| 1996.2.7 |
2nd album-BEAT out!, is released. Debuts at no. 1 in the Oricon Charts [2/19]. "By making the album, we made a bond (within the band) which enables the six of us to play on the streets [even] if we are out of contract (with a record label). There are many 'first-take' recordings, and that energetic feeling may be found in the sound. The jacket shows the boldness, and our 7-year achievement is inside." (Hisashi) |
| 1996.2~11: They articulated the GLAY sound, then carried out their 8-month tour to inspire life into their music. The last day of the tour was at the place where the four had dreamt of [going to] for a long time, Nippon Budokan. "By doing the BEAT out! '96 and reprise tours, we definitely established the six-membered GLAY. If one of the six was missing, GLAY can't exist...as if we were a crew are who operating a big ship; such an atmosphere grew bigger among us." (D.I.E.) In June, they went to an extremely cold place, Iceland. Between the tours, they recorded the album [BELOVED], in which they dealt with gentle love. "Gentleness" is perhaps the concept which is furthest from the concept of rock music. Their future lay on the album that featured this concept. |
| 1996.2.29~ |
Natiowide [concert hall] tour [BEAT out! '96] starts. [8 places, 9 times]. SOLD OUT. Since the tour, each of them began to be interested [in things] beyond the music. "Now we all have our T-shirts, but I began making my original T-shirts back then. I asked (someone) to design a picture that I drew and the design turned out to be better than I expected. So I decided to make T-shirts. At the time, my desire to do something beyond music grew bigger. The T-shirts were put on sale since the first day of the tour, and the sales were exclusively in concert halls." (Hisashi)
"I started using boom speakers with a fluorescent painted illustration. I use Trace Elliot's boom speakers and jazz basses. The combination is very good, but it is said that it is also the simplest combination. Other rock bass players often avoid this, but I use them because I think they are the best...to appeal to my character, I painted the trademark of my designer friend." (Jiro) |
| 1996.3.29 |
After the concert in Sapporo, Nagai injured his arm. "That was really shocking... I thought of many things...about Nagai, about GLAY." (Teru) |
| 1996.4 |
Day-offs due to songwriting. "I spent most of the time writing songs. The tension made me put my everything into GLAY. Most of the time was devoted to GLAY except for the times when I was taking a bath." (Teru)
"At first I wrote [Shutter Speeds] at home. I thought that 'It's good to make a happy-go-lucky song by now.'" (Jiro) |
| 1996.5.2 |
2nd music video collection-Video Glay 2, is released. Debuts at no. 1 in the Oricon Charts [5/13]. |
| 1996.5.7 |
Akasaka Blitz [PLATINUM Nayoru ("night like PLATINUM")] live event sponsored by Platinum Records. W/ Dear, Breath. |
| 1996.5.8 |
Akasaka Blitz [Establishment of their OFFICIAL FANCLUB "HAPPY SWING" memorial live]. "There hadn't been an official one for a long time. I remember they were very glad, both at the time it was decided and the day they had the concert." (Hiro Inoguchi) |
| 1996.5.10 |
Sapporo-Penny Lane 24 [FM ROCK KIDS PRESENTS THE GLORIOUS NIGHT]. The show was previously postponed because of Nagai's injury. All of them wore dreadlock wigs and played "R&R (rock & roll) IS DEAD," then left. Teru said in the MC (microphone) "We paid the debt!" |
| 1996.6.5 |
[BELOVED] public recording. |
| 1996.6.6 |
Shinjuku NISSIN POWER STATION [SAKUMA SUMMIT]. |
| 1996.6.8~19 |
For the video shoot, they went to Iceland and London. "When I saw Iceland for the first time from the airplane, I was really surprised. It was like, 'Gee! We came down on Mars.' The shrubs that were characteristic of the region, with strong winds, spread out on the ground. The trees lacked leaves and they were maroon. There were many more great surprises after we got off the plane. There was no noise, but in a lake, the ice was making echoing sounds as it moved. As they differ in Japan, the birds were flying cheerfully indeed[?]... that was really moving." (Hisashi)
"I had very strong impressions in Iceland, to the extent that if we didn't go to Iceland, there wouldn't be [BELOVED]." (Takuro) |
| 1996.6.20 |
1st book-Eien no ["forever"] 1/4~Glay Story, is on sale. Publisher: Sony Magazines. |
| 1996.6.28 |
