Adapted from "A story of Glay" [Midnight Sun Reprise]. Quotations in pink red are by Teru, dark red by Takuro, light blue by Hisashi, and yellow by Jiro.

1988-1990

"I do like punk [rock music] but that is not the only thing I want to do..."

Takuro was troubled in 1988 when he was performing in a band called Guest-apo. He was raised by his mother who loved to sing chansons to him [as a lullaby]. In highschool, he came to know the Beatles and started playing the guitar. However, the band he formed during his highschool years [Guest-apo] was a punk band influenced by Kenji & The Trips and The Blue Hearts. This influence came from his friend [who later became a member of Glay when it was formed]. But Takuro started to feel that something was missing from the music of Guest-apo.

"I wanted to play music with more melody-I wanted to play more ballads."

So Takuro broke up Guest-apo and decided to create a new band. He wanted to make a band that could play hard [rock] music, like punk, and ballads. He had already chosen the new band's name to be "Glay." Glay represents the idea that the band can play both hard and dark [black] music, as well as pop and light [white] music [black and white = gray]. Takuro immediately started looking for members for the band. Since he already played the guitar and the bassist from Guest-apo was going to play the bass, they had to find a vocalist and a drummer. For the drummer, Takuro was thinking of Teru. Takuro and Teru were classmates in elementary and junior highschool. Takuro had heard that Teru played the drums in a band, so he contacted Teru [even though he had never heard Teru play the drums].

"I'm thinking of making a new band called "Glay." Can you play drums for us?"
"OK."

Teru agreed very willingly. Takuro and the first bass player brought an amp to Teru's house, where Teru had his drum set, and started to make music. Takuro released his sense of pop music [which had been sealed when he was with Guest-apo] and completed original songs, one after another. But they still couldn't find a vocalist to sing for them. The vocalist population [in their highschool] was small, and besides that, it was very hard to find one who could sing both punk [music] and ballads. One day, they had a phone call from Teru: "I recorded my voice in a tape for practice that you left the other day." So Takuro went to Teru's house and listened to the tape. Although there were some technical problems, Takuro found hope in Teru's hoarse voice. "If he practises right, he would be a good vocalist," he thought. So Takuro converted Teru into a vocalist, found a new drummer and started the first Glay.

The band boom was all over Japan at the time and it reached Hakodate too. Takuro organized local bands [such as Dildo, Noise, and Scare Crow], planned events and distributed free demo tapes. Because of that, Glay became popular rapidly.

When Takuro made Glay, there was another band in his highschool called "Ari" [which means "ant"]. Hisashi was the guitarist of that band. But Takuro and Hisashi never associated with each other when they were freshmen because in Takuro's class, Rebecca and Misato Watanabe, or those types of music which are called "Pati-Pati" [like the magazine], were popular, while in Hisashi's class, Aburadako or Kyaa, or those types of music called "Takarajima" and "DOLL" [like the magazines], were popular. However, in their sophomore year, they became classmates. Takuro, who had been interested in Hisashi, immediately started talking to him in his friendly nature.

"I've been listening to Misato Watanabe."
"Who is that?"

Even though they didn't click at all, Takuro was not discouraged and visited Hisashi's house to hang out. When he went into Hisashi's room, where Takarajima and DOLL were piled up and the Sex Pistol's "Katteni Shiyagare" jacket was displayed, Takuro was culture-shocked. "It would be very interesting if I could play with him," thought Takuro, so he asked Hisashi to become a member of Glay.

Even though Hisashi looked at Glay from a biased point-of-view in the beginning [by saying, "You are just copying BOOWY"], he also acknowledged their playing original [songs]. Besides, he basically loved melodious music and by then he had broken up his band, Ari. So there was no reason for him to refuse Takuro's offer. Hence, Glay came to have five members, including Hisashi. They planned a joint live-"New Sensation" with the company of Sexual Record, and made a demo tape with a band called "Pierrot" [which means "clown"] where Jiro was playing. [Even Yuki, the vocalist of JUDY AND MARY, went to the same school as Glay]. Through these activities, they were making fans steadily, but episodes such as the following occured at this time too. Once, at midnight, they put up posters of their live [concert] but since the next day was the first day of summer vacation, their hard work came to nothing.

1990-1993

On March 6, 1990, after they graduated from highschool, they had their last live in Hakodate. Takuro, Teru and Hisashi decided to go to Tokyo after separating from the bassist and drummer, who [both] decided to stay in Hakodate. The fans who came to their last live didn't stop clapping for them. Teru, Takuro and Hisashi came to Tokyo with a big dream, but life there was harder than they had imagined. They found a bassist and a drummer and started their band again. They made demo tapes and brought them to many livehouses. But they were refused because the Visual livehouses said that they were too pop and the livehouses which worked mainly with pop [music] refused them because they were too hard [rock]. Their drummers changed, one after another, saying, "It's a waste of time to stay in a band that cannot have a live."

