Tamio Okuda

Overview

Tamio Okuda (奥田民生, born 12 May 1965 in Hiroshima) is a Japanese singer-songwriter and producer, and a member of the rock band Unicorn. He debuted in 1987 as Unicorn's vocalist and launched a solo career in 1994. His best-known solo songs include "Ai no Tame ni", "Iijyuu Rider" and "Sasurai". ROCKIN'ON JAPAN has called him Japan's "rock general", and the Asahi Shimbun described him as a giant of J-POP. In 2003 HMV Japan ranked him number 25 among Japan's top 100 musicians, with Unicorn at number 61.

Career

Unicorn years

Okuda formed his first band in 1979 as a junior high student. After his band READY broke up while he attended a technical college, he joined Unicorn as vocalist on 23 March 1986, passed a Sony Music audition that July, and moved to Tokyo to debut in 1987 with the album BOOM. The 1989 single "Daimeiwaku" made them stars, followed by hits such as "Hataraku Otoko", "Hige to Boin", "Yuki ga Furu Machi" and "Subarashii Hibi". In 1990 he formed the limited project THE BAND HAS NO NAME, and in 1992 he toured with Yohito Teraoka as "Terada". Unicorn announced its breakup on 21 September 1993 after seven years.

Solo career and production

After a short break, Okuda began his solo career in 1994 with "Ai no Tame ni", which became his first million-seller. In 1996 he produced and launched the duo Puffy to major success. In 1997 he formed Inoue Yosui Okuda Tamio with Yōsui Inoue and released the album Shopping, and in 1998 he toured with his solo acoustic show Hitori Matatabi.

2000s

In 2000 he composed the debut song for Yo Oizumi's Oizumi Band. In 2002 he guested on Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra's single and formed Sannin no Samurai with Char and Masayoshi Yamazaki. In 2003 he formed O.P.KING with YO-KING and others. For his 10th solo anniversary in 2004, he played Hitori Matatabi Special at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium, becoming the only singer to hold a concert there. In 2005 the film Custom Made 10.30 was released, and THE BAND HAS NO NAME returned after 15 years with the album II. He reunited with Inoue in 2006 for the single "Parallel Love", and marked his 20th anniversary in 2007 with the album Double Drive. In 2008 he released Fantastic OT9, which he called his masterpiece. Unicorn reunited in 2009, and Okuda continued solo work alongside it and became an adviser at Sony Music Artists.

2010s

In 2010 his recording-live tour Hitori Cantabile produced new songs on stage that became his 10th album, OTRL (4 August). In 2011 he played Hitori Matatabi Special at Itsukushima Shrine and released "My Back Pages" with Magokoro Brothers. In 2012 he formed Chikyu Sankyodai, and in 2013 he released "Kaze wa Nishi kara" in a tie-up with Mazda and appeared as Sanfujinz with Shigeru Kishida of Quruli. In 2015 he held a 50th birthday live, founded his own label Ramen Curry Music Record, and performed at Mazda Stadium. In 2016 he produced Sukima Switch's "Zenryoku Shonen". In 2017 "Engine" became the ending theme of the Japanese version of Cars 3, and in 2018 he joined the supergroup Curling Sitones with Teraoka, YO-KING and others.

2020s

In 2020 he wrote "Satesu Hakushon", the theme of the anime Hakushon Daimaoh 2020. In 2022 he released special editions and From THE FIRST TAKE versions of "Taiyo ga Miteiru" and "Sasurai", followed by "Hanauta" in 2023. His book "59-60", collecting his magazine columns, was published on 24 October 2024. In 2025 he formed the unit Ooochie Koochie with Kōji Kikkawa, released the single "GOLD" on 26 February and the album Ooochie Koochie on 25 June, and planned a national tour including the Nippon Budokan. That September he became an ambassador for CASIO's OCEANUS, and a tram called "OK! Hiroshima-go" began running in Hiroshima. On 7 January 2026 he released the eight-song EP "Amarimono", and from January to March 2026 he holds his first national tour in about three years, the MTRY Tour 2026, across 17 venues with the MTR&Y band.

Musical style

Okuda admires Koji Tamaki, Kiyoshi Imawano and Yosui Inoue. Raised on a mix of kayokyoku, mood songs, enka and American pop, he learned by copying the Beatles and other Western rock. As a singer-songwriter and producer, he has collaborated widely across genres and artists.