1987
On January 12, Buck-Tick did a show at Shibuya's La Mama. It was then that they met their future manager Yoshihiko "Joe" Masuoka. Joe had been a friend of Sawaki of Taiyo Records for 10 years. (In the picture above from 1988, Joe is on the far right. Also in the photo is the staff member with the longest history, Shigeo Azami, who has held various roles but went on to become Toll's drum tech. B-T has hair up. Azami has hair down. Joe has no hair.)
Throughout the year, Hisashi lightens and lightens the front part of his hair until it is decidedly blonde. By the end of the year, Hisashi has dyed his hair red for the first time. Atsushi and Hide lighten to a dark to medium brown later on in the year.
On January 15, the band returned to Gunma to play at Maebashi Rattan. At this show, when Atsushi introduced each member, he introduced Hide as "ushi" (cow) because of the black and white shirt he was wearing. Atsushi apologized and then introduced him by his full name. On the 17th, everyone but U-ta appeared on FM Gunma radio for an interview and to play their single. Atsushi laughs that the DJ was a high school student.
During January 21-February 4, Buck-Tick recorded their Indie debut album at the same Yamaha studio they had recorded their demo at, Yamaha Hiyoshi Center Studio. It was a grueling session as in so few days they spent about 100 hours in the studio. Toll remembers that it was a three to four hour drive to the studio. The members all stayed at Atsushi's and often got only three to four hours sleep each night. They recorded about three songs a day. U-ta had been attending administration/management school for 2 years but had missed about 2 months in that time and didn't think he would graduate, especially once they started recording the album so he just focused on the band and never graduated.
For the cover of the album, they took pictures at Sawaki's house on February 15. At that time a full color jacket for an indie band was pretty rare and the band was told the cover could be two colors. They decided if it was going to be two it would have to be black and white. The album was titled Hurry Up Mode and was released on April 1. The album was almost named "Koroshi No Shirabe" and so they left that on the artwork, almost like a subtitle. (They did release an album with that name years later in 1992.) The album was released on CD and vinyl, making it the first Indies album in Japan ever to be released on CD. The CD contained two extra tracks: "Vacuum Dream" and "No No Boy". Since this album was released on an independent label, there were only a few copies of the CD pressed and it is a much sought after item for collectors.
On February 11, Buck-Tick held a live event called Koroshi No Shirabe - Hurry Up Mode at Shinjuku Loft. Other bands that appeared included The Trash, The Model, The Eden, etc. The band continued to make appearances at Beat For Beat For Beat at Shinjuku Loft. They played on February 13 for Vol.13 and the next day for Vol.14. That was their last appearance at this event. They then returned to Gunma to play a show on the 25th at Maebashi Shimin Bunka Kaikan.
To kick off the album's release, on April 1 they played a show called Buck-Tick Genshou [Buck-Tick Phenomenon] at the Toyoshima Koukaido in Tokyo, which has a capacity of around 800. It was Sawaki's idea to promote the show with 3000 stickers that simply said "Buck-Tick Genshou April 1 Toyoshima Koukaido" in white on black. These stickers were placed all over the streets of Shibuya and Harajuku. It's possible that the idea for the title of the concert came out of Hisashi's love for the band YMO. He is a big fan of their album BGM (1981) which featured a song called "Rap Genshou".
On May 13, the band embarked on their first tour, playing outside the Kanto region for the first time. The Hurry Up Mode Tour lasted for 10 dates and began in Maebashi, the capital city of their home prefecture of Gunma, and ended in Yokohama in Kanagawa prefecture, a nearby but rival city to Tokyo. (From the central station it is approximately 35km to Yokohama.) During the tour, they played two shows in a row in Osaka, but at different venues. This was the first time that they played 2 nights in the same city during a tour. To be fair, it was their first real tour afterall. U-ta recalls that during this tour, their cheap touring van ran out of gas and all of the members had to push it about 1km. He remembers it was quite heavy since it was loaded with all their gear and seeing Mt. Fuji as they did this. This means the van probably broke down between gigs #2 and #3 on the tour.
Doing all these shows paid off. Major label producers became interested in signing the band. They were now struck with the ability to move on in their career and take the next step but were panicking because they did not know how to deal with it. They asked Sawaki what sort of things to look for in a record contract. He advised them not to let the company have control over their looks, not to deviate from their established look, that session musicians should not record in the studio for their albums, and that they should have control in the production process, because without all five members it is not Buck-Tick.
As the buzz spread from their live shows, a producer named Junichi Tanaka from Victor/Invitation records became interested in the band. They held a meeting and decided they would sign with Victor. Their contract stipulated the following key points:
- never change the image of the band
- never change any of the 5 members
- never use studio musicians
- let the band self produce its output
A record label signing celebratory show was held on June 16 at Shibuya's Live Inn entitled Buck-Tick Genshou II. This date was Hide's birthday and their first gig held on a member's birthday. There were 600 in attendance, which is around the max capacity of the venue.. At the show they announced their signing to a major label. This show was recorded and some footage was released by Victor on September 21 as Buck-Tick Live at the Live Inn.
