The Alfee

Last updated

The Alfee
Also known asAlfie, The KanLeKeeZ
Origin Tokyo, Japan
Genres
Years active1973–present
Labels Victor, Pony Canyon, EMI, Universal/Virgin
MembersMasaru Sakurai
Kohnosuke Sakazaki
Toshihiko Takamizawa
Past membersYasuo Miyake
Website www.alfee.com

The Alfee (formerly spelled Alfie) is a Japanese rock band formed in Tokyo in 1973. Originally a folk quartet, [2] they became a trio of bassist Masaru Sakurai, acoustic guitarist Kohnosuke Sakazaki and electric guitarist Toshihiko Takamizawa in 1975. With all three performing vocal duties, they adopted a harder rock sound in the early 1980s. [2] Beginning with their 16th single "Marie-Anne" in 1983, they have released 57 consecutive top 10 singles. [3] The Alfee hold the record for most concerts performed by a Japanese band, with 2,888 as of December 2023. [3] [4] HMV Japan ranked them number 92 on their list of the top 100 Japanese pop acts. [2]

Contents

History

After moving to Tokyo in 1970, Masaru Sakurai formed a three-piece band at Meiji Gakuin Senior High School called Confidence (コンフィデンス), which covered Western music acts such as Simon & Garfunkel. [2] In 1972, they entered a folk music contest sponsored by Victor and won. There, Sakurai met Kohnosuke Sakazaki, who joined the group later that year. [2] Sakurai and Sakazaki both enrolled in Meiji Gakuin University. There, they recruited Toshihiko Takamizawa, who was also a classmate of Sakurai's in high school. [2] Confidence changed their name to Alfie in 1973, and released their first single "Natsu Shigure" on August 25, 1974. [2] Their first album, Seishun no Kioku (re-titled Greenhorn on most re-issues), was released on July 25, 1975. Yasuo Miyake then left the group, leaving the lineup of Sakurai, Sakazaki and Takamizawa, which continues to this day. The song "Fuchutorimono Hikae" was set to be released as their third single on December 10, 1975, the day the statute of limitations expired for the 300 million yen robbery, which is parodied in the lyrics. [5] However, Victor cancelled its release due to the connection, causing a rift between the band and their label. (The song would finally be released in 2014 as part of a re-release of Seishun no Kioku that coincided with the band's 40th anniversary. [5] ) Alfie produced no further music for Victor. Instead, they acted as the backing band for artists such as Hiroshi Kamayatsu. [2] In 1979, they signed with Pony Canyon (then known as Canyon Records), changed the spelling of their name to Alfee, and released "Love Letter" as their third single on January 21. [2]

In 1983, their song "Marie-Anne" became a massive hit. [2] That year, Alfee performed at the Nippon Budokan for the first time. This began a 35-year tradition of them performing at the venue every year, until 2019, when renovations for the 2020 Summer Olympics ended the streak. [6] The band added "The" in front of their name in 1986.

With their 50th single, "Taiyō ha Shizumanai", released in August 2002, The Alfee set a Japanese record for 35 consecutive top 10 singles on the Oricon Singles Chart. [2]

In March 2014, Sakurai, Sakazaki and Takamizawa were presented with honorary degrees from Meiji Gakuin University, their alma mater where they had formed The Alfee. [7] In the 1970s, Takamizawa had dropped out of the school, while Sakurai and Sakazaki were expelled. [8] At a December 2015 concert at the Nippon Budokan, The Alfee performed as an alterego band named The KanLeKeeZ. The idea was, with all three members having reached their 60s, they decided to pay tribute to group sounds bands of the 1960s. [9] The KanLeKeeZ released the album G.S. meets The KanLeKeeZ on December 21, 2016. [9] It won a Planning Award at the 59th Japan Record Awards in 2017. [10]