Glay start recording their third album with Masahide Sakuma as their producer. |
| 1996.8.7 |
9th single [BELOVED] is released. This is the theme song of the TBS-TV drama "Hito Natsu no Propose." Debuts at no. 3 in the Oricon Charts [8/19]. C/W [Together] new version with orchestra. |
| 1996.8.16 |
Natiowide tour and 1st concert at the Budokan [BEAT out! reprise] starts. [9 places, 11 times]. SOLD OUT. The tickets were sold out instantly. "I can't forget the moment when we went down from above to the stage, as we went down while the SE was being played and saw the audience. I was so excited." (Jiro)
"I played an acoustic guitar for the first time in the tour when we played my song "Peace of Mind." Although I changed the lyrics of the song, what I want to say is just one thing... I think the song is really reflected in myself." (Teru) |
| 1996.9.9 |
[BEAT out! reprise Final] at Budokan. "I was out of mind while we were playing songs. But when the show was over, I thought, 'I wish it would last longer.' Like I felt when my last Summer break in highschool ended." (Hisashi)
"The first time in the Budokan and the first time we played my song. I thought they would be surprised if I sing there...so that there was much scheming involved in terms of singing. But if I [talk] about the live, there was just motion." (Jiro)
"The night was dreamlike. It was very stoic, very pure. I can't say it in a word, but there was a sublime feeling there." (Takuro)
"I wished that the show wouldn't be over. I thought 'We could freeze time.' That was one of the most memorable days in my career with GLAY." (Teru)
1st photo book (Iceland "roke") Midnight Sun, is on sale. Publisher: Sony Magazines. |
| 1996.10.2 |
bay-fm regular program [TERU ME NIGHT GLAY] starts. Every Wednesday from 10:00~11:54 p.m. DJ: Teru. |
| 1996.10.5 |
Osaka Midoukaikan [GLAY SPECIAL LIVE IN OSAKA] Talk and acoustic live sponsored by FM802·L-magazine. |
| 1996.10.10~ |
School festival tour starts. [5 places]. |
| 1996.11.11 |
10th single [A boy~Zutto Wasurenai] ("an unforgettable boy") is released. This is the ending theme of NHK Sogo TV [Pop Jam]. C/W [neuromancer], which is not included in the album. |
| 1996.11.18 |
3rd album-BELOVED, is released. Debuts at no. 1 in the Oricon charts [12/2]. Glay's first million sales. |
| 1996.12.1 |
STREET VIDEO CONCERT at Tokyo, Shinjuku ALTA Vision, and 5 other places. |
| 1996.12.6 |
Glay are awarded the 29th Gold Request Prize by Zen Nihon Yuusenhoso for their single [BELOVED]. "It's been said that GLAY leaped in the year 1996, but we are like this: 'The train named GLAY started running but we aren't on the train. We're late because we were buying some coffee-milk or something. We are in a hurry to catch the train while running in a weedy field.' Teru might not have noticed that the train has already left. [Laughs] But I think that this is OK." (Takuro) |
| 1996.12~1997.9: Their album achieved a million sales for the first time. They became widely known as artists and left for their (first) longest nationwide tour, with 33 concerts. "From my point of view, the four of them compose one person. The two of us [D.I.E. and Toshi] are involved with them without knowing it... I'm not sure if the word 'turning point' may or may not be appropriate, but the '6-membered GLAY' which we established in the reprise tour became of significant importance." (Toshi Nagai) |
| 1996.12.8~ |
National tour [GLAY TOUR '96~'97 "BELOVED YOU"] starts. [23 places, 26 times]. "We started to want something on a higher level. We were done with 'just enjoying ourselves' in reprise, and now we are pursuing to be closer to our ideals. To be more pure...to be more holistic? We want our live performance to be like something mysterious in the end." (Takuro)
"(At the last show in the Budokan) I started thinking that 'We want to go to the next stage soon' by the time we're playing in the last show, or when the show was over. I wanted to finish [BELOVED] because the theme was heavy. We have come up with more and more things, performances, sounds...we wanted to try out all of them. When we completed the tour, I felt [a sense of] accomplishment. I was also glad that GLAY could give an answer." (Hisashi) |
| 1996.12.14 |
BEAT out! TOURS DOCUMENT BOOK, [GROOVY] is on sale. Publisher: Shinko Music Publishing Co., Ltd. |
|
1st Oricon appearance, number one spot
TAKURO: We heard we were number one at Sapporo Airport.
