Show-Ya

The first nucleus of Show-Ya was formed in 1981 by Keiko Terada and Miki Nakamura, who had been playing together for a year[1] in order to enter the East West Grand Prix musical contest organized and sponsored by Yamaha. The new band won the contest for best female group, which resulted in a record contract with Toshiba EMI. In 1983, Miki Igarashi replaced the original guitarist Mitsuko Numata and the line-up was completed by drummer Miki Tsunoda and bassist Satomi Senba.[2] Nakamura, Igarashi and Tsunoda adopted the stage names of “Captain”, “Sun-Go” and “Mittan” to avoid confusion with the first name Miki, which they have in common.[3] During this period, they wrote material for their debut studio album Masquerade Show, which was recorded in Japan and mixed at Abbey Road Studios in London. The album was promoted by The Coca-Cola Company, which used their debut single "Suteki Ni Dancing (Coke Is It)" for a TV and radio commercial campaign. While in London, the band had the opportunity to play in front of a audience at Dingwalls[2] and at the legendary rock club The Marquee.[4] After the successful release of their debut studio album, the band returned to Abbey Road Studios to mix their second album Queendom the following year.

The interest of the Japanese press and the ever-increasing presence of the band on TV shows led soon to a more professional and organized approach to the music business.[2] With their fourth studio album Trade Last, they ceded musical direction to expert Yasushi Akimoto, famous for being the man behind the success of the Japanese idol all-female band Onyanko Club. The Japanese idol phenomenon affected the band only marginally, but Akimoto's management gave them the chance to play in front of larger audiences in their “Date Line” national tour. Their performance at Nakano Sun Plaza in Tokyo was recorded for their first VHS.[5]

In 1987, the band was approached by producer Andy Johns, who had worked with artists such as Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones and Van Halen. He was responsible for the mixing of the albums Immigration and Glamour in Los Angeles, California. The explosion of the glam metal phenomenon in California influenced both the style and the sound of the band's following albums. Songs taken from the “Immigration Tour” and the “Tour of the Immigrant” were recorded for the band's first live album, Turn Over.

In September 1987, Show-Ya organized, produced and presented the first Naon no Yaon rock festival, featuring strictly Japanese female musicians and all-female bands.[6] The festival has been held regularly until 1999 and then again in 2008,[6] 2009, 2013[7] and 2014 with Show-Ya's production.[8]

On 27 April 1988, Show-Ya performed their first live show on American soil, at the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood. The name of Show-Ya was soon associated by the specialized press with other great female acts of the time, such as Vixen and Lita Ford.[9]

In 1989 they recorded Outerlimits, which reached position No.3 in the Japanese chart becoming the band's best selling album, selling over 200,000 copies in the first two months and eventually going double Platinum with sales exceeding 600,000 copies today.[10][11] The hit single "Genkai Lovers" was used for a Shell campaign and became their best known song. Their live shows went sold out in large theatres all over Japan, filling up even the prestigious Budokan in Tokyo. An international tour touched cities like London, Moscow, Los Angeles and Mexico City.[12]

At the beginning of 1990, the band's eighth studio album Hard Way was produced and recorded in Los Angeles by Beau Hill (Alice Cooper, Winger, Europe, Ratt). The band was featured on the cover of the Los Angeles Times in 1990, where they were considered the female version of popular Japanese metal bands Vow Wow and Loudness.[4] They had reached the peak of their popularity in their home country but, despite many promotional attempts by their label and management, the band failed to achieve a significant commercial success in the USA.[9]

In February 1991, lead singer Keiko Terada left the group, considering the musical direction the band was taking too mainstream orientated. Wishing to explore new and more varied musical influences, she started a solo career. After many auditions, the band recruited Japanese-American singer Steffanie Borges. She sings and speaks in fluent English and the band hoped that this could help their attempt to break in the US market.[13] In June of the same year, the North Korean government invited the band to perform at the Art Theatre in Pyongyang and the historic two-day concerts were heavily covered by the Japanese media.[4][12] On 4 January 1992, the band performed theme music at the wrestling event Super Warriors in Tokyo Dome, for a match between Sting and The Great Muta and The Steiner Brothers.[14]

After years of hard work and financial support, at the end of 1992, Master Works Co. solved its management contract with Show-Ya, preferring to continue managing only Keiko Terada. At the same time, the band lost their long engagement with EMI Japan, just after the release of their first single with Steffanie Borges, "Flame of the Angels".[2] The band spent some time in Los Angeles, recording and playing shows constantly, and in 1995 they released their only album with Borges, Touch the Sun on the Creedence label. At the end of the tour in 1996, Borges left and was replaced by singer Yoshino. Show-Ya released the EP This My Way in 1998 and, by the end of the year, the band officially disbanded. Each member parted and went their separated ways, pursuing individual careers and playing with various artists. Igarashi was reunited briefly with Terada in the All Japan's Women Pro Band, which included also members of Princess Princess.[15]

The band officially reunited in 2005, with Keiko Terada back as the lead vocalist, in time for their 20th Anniversary shows at NHK Hall in Tokyo. The shows were recorded and released on DVD. For the event, EMI Japan reprinted all the band's back catalogue in remastered CD editions and released an extensive compilation with a few remixed tracks.[2]

The band continues to perform live and released another DVD in 2007. They are also featured on the Naon no Yaon rock festival DVDs from 2008 and 2009. They released their tenth studio album, called Genuine Diamond, in March 2012.[16]

• Keiko Terada – lead vocals, tambourine (1981–1991, 2005–present)
• Miki "Sun-go" Igarashi – guitar, backing vocals (1984–1998, 2005–present)
• Miki "Captain" Nakamura – keyboards, backing vocals (1981–1998, 2005–present)
• Satomi Senba – bass, backing vocals (1982–1998, 2005–present)
• Miki "Mittan" Tsunoda – drums, backing vocals (1982–1998, 2005–present)

• Date Line (1987)
• Rollin World (1989)
• 1990 Budokan - Reach for the World (1990)
• Distance on Their Way (1991)
• Hard Way Tour 1991 (1991)
• 20th Anniversary Live (2005)
• Show-Ya Live 2006 (2007)
• Hardest Rock (2013)

• Official website (in Japanese)
• SHOW-YA's channel on YouTube
• Official MySpace (in Japanese)
• Keiko Terada official website (in Japanese)
• Miki "Mittan" Tsunoda official website (in Japanese)