Before recording the actual album, Victor asked Buck-Tick to first record a demo tape. Thus, on July 18, Buck-Tick recorded a three song demo that contained "Sexual Intercourse!" (later known as "Sexual XXXXX!"), "Romanesque", and "Moon Light". Only one song from that demo, "Sexual Intercourse!", actually made it onto the album which they would later record and release this same year. "Romanesque" saw the light of day in 1988 when Buck-Tick released a mini-album, or as they say abroad, an E.P.. "Moon Light" would not come out of the closet until the entire Hurry Up Mode album was remastered and re-released by Victor in 1990.
During July 26-August 18, Buck-Tick were in the studio to record their major label debut album. It was recorded at Avaco Creative Studio, Star Ship Studio, and Victor Aoyama Studio, which they would work at many more times in the future. The album was released on November 21 and entitled Sexual XXXXX!. Oddly, the album did not have any singles released from it.
On August 22, Buck-Tick was one of the bands performing at Neo Beat Zone held at Kawasaki Sangyo Bunka Kaikan. On the 26th, they held their own event called To the Fly High at Shibuya Live Inn.
Victor worked hard at promoting the band and one way they did this was by creating a series of postcards to mail to the fans to inform them of Buck-Tick gigs. They are odd in their style of advertising. They feature a cartoon strip featuring Buck-Tick as a band from outer space who come to Japan and take over the music scene. There are 6 in all (pictured in reverse order). The first one is entitled, "Episode 1: They came from outer space". The ones that followed are, "Episode 2: Buck-Tick strikes back again", "Episode 3: Buck-Tick on the road", "Episode 4: Buck-Tick starts live tour", "Episode 5: Buck-Tick gets the "Seventh Heaven", and "Episode 6: Buck-Tick on the top of the world".
Victor also kept Buck-Tick busy with a lot of gigs and "meet the fans" type of press conferences. (Also known as campaigns in Japan, perhaps these are best described as half press conference, half meet and greet.) These events were held on September 13 in Takasaki, October 10-11 in Nagoya, November 13-14 in Sapporo, November 19 in Fukuoka, November 20 in Kumamoto, November 27 in Takasaki, November 28 in Kawasaki, December 6 at Nagoya Electric Lady Land, December 18 in Sapporo. They also had a signing event at CSV Shibuya on September 19. They think that about 200-300 attended. Since the Live Inn video would be released in a few days and major album wasn't released until November, I'm not sure what they were signing, if it was a specific product such as the video in advance, or posters, etc.
The group also made some television and radio appearances. On September 14, they appeared on the radio show "Midnight Cruising." The group's schedule was so busy, that they were concerned that their rehearsal time was being eaten away at. For example, as the video Picture Product reports, at one rehearsal they had to sign autographs for 5000 fans. (That incident may have been in 1988 but you get the idea of how busy they were and how popular they were becoming.)
In September, Shaking Hands became the name of their management office. It must have been around this time that a new fan club was established, now that they were on a major label and changed management. The name of the fan club was "Buck-Tick Club". The first newsletter was not published until November 21 and it would continue this way for almost a decade. The first few issues were a bit amateur, with a handwritten, photocopied look about it. Later on they moved on to proper typsets and color issues. When the fan club was dissolved, the members expressed their dislike of the fan club name and that they did not pick the name. Incidentally, at that point in the future, Buck-Tick changed not only their fan club but their management company as well.
Video footage was shot on September 11 for promotional music videos. It was originally scheduled four days earlier but Atsushi was quite ill. Even on the day of shooting he was still sick and doesn't appear so healthy on film. Out of this session came music videos for the songs "Sexual XXXXX!" and "Dream Or Truth." Filming continued on October 13 and 14 and out of this session came music videos for the songs "Hyper Love," "Empty Girl," and "Illusion." This would later be available to purchase as a home video release. (Atsushi's sickness is most prominently viewable in the music video for "Sexual XXXXX!" as he is quite sweaty with fever.)
I am not sure of the exact date, but around this time the band appeared on "Sound Juice," a local television show in Gunma. Atsushi noted that it's their third appearance. I am not sure if it was third appearance on the show or their third appearance on television.
On September 20, they began their Buck-Tick Genshou tour in Takasaki for 19 dates. The tour ended in Maebashi. This remains their only tour that began and ended in Gunma. During this tour, they played a good chunk of the center of Japan. They didn't play the very ends of north and south but they played all the major areas in the middle and play Kyushu, the southernmost region in Japan. Toll recalls that at the September 23 show at Koriyama Freeway Jam, the venue did not have a PA system so his drums were not miked. U-ta recalls another painful touring moment as during one of the dates up north, the first song was supposed to start with the guitar but no sound was coming out and it was embarrassing. During this tour was the first time the band played on Hisashi's birthday. The show was October 21 at Osaka Banana Hall.
