokkaido, where the lines were clogged for 10 hours.
  • In October 2002, they played in Beijing, luring a sold-out audience of 35,000. It is the most expensive gig in China's history.
  • They have won many prizes, including the Japan Record Awards Gran Prix for "Winter, again".
  • TAKURO has written/composed songs for Namie Amuro (LOVEBITE), Misia (Fuyu no etranger), Utada Hikaru (Time Limit and Drama), Tak Matsumoto (Engaged) and Mika Nakashima (Hitoiro and Eyes for the Moon), among other artists.
  • HISASHI played the guitar parts in the beginning of Utada Hikaru's Letters.
  • Yamashita Tomohisa has claimed to be a big fan of GLAY. So have Utada Hikaru and Orange Range members.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Compilation/Other

External Links

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