RAG FAIR

RAG FAIR started life under the name chocoletz in 1997 when six graduates of the Saitama University decided to form an a capella group. They renamed themselves to RAG FAIR in 1999. They started by performing a street live in front of Omiya station and from there went on to perform in their unique style at small livehouses and at various cultural events. It took a few years however for their debut, I RAG YOU, a mini album at the end of 2001. It performed fairly well for a debut, ranking at No.16 on the Oricon Weekly Charts. This was followed by their debut live at ZEPP TOKYO called 'VOCAL NIGHT No.7'. RAG FAIR made their first single release a couple of months after; Love love na couple furi furi de chu was a light hearted song and the a capella style a breath of fresh air in the Oricon charts. Soon after RAG FAIR embarked upon their first tour, the 'Tsuki ni negatte furi furi de tour' starting at ZEPP Fukuoka in March 2002.

While never hitting the soaring heights of bands like Ketsumeishi, the RAG boys have enjoyed success over the years since their debut. In mid-2002 though the double single release of She Side Story and Koi no Milage occupied both the number 1 and number 2 spots on the Oricon chart meaning that two established and highly popular groups - Southern All Stars and GLAY - were forced into the lower ranks! This success was further recognised when, at the end of 2002, they made their first appearance on NHK Kouhaku Utagassen at New Years.

Early in the year, in February RAG FAIR were awarded with the TV Asahi 'Golden Arrow Prize' for new music talent and would continue the strong work for which they had been awarded throughout 2003 with further successful single releases, a couple of DVDs and two albums included! They also made a series of appearances at the 'OUT OF ORDER' events at Yokohama Landmark Hall (and temporarily ABC Hall in Osaka in August) throughout the year. Late 2003 also saw the beginning of the group's comedy variety show 'Omatase! RAG Teishoku', a regular television programme that would continue for six months until March 2004.

As 'Omatase RAG Teishoku' ended, the RAG boys began another variety show 'RAG and Peace' which unfortunately would only air until September of the same year. The single releases also began to slow as they became more popular and focussed more energies on tours with the 'RAG FAIR LIVE TOUR '04', their first Oneman tour in September and October. This was followed by a 'street live' held at a very un 'street' place, the Nippon Budoukan at the end of 2005 from which a DVD was released.

Their popularity also led to their covering other popular songs of the year in their distinctive style in the Music Station special in 2005. Their style even seems to have impressed some US College students who have produced a tribute video to Rag Fair's 'Introduction to RAG FAIR' video that can be found on YouTube. They are known for their slightly unusual and amusing videos, such as Hallelujah, which feature bassist, Kano's face featured on a blimp flying through Tokyo. The VTRag-2 released in 2005 also contained an hilarious homemade video effort by RAG FAIR to the song Hanjuku Rhapsody.

At the end of 2006, RAG FAIR commenced their first big nationwide tour taking in ten cities across Japan to accompany the release of their third album, Okurimono. In October 2007, RAG FAIR have just released their 16th single, Akai Ito/ Live Rally, which has charted at No.9 on the Oricon charts after its first week of release. It is only their second single this year though, showing how much the single releases have slowed in pace however a variety of lives are planned including a Christmas Dinner Show!

The band quickly began 2008 with the release a new album, a DVD containing their PVs from 2005 through their 2008 single, and their 17th single, all released within the first month.