Pocket Biscuits -- Yellow Yellow Happy

I didn't see the protracted genesis of this trio, Pocket Biscuits, consisting of pixie-ish tarento Chiaki (千秋...vocal), Teruyoshi Uchimura（内村光良） from the comedic duo Ucchan-Nanchan (keyboardist) and the Frankenstein-ish Udo Suzuki（ウド鈴木） from the other comedic duo Kyaiiin (keyboard and other instruments), but from what I've read of the group on J-Wiki, it seems as if the birth of this group kinda followed the same path as the one which would lead to Morning Musume about a year later. Apparently, on an Ucchan-Nanchan variety show, a segment began in which the boys started an audition for two female tarento to back up model Rie Takayama（高山理衣） as the 3-person band McKee to help sell Takayama to the rest of Asia. Eventually, Sayuri Kokusho (国生さゆり....formerly of Onyanko Club) and actress Shigeru Muroi（室井滋） were selected, leaving poor Chiaki, who had wanted to become a singer, in the dust. The tears started flowing, and from there it was decided to create another trio which would become Pocket Biscuits. To add to the (most likely contrived) drama, McKee and Pocket Biscuits went head-to-head with their respective debut singles, with the winner being the band with the higher ranking on Oricon. Chiaki's trio, with "Rapturous Blue" scored 3 ranks higher than McKee's "Can't Stop My Heart", and won the challenge. Right then and there, McKee disbanded. Just like a feel-good drama.

And from that point, Pocket Biscuits would have their 15 minutes in the spotlight for over 3 years, would spark a "rival"band, Black Biscuits, and even a collaboration with the Yumi Matsutoya（松任谷由美） in 2000. But for me, their most recognizable song was their 2nd single, "Yellow Yellow Happy", released in September 1996. Written by the band and composed by Pappara Kawai（パッパラー河合）, the lead guitarist from Bakufu Slump, I think the things that stood out for me was the clunkily adorable CG of the three members in the video and Chiaki's singing. Not to say that Akina Nakamori and Hiromi Iwasaki had anything to worry about, but Chiaki sounded somewhat better than I thought she would be, especially considering her usually squeaky but occasionally tart-tongued spoken delivery. And I gotta say that there is something adorable about a 5'0"woman doing a one-foot stomp as her choreography.

It was a catchy enough song for me to get the CD single, and it looks like a lot of other folks followed as well. It did far better than their debut by peaking at No. 4, and even broke the million-seller barrier. "Yellow Yellow Happy"not only had power but also had longevity: it became the 30th-ranked song of 1996 and it lasted on the charts long enough to become the 77th-ranked tune for 1997.

A lot of my memories of music during those early years getting settled into my life in Chiba and Tokyo involved the Komuro family and Dreams Come True, but there were also these brief-but-bright moments by folks such as Pocket Biscuits.

Pocket Biscuits -- Yellow Yellow Happy