More than that, their daily life made them struggle. At the time, Teru was living in Kanagawa, Takuro in Saitama, Hisashi in Tokyo, and the bassist in Chiba, and they had to earn the money for transport to the studio. Teru was working for a construction company, Takuro was also in construction and a video shop, and Hisashi was working for a game center and a convenience/grocery store. Days passed by so fast just to go to work and come back home, they didn't have any time to hang out with their friends or meet with girlfriends. And the money was supposed to go for the live [concerts]. But they didn't have any chance to do [that?] so they became impatient and frustrated. Teru wasn't discouraged too much because of his optimistic nature, but Takuro and Hisashi were very serious. Every night, after 3:00 in the morning, Takuro went to Hisashi's job after work and waited for Hisashi until he finished working, reading comic books and drinking beer. After Hisashi finished working at 6:00 in the morning, they went back to Hisashi's appartment and talked about Glay's future.

"Why isn't it working?"
"Maybe the Visual isn't good."
"No, we might have to change our music."

Their arguments didn't go anywhere and they couldn't find an answer. And they would fall asleep and wake up the next day [in the evening] and go back to their jobs. One day, something happened that made them struggle more than ever. Someone had to be blamed because Glay didn't belong to any agency. So they were told: "If you don't apologize, you cannot go to any of the livehouses in the Kanto area." [The Kanto area is made up of Tokyo, Saitama, Kanagawa and Chiba]. So they apologized. [???]

Teru, Takuro, and Hisashi continued playing as Glay. They worked and made money for the studio and they took hours to commute to the studio. They rehearsed and made demo tapes and brought them to the livehouses. That was their daily life. However, they were starting to get slight chances.

In the summer of 1992, they were going to appear in the stage of Shinjuku Loft. They were very excited about it so they had a party before the [live] concert. Teru and Hisashi were excited to meet with their old friends from Hakodate. Takuro was different-he was thinking of inviting Jiro [who was coming to Tokyo with his band Pierrot] to join Glay.

"Our bassist is going to quit, and if he quits, can you be our bassist [for Glay]?"

In the beginning, Jiro thought that this was a kind of social greeting. But a few days later, the bassist [of Glay] really did quit and Takuro called Jiro. Jiro refused the offer, saying:

"I quit Visual bands and I want to do something like Guns n' Roses."

But Takuro didn't give up. He asked:

"Can you help us with just one song [then]?"
"Okay, just ONE song."

Because of Takuro's passion, Jiro had to help Glay but he changed Glay's future a lot. Jiro helped to sell Glay to the livehouses, even taking off [time] from his job, and the chance to play in the live was getting bigger. Jiro also gave an answer to Takuro's and Hisashi's midnight argument.

"A band who wears make-up was very rare 2 years ago, but not anymore. Glay's music is very good, but it becomes a disadvantage."

With Jiro's suggestion, they covered the gap of Visual and sound and they were getting more fans. They planned an event called "Witch-hunting Knife" where Takuro did the vocals, Teru the drums, and Jiro the guitar. They called themselves "Ushigumi" [which means a group of cows!] and played LOVE SLAVE. Also, with the name of HISASHI Capsule Market, they played Mad Capsule Market's songs. They took back the freedom from when they were in Hakodate.

A year after Jiro joined Glay, they had a live in Ichikawa Club GIO and there was a man who came to see their live. He was Yoshiki, leader of X Japan who produced ART OF LIFE 3 months later. That was the start of Indies label Extasy Records [bands], like Glay, recommended to Yoshiki. After Yoshiki saw Glay's live, he liked them at once and offered to produce a CD for them. But Teru, Takuro, Hisashi and Jiro were all thinking of refusing that dreamlike offer because they believed in some rumors: "In order to produce a CD from Extasy Records, we have to be punched 1000 times by older bands." "They're going to call you out in the night, and if you can't drink a whole bottle of alcohol, they are not going to let you go back." They seriously believed these rumors and asked Yoshiki if they were true.

"[Laughs] Never! Maybe in the old times," he said. Watching Yoshiki laugh, their hearts changed. "Maybe we can trust him. He will make Glay better," they thought. And so Glay came to belong to Extasy Records. They also asked Yoshiki "Can you play the piano for us?" [when they produced a CD from Extasy Records]. They thought that Yoshiki was going to refuse, but he said okay.