HISASHI: I was ecstatic. The happiness was very real. (Being) number one was a very dear feeling for me, rather than how many records we sold. Actually, we jumped up because of our excitement. It was like a cartoon.
TA: That's true. We were full of joy.
JIRO: "Yatta!" (Yeah!) This pose became Takuro's pose in [Midnight Sun] (a GLAY photo book). There's a photo where Takuro jumped. Please look at it.
HI: Then we started the BEAT out! Tour.
JI: Wow. On the first day of the concert, there was a 90-minute delay.
HI: It was (in) Hiroshima.
TA: The set was very nice but, uh...
JI: After bringing in the set, nobody knew how to assemble it. Then our concert was 90-minutes late.
TA: I guess we made T-shirts designed by the members and other goods.
HI: Making T-shirts and members' goods show the members' colors.
TA: I'm not really interested in design. Only me. Should I make my own design character goods? Anyway, I tried.
-It was in this period when you (JIRO) were interested in cameras?
JI: That's right. In this period, I was interested in cameras.
TA: Teru started collecting silver accessories.
JI: Takuro too. And Glay character dolls and something.
TA: It's an alien. I used to collect alien dolls. I used to buy T-shirts. I threw away everything when I moved. Maybe I'm a drifter.
HI: Somebody had a passion for the stage drink Evian.
JI: It was me. But I was the first person to collect the Evian keyholder. This was before it became popular. (The fad) was very short.
TA: TERU also had a passion for stage drinks.
HI: Half & half.
TA: Pokari and mineral water mixed together.
-In this period, you guys changed your stage entrance?
HI: Yes, we did. We appeared from the audience's side.
JI: Yeah, we really did.
(aciel's note: See Mugen no déjà vu Kaizokuu ban video.)
HI: I felt like I was rolling. We did Shibu-kou. I thought I wanted to appear on the stage running.
JI: Now I see. It was?
HI: Really, it was.
TA: We started to make live videos by ourselves. We used Panasonic. At that time, our handicam had a strange sound. However, back in those days, Panasonic's handicam didn't have that strange sound. I felt singled out.
HI: Sometimes I was worried about it because it had no sound. I didn't really know if it was running or not. (Laughs)
TA: In the pure soul MOVIE, one-fifth of it is my work, (shots) which I took. That's why I asked the staff, "You have to mention in the credits (that) it was my work." I asked for my name to appear in big, bold letters. I took many things.
A very cold area... ...
TA: We were waiting for Nagai's recovery before we presented the gray Hakodate T-shirts.
JI: Nagai cut his hand accidentally.
TA: Oh, I see. He cut his hand with a Dom Pérignon (champagne) bottle. (Laughs)
JI: It's like rock n' roll. (Laughs)
TA: But it was scary.
HI: "Pyu-" (a sound to describe the splashing blood from the cut hand). At that time, I was really shook up.
TA: However, at the postponed live, Nagai played very well. Maybe he was just happy to play. I remember we covered Lenny Kravitz on that day.
JI: In September, we had our first live at the Budokan. BEAT out! reprise.
HI: I was so nervous.
JI: We had a goal in the Budokan live. It was to play our songs 360° because a 70% audience is no good. Some people say "We had a concert at the Budokan" but a 70% audience is not cool.
TA: TERU had a hard time because there was a large audience.
HI: Before the concert, D.I.E. broke his bone at hide's live.
