B'z

It's not an exaggeration to call B'z the biggest rock band of Japan. Just the sheer number of sales they've accumulated more than proves this point-somewhere between 70 and 80 million. Let's start from the very beginning.

After having gained an excellent reputation by being a support guitarist for 80s legends TM Network and Mari Hamada, Tak Matsumoto released his first solo album Thousand Wave in 1988. It received praise from music critics, but Tak felt his need for an own band so he wrote an ad in a magazine, looking for a singer that could match his musical standards. After a few failed tries, he got a hold of a demo tape from Koshi Inaba, some unknown guy that had just finished his studies and intended on becoming a math teacher. He got the chance for an audition and chose the songs Let it be and Oh Darling by The Beatles. Tak did not hesitate any longer and thus, B'z was created.

It's not totally clear why the chose the name B’z. Tak once said that the band should've been called A'z, the beginning and the end of the alphabet. This sounded too much like "aids" though, so they chose B’z. The band itself consists of only two members, and the rest of the positions are filled by support musicians.

The first album, simply called B'z, was released in September 1988 and, apart from having Japanese lyrics, contained a typical 80s rock sound. At that time it had been common for Japanese bands to do a promotional tour to promote their album, but B'z refused to do so. They didn't want to hold any lives until they could present an at least 90 minute long program to their audience. So, they went back to studio to work on new songs.

In May of the following year, their second album, Off the lock, was released, accompanied by the single Kimi no naka de odoritai. Then they started a tour called Live Gym #00: Off the lock and their lives in all three cities sold out. Not long later, Tak and Koshi went back to studio to record the mini-album Bad Communication. This release was sold more than one million times during the following years, but never it reached a position in the top ten.

One year, an album and five singles later, the mini-album Risky appeared. Risky was recorded in New York and was a perfect mix of dance and rock music. It had been the first B'z album that immediately reached the number one rank in the Oricon Charts. Before that, only their single Taiyou No Komachi Angel had reached that position. From then on, every single release of this band would debut at the top position on the charts. It was then decided that the following album, Run, as well as their future releases would focus on rock a bit more.

During their career, B'z has used nearly every popular music style, from pop rock at the beginning and blues rock, like what can be heard on Loose and The 7th Blues, to heavier guitar riffs and less keyboard work on Brotherhood and Eleven. The band offers music for nearly every taste and has proven their quality year after year by sold out Live Gyms. Since 2002, their concerts in America belong to those Live Gyms as well.

It had been in the year 2002 as well, when B'z had the opportunity to open the Soccer World Cup together with Aerosmith in a rock battle. The members of Aerosmith were impressed by the extremely high standard that B'z showed in their performance and later on invited Koshi and Tak to be their opening act in America.

The band was rather quiet in 2004 but fortunately, neither one of the guys said anything about taking a break and Arigatou was released in September. Tak's project, TMG, was very successful and their album TMG I was even released in Europe. Meanwhile, Koshi released his solo album, Piece of Mind, which, of course, captured the number one rank as well. Both members held a Japan-wide tour that lead them back to their beloved Yokohama Arena again.

In 2005, their 14th album, The Circle, was released and B'z claimed the top slot on Music Station’s ranking of the commercially most successful bands in Japan in March. During the final months of 2005, several records were released: Tak released a new album under his label, House of Strings, and B'z offered the single collection The Best Pleasure II. The band also embarked on the tour, Circle of Rock, a twenty-eight stop tour which spanned from April until the end of September.

By the following year, the band was busy in the recording studio, finishing a single and an album, and by July were on the road for Monster's Garage Tour.By 2007 the band was busy releasing two singles and the album Action, but this did not slow down their touring schedule which began in early January and ran them until the fall.

2008 was a busy year for B'z, releasing their two CD album Ultra and combining it with a heavy tour schedule. While 2009 was much of the same, come 2010, the band had not had any releases aside from a live DVD but made up for that by packing in live performances. This year, Tak toured with Larry Carlton on the Take Your Pick nationwide summer tour, while Koshi held a solo tour from August to October.

While the band took a break for a few months in early 2011, they were back in action by Spring. In April, it was announced that B'z will be performing three shows in Canada and America in July, with one in Vancouver and two in California.