1993-1995

In February, 1994, Glay started recording their major debut single [RAIN] in One on One Recording Studio in Los Angeles, with Yoshiki as their producer. Ever since they came to Tokyo, they worked very hard so this stay in Los Angeles, with its blue sky and blue sea, gave them a short comfort.

After they came back to Japan, a very busy schedule was waiting for them. They had a 2-day live in Megurokumeikan on April 25 and 26, and on May 25, the single [RAIN] from major label Platinum Records, in the 1st album [Hai to Daiyamondo] from Extasy Records, was released. On June 15, they released their second single [Manatsuno Tobira], with Masami Tsuchiya as the producer, and in July 31, they had a debut live in Shibuya-On Air West. The tickets were sold out after 2 hours.

In August, they started recording their first album with Masahide Sakuma as their producer. After they finished that, they started a national tour [in Japan]-"Hai to Daiyamondo Tour" on September 26. Even though it was Glay's first national tour, they were welcomed by fans all over Japan because of their smash hit [RAIN]. But they were starting to wonder about their fans' excitement.

"We are not just making music for fun. What is all this excitement [about]? Is the meaning of the song so unimportant to them?"

As if they were expecting this question to arise, they didn't put [RAIN] in their program for this tour. Those who didn't think very highly of Glay criticized them, saying that they were an idol band who made their debut because of Yoshiki's power. Teru, Takuro, Hisashi and Jiro knew that criticism. They didn't include [RAIN] in their program because they wanted to get rid of this image/criticism. However, the answer could not be found so easily.

But Glay kept on working. On October 1, they started their regular [radio] show on FM Hokkaido, and on October 23, they appeared in an event at Hokkaido Kouseinenkinkaikan with LUNA SEA, Kyo, and Sparks Go-Go. On November 16th, they released their 3rd single [Kanojo no "Modern..."]. On November 24, they participated in the Tomeihan Tour-"THE SPEED POP LIVE '94" [the last day of the live]. On November 30, at the live [concert] of Shibuya Kokaido, they made [RAIN] their opening song. The reason for this was to challenge the public-established image of their idol band. After [BURST], the whole audience burst [with excitement], and Glay became a true rock band.

On January 25, they began the year 1995 with the release of their 4th single [Freeze My Love], and on March 1, they released their 1st major album-SPEED POP. With this album, they had a concert on April 5th at Shinjuku Power Station "SPEED POP STANDING GIG." After that concert, they went on their second national tour "SPEED POP GIG '95." They invited Toshi Nagai to be their supporting musician on drums, and D.I.E. to be their supporting musician on keyboards. This concert, which was more advanced than the one in Shibuya Kokaido, improved Glay as a rock band. With [HAPPY SWING] as their opening song, they slowed down the tempo and added heavy [guitar] play. Teru, Takuro, Hisashi and Jiro kept on going as if they had thrown all of their worries away. They kept getting told that without a drummer, (they were) NOT a band, and they had been struggling without a regular member. It was Toshi Nagai and D.I.E. who saved Glay. Toshi's groove gave them a comfort and D.I.E.'s craziness at the live taught them to have fun.

During the tour, in May 17, they released their 5th single [Zutto Futari De...] and VIDEO GLAY. They had played [Zutto Futari De...] in their last live in Hakodate on March 6, 1990. Five years had passed since then. Teru, Takuro and Hisashi were always together, and then Jiro came. And since this tour, Toshi and D.I.E. joined them. [Zutto Futari De...], which has a gentle but powerful melody, seemed to represent the decision that they were going to stay together as a 6-piece group. [However, D.I.E. left Glay in 1998. He was replaced by Shigeo Komori.]

After the SPEED POP Tour '95 at Shibuya Kokaido on June 12, they immediately started recording for their second major album. The concept was to make a hard guitar album, and they brought the passion of the live to the studio. The recording went smoothly and they were getting more interviews for TV and magazines. It was rare that all of them got together at the studio, but none of them felt lonely even if he was by himself. They even had a [solitary] room to record their ad-lib [improvisations] and surprise the other members later on.

With this "playful" type of recording, they released [Yes, Summerdays] and [Ikiteku Tsuyosa], which means "the strength to live," on August 9 and November 8. [Yes, Summerdays], which was used for Kameriya Diamonds CM, was a huge hit. It made the name "Glay" famous in the nation. And [Ikiteku Tsuyosa], C/W Hisashi's [Cynical], proved that Takuro was not the only songwriter in Glay.

On December 29, they had a live "GLAY '95 FINAL THE GLORIOUS NIGHT" in Ichikawa Club GIO, where Yoshiki first came to see them. Even though it was a secret live, more than the capacity of the livehouse [450 people] came, and they closed the year 1995 with this live.

