Noriko Matsumoto -- Haru Iro no Air Mail（春色のエアメール）

Indeed, it's rather cheaply done but it is to signify that "Kayo Kyoku Plus" just turned eight years old today.

So in the day or so leading up to January 30th, I was thinking about what to do to commemorate this admittedly not-so-commemorative anniversary. I mean, 1, 5 and 10 are fine but 8? Supposedly, according to tradition, something bronze is the way to go as an anniversary gift. However, I couldn't really find a kayo kyoku with anything to do with that alloy.

Then, I decided to look for anyone who's celebrating a birthday on January 30th, and as it turns out former aidoru Noriko Matsumoto（松本典子）was one such person. Happily enough, I have yet to write about her debut single.

"Haru Iro no Air Mail" (Spring-Coloured Air Mail) was how she entered the music business publicly. Matsumoto's first song came out right on the first day of spring in 1985, and it's a cheery and bouncy number that was written and composed by EPO. Listening to the melody with those strings in there, I feel indeed that the song is quite EPO-esque, plus the other remarkable thing is how grounded her vocals sound in her delivery. I'm certainly not saying that she's a baritone here but it's not the usual high-and-chirpy voice that I've often associated with 80s aidoru.

The song managed to get as high as No. 28 on the Oricon weeklies. Plus, it was given an album version on her first album "Straw Hat" released in July 1985. That release peaked at No. 31.