JI: However, he played very well as usual. I was very impressed.
TA: After the concert, I proposed to have a SAKUMA SUMMIT, actually.
JI: JAM (Judy and Mary) and GLAY tried hard in that.
HI: ...backstage.
JI: ... (Laughs)
TA: On that day, we were absorbed in air guns backstage.
HI: It was popular among us for only 1 day.
TA: I was dying to play with the air gun.
JI: In a corner backstage, there was our space. On the other side was YONIN BAYASHI's space. So we made a target on their corner and we fired our air guns but my bullet bounced.
HI: My bullet went to YONIN BAYASHI.
JI: The bullet hit the forehead of YONIN BAYASHI's guitarist. (Laughs)
HI: I'm sorry! I'm sorry! (Laughs)
JI: I would never do that. It's (just) like an elementary school student. (Laughs)
TA: ... The boom was gone. (Laughs)
-By the way, have you ever been to Iceland?
HI: ... I thought I died.
JI: ... White night. We could stay on location for 20 hours in daylight very easily.
HI: It's a very good memory for me.
TA: It was a half hard, half fun memory.
HI: We went to a club. A girl (there) sang a Pizzicato Five song. I was surprised.
JI: It's true that on the [BELOVED] jacket, all the members had very serious-looking faces. This photo is very real.
HI: It is documentary.
[BELOVED] release
JI: What you mentioned a little while ago, TERU's FM program's current title, started in this period. We kept a marimo. (Laughs)
(aciel's note: "marimo" is a water plant that is found in Hokkaido. But ordinary people are not allowed to keep it because it is rare.)
TA: The cleaning lady broke the fish tank. Then it was finished.
HI: It's funny to mention growing a marimo on air. We are a real rock band. (Laughs)
TA: Such a rock band has a fan club. (Laughs)
JI: And a bulletin, too. At first, the bulletin's content was not so deep. But nowadays, it's great.
TA: We had an open recording, too. We couldn't neglect the recording because it was an open recording. (Laughs)
(aciel's note: In Japanese, the words for "open" and "neglect" have similar sounds: "koukai". TAKURO is making fun of their live recording by using both the "koukai" words in the same sentence to relate the story.)
JI: Moreover, photos of the open recording sold very well in black markets.
-You started the BELOVED Tour after this?
TA: Wait a minute. I don't want to change the subject but we watched a lot of movies during the tour.
HI: Yeah. We really watched a lot of movies.
TA: I went to see a movie with HISASHI-Odoru Daisousasen. When we bought the ticket, Hisashi said, "Odoru ichimai" ("I need one ticket for Odoru"). And I said, "Oda Yuji ichimai" ("give me Oda Yuji"). (Oda Yuji is the name of the actor in Odoru Daisousasen.) Then HISASHI said, "You say it like that?" (So he said) "Maxi Priest ichimai." (Laughs)
JI: The funniest thing is this conversation, not the movie. (Laughs)
-At the end of the year, you got the Yuusen Prize.
TA: Yes. I was very happy to get this prize because Yuusen is the result of the requests made by phonecalls. People called.
HI: So if you want to listen to GLAY's song, call.
TA: I wanted to get a trophy and a plaque. Nobody in junior highschool and highschool gave prizes for a rock band. (But) if we had a sports event, we would receive it.
JI: Okay. I will give you your trophy on your 30th birthday. I will decorate "30" on top of the trophy. (Laughs)
TA: I had a shock in the second concert at the Budokan because I didn't have the reality I had the first time (in the BELOVED Tour). At that time, I never thought that we would have a concert at the Tokyo Dome.
TERU: We had a 2-day concert and D.I.E. tried to get down from the stage.
TA: I watched the scene. The staff got angry and gave a warning to D.I.E.
TE: If he had stepped down from the stage, we wouldn't have played.
TA: We had warnings: "Don't throw away your picks", "Don't smoke", "You must finish until 9"... After that, I went to a B'z concert. I saw (Tak) Matsumoto smoking while playing the guitar. (I said to myself) What...? (Laughs) |