As the band grew, they began to do more and more interviews and the commonly asked questions were:
1. Why do you put your hair up?
2. How do you put your hair up?
3. What is the difference between the majors and Indies?
Hide would often answer they started dyeing their hair, putting it up, and wearing make-up because they liked it and thought it was cool. They weren't doing it to try to get attention or sell records. They weren't even musicians to sell, they were musicians because that is what they wanted to do. Funny side note: as the band was getting busier, in order to save time, some members would sleep with their hair still sprayed up. U-ta recalls placing pillows in particular positions in order not to squash the hair.
On November 2, the band appeared on the NHK television show "Audition" and performed "Sexual XXXXX!," which U-ta recalls the judging committee chairman Ichiro Fujiyama telling the band that the song is banned. Perhaps, too risque for an old time vocalist known in his latter years for doing coffee creamer commercials. On the 17th, the band performed live for the NHK radio show "Hitachi Fan! Fun! Today" for a younger and more enthusiastic audience. While it was a public performance, the band to appear on the show was not announced and though it was a late night appearance, many fans made it to the performance. Fellow Gunma band Rogue also appeared. This particular episode was "New Band Gig Vol.1." On the 18th, Buck-Tick were on the NHK radio show "Audition". I am not sure if the radio show and tv show "Audition" are connected, if they simply broadcast the same thing on both mediums. On the 19th, Atsushi appeared on the FM Yokohama radio show "Hot & Now." On the 23rd, the band appeared on the Chiba TV show "Teledio 7."
On November 27, the book Buck-Tick was released. It is comprised mostly of photos but also has a history of the band, a section for each member, and even song lyrics. In December, Atsushi was on the cover of "Fool's Mate" magazine, marking the first time Buck-Tick was on a magazine cover.
By December, both guitarists had acquired new main guitars in white. Hisashi acquired a P-Project stratocaster style guitar and Hide acquired a Fernandes telecaster style guitar. Hisashi would eventually adopt a Fernandes guitar as his main. Since P-Project is made by Fernandes, the models look damn near identical to Fernandes models so it may be that Hide also tried P-Project at first but then went with Fernandes. More on their relationship with Fernandes Guitars in the next year.
On December 2, they appeared on the TBS television show "Live Town". On the 5th, they appeared on the television show "5ji Sat Magazine" (5 o'clock Sat Magazine) and performed "Sexual XXXXX!". However, during the interview it is mentioned that they will be playing EL on the following day and since the show was recorded in Nagoya, this means that Buck-Tick actually appeared on October 17 and it did not air until December 5.
On December 11, the Buck-Tick Genshou III concert was held at the Nippon Seinenkan in Tokyo. I believe this was their biggest show to date as the venue has a capacity of 1,360. This show is also notable for the stage construction which had Toll high above everyone else. Part of the concert was broadcast on the television show "Live Tomato", which was a show that helped to fuel the booming fans of rock music. (In fact, this period in Japanese rock is called the "band boom".) Buck-Tick shot more video footage on the 15th and 16th. On the 28th they appeared on the Iwate TV show "Television".
On December 19, they began a brief Buck-Tick Genshou tour which lasted for 6 dates, beginning in Sapporo and ending in Aomori. This would be the first time they played in Hokkaido, the northernmost and largest prefecture in Japan which is known for its cold and snow. Aomori is also known for being a northern prefecture with cold and snow. In fact, some call Aomori City the snowiest city in the world. Reflecting back on the times, U-ta remarked that no one is so stupid as to go to Hokkaido in mid-winter but there they went.
Buck-Tick also played a big event on December 31 called Rock 'N Roll Band Stand to an audience of 5000. This was their first real event and they showed up with their amateur gear, feeling a little embarrassed. The members think that the other bands that played were Hound Dog, Seikima II, Bakufu Slump, Up-Beat, Der Zibet, etc. (big names or soon to be big names in the Japanese rock scene at the time). Since it was a New Year's Eve show, you can hear Hisashi slip in a few notes of "Mou Ikutsu Neru To Oshogatsu" during "Empty Girl". (A children's song about how many more nights to sleep until New Year's, sort of a cultural equivalent of "The 12 Days of Christmas".) This event could have been the start of the friendship between Buck-Tick and Der Zibet, whose paths would cross several times well into the 2000s.
I'm not sure exactly when it occurred, perhaps towards the end of 1987 or the beginning of 1988, but there were a series of "Buck-Tick Special" video concerts AKA "Captagon Vol. 23" and "Captagon Vol. 25". The Captagon company, run by Buck-Tick's record label Victor, held these video concerts for various bands and Buck-Tick was the main band for this edition. In Vol. 23, footage from Buck-Tick performing at Nippon Seinenkan on December 11 was shown. I'm not sure what was featured though in Vol. 25.
The band played more shows this year than the year before and really expanded the areas they play since they were able to tour 3 times. The prefectures they played for the first time this year include: Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Kyoto, Miyagi, Niigata, Osaka, Shizuoka, and Yamagata. (There are 47 prefectures in Japan in total.)