GLAY

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GLAY (2008)
GLAY (2008)

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 9 albums and 39 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.

Contents

Members

  • TERU: Vocals and acoustic guitar
  • HISASHI: Guitar
  • TAKURO: Guitar, keyboard and background vocals
  • JIRO: Bass

Along with the four 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.

Former Members

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 graduated from high school, they headed down to Tokyo to try and push their career even further.

However, things were difficult 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 together. It was not until JIRO joined the band, in 1992, that things started to change. JIRO came in 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 performed some remarkable events like the GLAY EXPO's (they've done three editions so far), which always gather hundreds of thousands of people. The EXPO '99 established a record as it has the largest audience in Japan, luring 200,000 people. The 2nd edition of the EXPO, in 2001, was distributed in three concerts, each of them held in different parts of Japan (Kyushu, Tokyo and Hokkaido). The concert held in Kyushu featured artists from several Asian countries, including Chinese Nicholas Tse and Taiwanese band Mayday.

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 finished 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, but, reportedly, someone had been deviating money from them. The band split 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 rhythm zone.

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 Man Kai no KISS and, a week later, their 10th original album LOVE IS BEAUTIFUL which managed to reach #1 on the charts despite of the low sales compared to previous releases. In April 4th they released the single Kodou, which was the theme song for the movie Taitei no Ken.

In 2008, to celebrate their 20th anniversary, GLAY will perform for the first time in the Unites States. The band will play three concerts: at The Fillmore, in San Francisco, on August 12, and at the House of Blues, in Los Angeles, on August 15 and 16.

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~BEST OF GLAY, used to be the all time best selling album in Japan back in 1997. Now the album is ranked at No.3.
  • Yuuwaku is the biggest selling single in 1998.
  • They are the #7 on an all time total sales ranking published by TV show Music Station in 2005 (over 35 million copies).
  • GLAY is #3 on the Oricon million seller singles ranking (total of 6 singles).
  • 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. A similar incident occurred again in February 1999, when the lines were clogged for 10 hours in Hokkaido.
  • 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 several prizes, including the Japan Record Awards Gran Prix, which is considered the most important award in Japan Music Industry, for "Winter, again".
  • TAKURO has written/composed songs for Amuro Namie (LOVEBITE), Misia (Fuyu no Etranger), Utada Hikaru (Time Limit and Drama), Matsumoto Tak (Engaged) and Nakashima Mika (Hitoiro and EYES FOR THE MOON), among other artists.
  • HISASHI played the guitar parts in the beginning of Utada Hikaru's Letters. He played the guitar parts for Kyosuke Himuro's Keep the Faith,present in his best hits album "JUST MOVIN' ON　～ALL THE -S-HIT～".
  • Some famous people who have claimed to be GLAY fans are Yamashita Tomohisa, Utada Hikaru, actress Ishihara Satomi and members of ORANGE RANGE.

Discography

GLAY (1996)
GLAY (1996)
GLAY (1997)
GLAY (1997)
GLAY (1998)
GLAY (1998)
GLAY (1999)
GLAY (1999)
GLAY (2001)
GLAY (2001)
GLAY (2007)
GLAY (2007)

Albums

Singles

Download Exclusive

VHS / LD / DVD

Compilation / Other

External Links

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