Color (band)


Color was a Japanese punk band formed in 1985 by Dynamite Tommy, who founded the Free-Will record label a year later. They are considered to be important to the formation of visual kei. Their debut album Gekitotsu was named one of the top albums from 1989–1998 in a 2004 issue of the music magazine Band Yarouze.

History

Color released their debut album Gekitotsu, in January 1988. After releasing their second album Fools! Get Lucky!!, they signed to Crown Records and released their only major studio album a couple months later, Ask the Angels. It is said that the label made the band rewrite the album's lyrics, which were originally in English, in Japanese to be more accessible by the mainstream. It seemed to have worked, as Ask the Angels reached number 16 on the Oricon chart and their popularity increased. However, in January 1990 at a concert on the album's tour, in their hometown of Osaka, a fan was accidentally stomped to death. The band decided to lay low and avoid media, they ended up losing their contract with Crown. During this hiatus, Tommy formed Sister's No Future with Ken-chan, while Marry started Goatcore with You Adachi.
Color returned with a concert in August, and in July 1991 released the single "The Exhibition". They held a coupling tour with Genkaku Allergy in March 1993. In 1994 they released their last album, Galaxy, which has an electronic dance sound instead of their usual punk. In 1995 Color held what would be their last concert, after which the band disappeared without any announcement. The music magazine J-Rock published an article in 1997, labeling Color disbanded due to inactivity.
On June 14, 2002, bassist Marry died in a car accident. On the one year anniversary of his death, the remaining members organized and performed at the first "Marry Memorial" concert. It has been held every year since then; Color reunited for the 2008 concert.

Members

Singles