The band members of BUMP OF CHICKEN met while attending West Usai Junior High, deciding to form a band in 1994 at just 14 years old. They sneakily saved up their money, skipping lunch and even hiding their plans from their family in their determination. All childhood friends, vocalist Motoo Fujiwara became the driving force for the band, joined by his friends Hiroaki Masukawa on guitar, Yoshifumi Naoi on bass and Hideo Masu on drums. Their hard work quickly paid off, and in 1995, the band performed at a high school's music festival, covering The Beatles. It wasn't long before they began composing their own songs, and BUMP OF CHICKEN began to take off.
During the next couple years, the band flourished as their song Danny won a prize on the radio station '96TFM in January 1996 and performed at the competition Beat Brust in Japan that summer, where they won with their song Glass no Blues. By January of 1997 they held their first concert at Shimokitazawa CLUB 251, which was an all-night event. BUMP OF CHICKEN held their first tour in the summer, called Chicken's Knife, receiving a good response. By October, the band released their first demo tape during a show which sold out in ten minutes. By the end of the year, however, the band took a short hiatus for college examinations.
Despite their college studies, the band did not neglect their fans through 1998, picking up activities towards the end of March. In May, they performed at a festival where they released a new demo that sold out in just five minutes. One week later, the band held their first one-man at Chiba ANGA. BUMP OF CHICKEN continued to tour steadily through the rest of the year and right into 1999, releasing their first album, Flame Vein, in March. By the end of the month, their popularity had soared and the band performed at Shibuya On Air East for the first time. The band continued their heavy touring through the next few months, performing at dozens of events. In November, they released their first maxi single, Lamp, and appeared twice on SPACE SHOWER TV.
BUMP OF CHICKEN launched right into 2000 with several lives across Japan before releasing their second album as well as the debut of their first PV, Glorious Revolution, in the spring and their second maxi single in the fall. The band's performance schedule remained as packed as ever, appearing at one-mans, events and TV spots through the rest of the year. The year 2001 brought a flurry of activity for the busy boys, who performed for the first time at Shibuya AX in March, shortly before the release of their third maxi single. By summer, they'd performed several times on SPACE SHOWER TV as well as ROCK IN JAPAN festival. They continued their steady activity through December, releasing just one new maxi in the fall, which hit Oricon charts for the first time, giving the band a burst of exposure.
The next few years proved much quieter than their past for BUMP OF CHICKEN . Between 2002 and 2003, their live performances were toned down tremendously, holding only three one-month tours and performing at SPACE SHOW Music Video Awards 2003 during the time frame. Their discography continued to grow, however, and they released their album, Jupiter and a new single, Sailing Day which was used as the ending theme for the movie "One Piece." Their music also debuted on the Japanese drama "Tentai Kansoku" which heightened their popularity. BUMP OF CHICKEN's schedule took a turn in 2004 with several one-mans and a slew of new releases including three maxi singles and a new album. They also launched a nationwide tour they held through the late fall which lasted several months. Their July single, Only lonely glory was their first release to hit number one in the Oricon charts. The year 2005 was toned down in comparison, with just five live dates. To make up for this lack of live activity, BUMP OF CHICKEN released three new singles spread out from the summer through the winter.
The year 2006 greeted fans with the tour run rabbit run, which kicked off in January and ran through March. This was their busiest time of the year, and towards the end of March, Fujiwara took a break to release a solo album. The band resumed activities in the fall, releasing their 12th maxi single, Namida no Furisato in November, which topped Oricon charts as number one, and was featured not only in commercials, but the romance drama "Koizora" based off of an internet book.
BUMP OF CHICKEN was inactive well into 2007, resurfacing in the summer to tour and by the end of the year, released two more singles and their fifth album. By 2008, the band made up for lost time, touring actively through the beginning of the year up to summer, and saw the debut of their first DVD that included seven PVs in May, and a new album in June. They also regularly appeared on music television shows and were often featured on radio programs.
The year 2009 was a very quiet one for BUMP OF CHICKEN , and fans waited for months to hear news from the band; it was not until November that they re-surfaced with their fifteenth single, R.I.P./Merry Christmas. Despite this lag, the start of 2010 bore a flurry of recording activity, including three new singles and their first performance since 2008 at Roppongi Hills. On December 15th, BUMP OF CHICKEN released their sixth album, COSMONAUT. Despite the lack of concert activity, the band has had no shortage of radio and television performances.
With 2011 around the corner, BUMP OF CHICKEN has already announced another new single, Tomodachi no Uta, which will be released in February. With the band back in actions, fans have new hope for a nationwide tour this upcoming year.
