Achtung Baby is the seventh studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 18 November 1991 on Island Records. After criticism of their 1988 release Rattle and Hum, U2 shifted their direction to incorporate influences from alternative rock, industrial music, and electronic dance music into their sound. Thematically, Achtung Baby is darker, more introspective, and at times more flippant than their previous work. The album and the subsequent multimedia-intensive Zoo TV Tour were central to the group's 1990s reinvention, by which they abandoned their earnest public image for a more lighthearted and self-deprecating one.
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, commonly abbreviated by fans as Skapara or TSPO, is a Japanese ska and jazz band formed in 1988 by the percussionist Asa-Chang, and initially composed of over 10 veterans of Tokyo's underground scene. At the time, the band's sound was unlike that of any of its contemporaries in the then fledgling Japanese ska scene, and over the course of the past 31 years, they have been influential on Japanese music as a whole. Its sound, the product of the musical influences of its members, is a mix of traditional ska, jazz, and rock. In the vein of many other more traditional ska acts, many of Skapara's songs are purely instrumental.
The Nippon Budokan, often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena 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.
Every Little Thing is a pop/soft rock duo from Japan who debuted in August 1996 with the release of their first single called "Feel My Heart". Their name is usually written in English, and only rarely in katakana. They gained massive popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s. As of 2013, Every Little Thing has sold over 23 million copies of singles and albums throughout Japan. Their second studio album, Time to Destination, is the best-selling album of the band with over 3.5 million copies sold, and became the 10th best-selling album of all time in Japan.
Green Jellÿ is an American comedy rock band formed in 1981. Originally named Green Jellö, the band changed its name due to legal pressure from Kraft Foods Inc., the owners of the Jell-O brand, who claimed that it was an infringement of their trademark.
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.
"Sliver" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic. It was first released as a non-album single by the band's then record label, Sub Pop, in September 1990. The same recording was re-released on the compilation album Incesticide by DGC in December 1992, and a new music video, directed by Kevin Kerslake, was released in May 1993.
Technotronic was a Belgian electronic music project formed in 1987 by Jo Bogaert, best known for the 1989 single "Pump Up the Jam", which features vocals by Ya Kid K. The song peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Later that year, the single was followed by Pump Up the Jam: The Album, which peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200. They achieved further success with the singles "Get Up! " and "Move This". Technotronic went on to release the albums Body to Body (1991) and Recall (1995).
Vito Lucente, known by his stage name Junior Jack, is an Italian house music producer and DJ based in Belgium.
"Breed" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It is the fourth song on their second studio album, Nevermind, released in September 1991.
The Alfee is a Japanese rock band formed in Tokyo in 1973. Originally a folk quartet, 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. Beginning with their 16th single "Marie-Anne" in 1983, they have released 57 consecutive top 10 singles. The Alfee hold the record for most concerts performed by a Japanese band, with 2,888 as of December 2023. HMV Japan ranked them number 92 on their list of the top 100 Japanese pop acts.
The Toxic Twins is a nickname given to lead singer Steven Tyler and lead guitarist Joe Perry of American hard rock band Aerosmith. They were given that name in the 1970s due to their rampant use of drugs both on and off stage.
Viva Records Corporation, commonly known as Viva Records, is a Philippine record label owned by Viva Music Group, a subsidiary of Viva Communications.
Show-Ya are a Japanese all-female heavy metal band formed in 1981. The group disbanded in 1998 but reformed with the original line-up in 2005 for the 20th anniversary of their first release. Their music is deeply rooted in classic rock and they have covered songs by bands and artists such as The Beatles, The Doors, the Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and AC/DC in their albums and live shows. Their music evolved from the pop rock genre of their first offerings to the heavy metal genre of their most successful albums, Outerlimits (1989) and Hard Way (1990). Show-Ya annually organizes and produces the all-female rock festival Naon no Yaon, which they founded in 1987.
Zi:Kill was a Japanese rock band active from 1987 to 1994. The core members were vocalist Tusk, bassist Seiichi and guitarist Ken. With their three major label studio albums reaching the top ten on the Oricon chart, Zi:Kill are regarded as an important act from the then-emerging visual kei scene. They were featured in a chapter of Karl Taro Greenfeld's novel Speed Tribes that documents the writer's time spent with the band and the events that nearly caused their break up.
Kinniku Shōjo Tai, also known as King-Show, is a Japanese rock band. They became very popular in the late 1980s through the late 1990s. In 1999 they disbanded, but then in 2006 they regrouped.
Keiko Terada is a Japanese rock singer. She was co-founder and lead singer of the successful Japanese female hard rock and heavy metal band Show-Ya from 1982 to 1991, before going solo. On her solo albums she expanded from hard rock and heavy metal to blues, pop and soul.
Rozalla Miller, better known as simply Rozalla, is a Zambian-born Zimbabwean electronic music performer who was born in what was then Northern Rhodesia. She is best known for her three 1991/92 hit singles "Faith ", "Are You Ready to Fly", and particularly "Everybody's Free ", which has been remixed and re-issued several times. In December 2016, Billboard magazine ranked her as the 98th most successful dance artist of all-time.
Bakufu-Slump is a Japanese rock band originally active between 1981 and 1999. One of the most popular rock bands in Japan during the 1980s and '90s, it is known for its best-selling single "Runner", released in 1988.
Kahoru Kohiruimaki is a Japanese singer who debuted in 1985. She had great success in the next ten years with around thirty singles, fifteen original albums and various compilations. Kohiruimaki is the most well known in the West for the song "Ai yo kienaide", the first opening theme song from the anime series City Hunter in 1987, and for the ending theme song for the OVA Gall Force in 1986.
