THE YELLOW MONKEY

Overview

THE YELLOW MONKEY, sometimes abbreviated as Yemon, is a Japanese rock band formed in 1988. They made their major debut on May 21, 1992 with the single "Romantist Taste", announced a hiatus on January 8, 2001, disbanded on July 7, 2004, and reformed on January 8, 2016. Their combined CD sales exceed 10 million, and they are regarded as an important Japanese rock group. Outside Japan they are best known for "Tactics", an ending theme of the anime Rurouni Kenshin.

The members are Kazuya Yoshii (vocals, guitar), Hideaki Kikuchi (guitar), Youichi Hirose (bass) and Eiji Kikuchi (drums).

Career

Formation to major debut

The band formed in 1988. Kenichi Matsuo was originally vocalist with Yoshii on bass; after Hirose joined, Yoshii moved to guitar. Drummer Eiji Kikuchi joined, and when Matsuo left over musical differences, Yoshii became vocalist and Eiji's older brother Hideaki joined on guitar. The current lineup played its first show on December 28, 1989. They released the independent album Bunched Birth in 1991, then debuted on a major label in 1992 with "Romantist Taste" and the album The Night Snails and Plastic Boogie. Experience Movie followed in March 1993, with their first hall show at Nihon Seinenkan in April. In 1994 they released the concept album Jaguar Hard Pain.

Breakthrough

After shifting toward a more chart-oriented approach, the single "Love Communication" became a hit in January 1995 and the album Smile debuted at No. 4 on the Oricon chart in February. They played their first Nippon Budokan show in April 1995, and Four Seasons, recorded in London, reached No. 1. "Jam/Tactics" (February 1996) and "Spark" (July 1996) were also hits.

Funhouse era and the PUNCH DRUNKARD tour

In July 1996 they moved to Funhouse (now Ariola Japan). Sicks hit No. 1 and was their best-selling original album; "Burn" was their biggest single and "Kyukon" their only single to debut at No. 1. Punch Drunkard (1998) gave them three consecutive No. 1 albums, followed by the 113-show PUNCH DRUNKARD TOUR 1998/99. Yoshii collapsed from overwork during the tour, and in January 1999 a sound staff member fell to his death from the stage.

Hiatus, disbandment and reunion

They announced a hiatus on January 8, 2001 and disbanded on July 7, 2004. They reformed on January 8, 2016 and released the single "Suna no Tou" that year. Honors include the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards Japan Inspiration Award Japan, special awards at the Japan Cable Awards and the Japan Record Awards in 2016, and the BEST RESPECT ARTIST award at the 2017 SPACE SHOWER MUSIC AWARDS. A documentary about the band premiered at the 2017 Busan International Film Festival.

Releases since the reunion

They have released "Stars" and "Horizon" (2017), "天道虫" (2018), the album 9999 (April 2019), "DANDAN" (2019), "未来はみないで" (2020), 30Years 30Hits (January 2022), "ホテルニュートリノ" (January 2024), "SHINE ON" and "ソナタの暗闇" (April 2024), the album Sparkle X (May 2024), Sparkle X (Complete Edition) (October 2024) and "CAT CITY" (July 2025). At THE YELLOW MONKEY SUPER BIG EGG 2024 "SHINE ON" on April 27, 2024, support keyboardist Yoshitaka Mikuni appeared on stage with the band for the first time in nearly 20 years.

Musical style

Yoshii has cited Japanese metal bands such as SABBRABELLS and Action, and glam rock artists such as David Bowie and Mick Ronson, as influences. All four members came from Japanese metal bands, but after their major debut they moved away from heavy metal and hard rock. Early on, their glam rock sound recalled T. Rex and Bowie, paired with flamboyant visuals.