Due to providing the theme song to Kansai TV's broadcast of the Osaka International Women's Marathon for 31 consecutive years from 1987 until 2018, when the broadcaster announced they would no longer use themes, The Alfee were certified with the Guinness World Record for "Most theme songs sung by the same artist for the same international sports event broadcast on TV" in December 2018. [11] [12] [13]

With the release of "The 2nd Life -Daini no Sentaku-" in July 2021, The Alfee achieved 55 consecutive top 10 singles on the Oricon Singles Chart. This tied them with SMAP and AKB48 for second place, behind Arashi with 58. [14] Celebrating their 50th anniversary, they performed at the Nippon Budokan on December 23 and 24, 2023. The former marked their 100th concert at the venue. [4]

Members

Former members

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Other albums

Singles

Videography

BE∀T BOYS Discography

Singles

Albums

Videos

Related Research Articles

Mr. Children, commonly referred to by their contracted nickname "Misu-Chiru" (ミスチル), are a Japanese pop rock band formed in 1989. Consisting of Kazutoshi Sakurai, Kenichi Tahara, Keisuke Nakagawa, and Hideya Suzuki, they made their major label debut in 1992. They are one of the best selling artists in Japan and one of the most successful Japanese rock artists, having sold over 75 million records and creating the "Mis-chil Phenomenon" (ミスチル現象) in the mid-1990s in Japan. They held the record for the highest first week sales of a single in Japan for 15 years, with 1.2 million copies of their 10th single "Namonaki Uta" (名もなき詩), have 30 consecutive number 1 singles, replaced Glay as the all-male band to have the most number 1 albums on the Oricon charts, and won the Japan Record Award in 1994 for "Innocent World" and in 2004 for "Sign". As of 2012, Mr. Children has published fifteen original studio albums and 34 physical singles, along with five compilations, a live album, and fifteen home video releases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nippon Budokan</span> Sporting arena in Tokyo

The Nippon Budokan, often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. While its primary purpose is to host martial arts contests, the arena has gained additional fame as one of the world's most outstanding musical performance venues. The Budokan was a popular venue for Japanese professional wrestling for a time, and it has hosted numerous other sporting events such as the 1967 Women's Volleyball World Championship. Most recently, the arena hosted the Olympic debut of karate in the 2020 Summer Olympics, as well as the judo competition at both the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2020 Summer Paralympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zone (band)</span> Japanese rock band

Zone (ゾーン) was an all-female rock band started in Sapporo, Japan, in 1997. It started as a dance group and turned into an all-female band. Zone has been categorized in a new genre called "bandol". The band was started and managed by Studio RunTime and its first single, "Good Days", was released by the major record label Sony Records, on February 7, 2001. The group officially disbanded on March 2, 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luna Sea</span> Japanese rock band

Luna Sea is a Japanese rock band formed in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1986. Due to the use of makeup and costumes early in their career and their widespread popularity, they are considered one of the most successful and influential bands in the visual kei movement. Throughout the mid-1990s they used significantly less makeup, and after a one-year break in 1997, came back with a more mainstream alternative rock style and toned down their on-stage attire. They disbanded in 2000. In 2003, HMV Japan ranked Luna Sea at number 90 on their list of the 100 most important Japanese pop acts.

Siam Shade was a five-piece Japanese rock band, formed in Tokyo in 1991. The classic line-up of Hideki on vocals, Natchin on bass, Kazuma and Daita on guitar, and Jun-ji on drums broke onto the visual kei scene alongside a multitude of other artists in the early 1990s and enjoyed a decade of relative popularity before disbanding in early 2002. The members have reunited several times since 2007 for one-off concerts and short tours. Outside Japan, Siam Shade is best known for "1/3 no Junjō na Kanjō", which was the sixth ending theme of the Rurouni Kenshin anime. Daita's work on their song "Triptych" was named the 83rd best guitar instrumental by Young Guitar Magazine in 2019.