"We've been listening to Japanese rock since 1985. Among them, for example, BOOWY [who] is still on top for the beat. We want to make a new beat for our next album-OUR original beat."

1996-1997

The members' idea was put in their second album-BEAT out!, which was released on February 7, 1996. Twenty days before that, their 8th single [Glorious] was number 4 in the Oricon Charts. Because of the good timing, BEAT out! became the number one bestselling album as soon as it came out.

"But (we) don't feel real."

Teru, Takuro, Hisashi and Jiro were talking as if it happened to someone else. At the time, Teru said, "People think we're just a 'flash in the pan.' That's why we were very happy that our album and not only our single was admitted." He recalls how Glay used to be rejected by both the Visual and Pop livehouses. "That's why I wanted us to do our best to be number one and to be admitted."

But with the start of their national tour "BEAT out! '96" on February 29, they were beginning to feel just how big it is to become number one in the charts. In front of the Hiroshima Minamikuminbunka Center, there was a long line of fans who waited for the opening of the live. It was after 7:30, and an hour had already passed after the time they were supposed to open. All the fans looked very tired and not many people were even talking. After a little past 8, the entrance door finally opened. The fans rushed into the seats and after 10 minutes, the live started. As Teru, Takuro, Hisashi and Jiro, and their support members, Toshi and D.I.E., appeared on the stage, the fans' frustration burst at once. Even though they had to wait more than an hour and a half, no-one left, and as soon as the live started, they became highly tensed and sang and danced with the members. Glay saw the fans' excitement and realized the fact of being number one in the charts.

"There are so many people who need our music! We are loved!"

This [thought] became bigger and bigger in the hearts of Teru, Takuro, Hisashi and Jiro until the end of their tour on March 3 and 4, at Shibuya Kokkaido and on March 29, at Sapporo Shiminkaikan.

"Let's make this feeling the theme of the next album. Let's make a song for this feeling and let the fans hear it."

The 4 of them decided this in silence. After spending time off making their own songs, they started recording for the new album at the end of June. Each one of the members brought huge amounts of the songs that they had made during their time off. They picked 12 songs and made them into a "shape" [or form], created [them] with a lot of love. Teru, Takuro, Hisashi and Jiro enjoyed the dynamism.

On August 7, they released the single [BELOVED] and on August 16th and 17th, they started a national tour "BEAT out! reprise," starting in Tokyo Koseinenkinkaikan [where they performed for 2 days]. On September 9, for the final of the tour, they stood on the stage of the Nihon Budokan for the first time.

"I wanted to see you! I wanted to see you [in] the Budokan! I feel very good today. How about you? Let's forget everything and just have fun!"

Teru shouted. It had been his dream since he was a child and now he was standing on the stage. With a comfortable deja vu, Teru, Takuro, Hisashi and Jiro [all] wore their best smiles. All the fans also looked very happy.

"Glay made many miracles before and I believe we can make a new miracle today. I feel that the 10,000 people and [we] became one. Thank you very much!"

A new history was born in the Budokan, where so many legends are born. It will be talked about by people forever. But Glay didn't have any time to be intoxicated with their success. The next day, they had to work on their new album again, which they stopped making because of the tour. They worked with their all to get bigger dreams. Then their third album, BELOVED, became number one in the charts and also recorded their first million sales.

They spent two years for their national tours, GLAY TOUR '96~'97 "BELOVED YOU" and '96~'97 "BELOVED YOU ENCORE" (actually, the tour only lasted from December '96 to February '97). In May, they released their 11th single [Kuchibiru]. Then they had a long time off. It was for their tour, "HIT THE WORLD." As a result, they had the best concert, scale and passion, and the attraction (of) using CG on the TV screen. During the concert [tour], they released their 12th single [HOWEVER], which represented Glay's path and came out a great song.

On October 1, their first best album, Review~Best of Glay, was released. [Glorious], [Kanojo no Modern...], [BELOVED], [More than Love], [Sen No Naifu Ga Mune Wo Sasu], [Zutto Futari De...], [Kuchibiru], [RHAPSODY], [HOWEVER], [Freeze My Love], [KISSIN' NOISE], [Kiseki no Hate]-these 12 songs represent the path of Glay as well as their fans. But these 12 songs are not ALL of Glay's path. The songs that were not included in the album and the stories which are not included in this [story] are in the hearts of the Glay members, and also in the hearts of the fans. And Teru, Takuro, Hisashi, and Jiro will keep creating a new path as long as [the fans], who love Glay and their songs, are there...

Story · Documentary

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