Eikichi Yazawa is a Japanese singer-songwriter, and a prominent figure in Japanese popular music. Yoko Yazawa of The Generous is his daughter. He has been nicknamed as Ei-chan (永ちゃん), Boss or The King of Rock.

Buck-Tick is a Japanese rock band formed in Fujioka, Gunma in 1983. The group consisted of lead vocalist Atsushi Sakurai, lead guitarist Hisashi Imai, rhythm guitarist Hidehiko Hoshino, bassist Yutaka Higuchi and drummer Toll Yagami from 1985 until Sakurai's death in 2023. The band has experimented with many different genres of music throughout their four decade career, including punk rock, gothic rock and industrial rock. Buck-Tick are commonly credited as one of the main founders of the visual kei movement.

Pierrot was a Japanese visual kei rock band formed in 1994 in Nagano. After changing their name from Dizy-Lizy to Pierrot and several member changes, the final lineup was completed in 1995 with Kirito on vocals, Jun and Aiji on guitar, Kohta on bass and Takeo on drums. After roughly ten years together, Pierrot disbanded in 2006. Their final single was named "Hello", an apt title for a band who started their major career with an album called Finale.

Access is a Japanese pop group. Its members are Daisuke Asakura and Hiroyuki Takami. Asakura is the primary composer/producer and featured keyboardist while Takami is the vocalist. Takami also writes a major portion of access' lyrics. Access is currently signed with Sony Music Associated Records. The name "access" is stylized in lowercase letters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chisato Moritaka</span> Musical artist

Chisato Moritaka is a Japanese pop singer who also is notable as a songwriter. She is affiliated with Up-Front Create, a subsidiary of the Up-Front Group.

Kazutoshi Sakurai is a Japanese musician. He composes and writes almost all of the songs for his band Mr. Children, in addition to writing lyrics and singing for his solo project group Bank Band. In 2006, Sakurai ranked No. 8 in HMV's "Top 30 Best Japanese Singers of All Time" and in 2007 was voted No. 4 as the "ideal father image" by Oricon. Also, in 2009, he was chosen as one of the Young Global Leaders in World Economic Forum. As an entrepreneur, he co-founded AP Bank, where he personally provided 1 million dollars of seed money to launch and fund the nonprofit lending group which finances environmentally friendly projects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porno Graffitti</span> Japanese rock band

Porno Graffitti, also known as Porno, are a Japanese rock band from Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture. The band got their name from the album Pornograffitti by the band Extreme. They currently record under the SME Records label and their agency is Amuse, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Without You (Debbie Gibson song)</span>

"Without You" is a single by American singer-songwriter Debbie Gibson. Written by Gibson and Tatsuro Yamashita, the single was released exclusively in Japan in 1990 by Warner Pioneer under the Atlantic label. It was featured in the 1990 TBS drama series Otoko ni Tsuite. Originally released as a stand-alone single, "Without You" was included as a bonus track in the Japanese releases of Gibson's 1990 album Anything Is Possible and 1995 Greatest Hits album. It was also included in her 2017 box set We Could Be Together and the 2021 Deluxe Edition release of her 1989 album Electric Youth.

<i>Summer Tour 2007 Final Time – Kotoba no Chikara</i> 2008 video by Arashi

Summer Tour 2007 Final Time: Kotoba no Chikara is a DVD release of Japanese boy band Arashi. It was released on April 16, 2008 by their record label J Storm. Summer Tour 2007 Final Time: Kotoba no Chikara documented Arashi's summer concert at Tokyo Dome in correspondence with their Time album.

<i>Mega Melon</i> 2008 studio album by Melon Kinenbi

Mega Melon is a greatest hits album by Japanese girl group Melon Kinenbi. It was released on December 10, 2008, little under a year after the release of their last album, Melon Juice. It reached a peak position of #122 on the Oricon weekly chart. As part of the tenth anniversary of Hello! Project's "Mega Best Series", it was released as a 2-disc CD + DVD package. It is the second "single best" compilation, including the more recent singles since the first, Fruity Killer Tune, was released in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Der Zibet</span> Japanese visual kei rock band

Der Zibet was a Japanese visual kei rock band formed in 1984. They went on an indefinite hiatus in 1996, but resumed activities in 2007. Following the death of vocalist Issay, they disbanded in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natsu no Free & Easy</span> 2014 single by Nogizaka46

"Natsu no Free & Easy") is the 9th single by Nogizaka46. It was released on July 9, 2014. It debuted in number one on the weekly Oricon Singles Chart. It was the best-selling single in July. It has sold a total of 481,533 copies, as of August 25. It reached number one on the Billboard Japan Hot 100. It was the 11th best-selling single of the year in Japan, with 526,564 copies.

Double Suicide: Japanese Summer is a 1967 Japanese film directed by Nagisa Ōshima.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natsupoi</span> Japanese professional wrestler

Natsumi Maki, better known by her ring name Natsupoi, is a Japanese professional wrestler and singer. She is currently signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom, where she is a member of Cosmic Angels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yokohama Dream Cinderella 2021 in Summer</span> 2021 World Wonder Ring Stardom event

Yokohama Dream Cinderella 2021 in Summer, was a professional wrestling event promoted by World Wonder Ring Stardom. It took place on July 4, 2021 in Yokohama, Japan, at the Yokohama Budokan with a limited attendance due in part to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic at the time. The preshow was broadcast on the Stardom's YouTube channel. The event was available via pay-per-view also featuring English commentary.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "THE ALFEE『友よ人生を語る前に』インタビュー" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. July 31, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023. ...THE ALFEEが持つプログレやハードロック、そして、フォークといったあらゆる音楽性を融合させながら、それぞれの輪郭をはっきり表現したナンバーだなと感じました。
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Top 100 Japanese pops Artists - No.92" (in Japanese). HMV Japan. August 31, 2003. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  3. 1 2 "THE ALFEE、結成50周年の夏「古希を恐れずまっしぐら!」" (in Japanese). Oricon. July 31, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  4. 1 2 "THE ALFEE、バンド初の日本武道館公演通算100本達成 結成50年で大台到達「本当に感謝しかありません」" (in Japanese). Oricon. December 25, 2023. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  5. 1 2 "アルフィー（THE ALFEE）、幻の未発売シングル「府中捕物控」初CD収録決定" (in Japanese). Barks. November 19, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  6. ↑ "THE ALFEE、日本武道館公演35年連続で途絶えるも…「初めての代々木、最高です!」" (in Japanese). Oricon. December 27, 2019. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  7. ↑ "THE ALFEEメンバー全員が念願の「大卒」に" (in Japanese). Natalie. March 19, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  8. ↑ "アルフィー明学大卒業で「やっと大卒」" (in Japanese). Daily Sports. March 19, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  9. 1 2 "「THE ALFEEには負けません！」平均年齢61.7歳The KanLeKeeZデビュー" (in Japanese). Natalie. October 27, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  10. ↑ "「レコ大」乃木坂、大知、欅坂、セカオワらノミネート＆アルバム賞はSuchmos" (in Japanese). Natalie. November 16, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Most theme songs sung by the same artist for the same international sports event broadcast on TV". Guinness World Record. August 31, 2003. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  12. ↑ "THE ALFEE、ギネス認定 坂崎「長生きするものですね」 公演数記録も更新" (in Japanese). Music Voice. December 25, 2018. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  13. ↑ "３２年３１曲 大阪国際女子マラソン"ラストラン"アルフィーに労いの声" (in Japanese). Sports Nippon. January 28, 2018. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  14. ↑ "THE ALFEE、シングル55作連続TOP10入り 高見沢「バンドとは解散せずに長くやるもの」【本人コメントあり】" (in Japanese). Oricon. August 3, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.