Barbee Boys -- Makeru mon ka（負けるもんか）

 

Well, that was quite the happy ending sequence for Episode 4 of "Ganbare! Nakamura-kun!!"（ガンバレ!中村くん!!...Go for It, Nakamura!）as you can see above. Nakamura saves the love of his life, Hirose, from some photography-crazed punks and he's celebrating his win at home. Meanwhile, the ending theme cavalcade of oldies continues apace and cheerfully for fans. Episode 5 had quite the explosion of delight with an old City Pop fave, Yasuha's（泰葉）"Fly-Day Chinatown" (フライディ・チャイナタウン).

As was the case with Kenji Ozawa（小沢健二）& Scha Dara Parr's "Kon'ya wa Boogie Back"（今夜はブギー・バック）which was the ender for Episode 3, Barbee Boys' "Makeru mon ka" (Like Hell I'm Giving In), which was Nakamura's celebratory tune at the end of Episode 4, is also a song that I hadn't covered on the blog or heard at all. I was never all that much of a Barbee Boys fan although we do have a couple of their songs on KKP and up to now, my impression has been that the band loved to create songs showing conflict of all sorts whether it be internal or external.

"Makeru mon ka" was released as Barbee Boys' 5th single in April 1986 and as soon as I heard it, I knew it was a signature Barbee Boys song with those sparkly guitars, soprano saxophone and Kyoko's（杏子）vocals. Written and composed by band guitarist Tomotaka Imamichi（いまみちともたか）, it's about a guy's battle with himself about how to handle the potential consequences of his very assertive girlfriend wanting to drop by his place late at night. Methinks that the angel and devil on his two shoulders are having an Avengers level of fighting.

That's quite the music video for "Makeru mon ka" as well. There's nothing like ancient Soviet-era propaganda showing the populace actually having fun to attract viewers. Anyways, the song peaked at No. .47 on Oricon, and it was a track on Barbee Boys' 2nd album "Freebee" from November 1985. It hit No. 18.

Barbee Boys -- Kurayami de DANCE（暗闇でDANCE）

Up to this point, there has only been one article here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" regarding a Barbee Boys' song, and that was by nikala back in 2013. It's been my intention to put up a Barbee Boys' tune as well since I used to see these guys a fair bit on broadcasts of "MTV Japan" in my Gunma days.

nikala has given a background on the band in her article "Mou Yada!"（もォ やだ!）but I have my own impressions as well. The pair who led Barbee Boys in song, Konta and Kyoko（杏子）, definitely had style in their performances. Konta possessed that nervous and twitchy energy (plus the ability to bring in a soprano saxophone into rock) while Kyoko was sexy and slinky. And from listening to some of their songs throughout the 1980s on YouTube, their MO seemed to have been to partake in some give-and-take love-and-hate banter.

That was the case with "Mou Yada!" and that was also the case with their debut single "Kurayami de DANCE" (Dance in the Dark) from September 1984. Words and music originated from band guitarist Tomotaka Imamichi（いまみちともたか）, and while Konta and Kyoko get into their war of words, the original music video shows a woman finally taking revenge on the sleazy boss and their mutual environment or the woman is wishing of it.

I may have categorized "Kurayami de DANCE" as a rock number but I think there is also a fair bit of New Wave as well. The song was first seen on an album via Barbee Boys' debut release "1st OPTION" from February 1985. That one peaked at No. 87 on Oricon.

Barbee Boys -- Mou Yada! (もォ やだ!)

You know you want to listen to a band that calls themselves Barbee Boys (バービーボーイズ). Contrary to the initial perception of them being named after that silly doll, it's actually a pun on the term "barfly" (i.e. someone who hangs around bars a wee too often), with a fluffy bee taking place of a fly (at least according to J-Wiki). This cartoonish bee also appears at the end of the PV above as well as on the cover of their debut album "1st Option", enjoying some Austin Nichols Wild Turkey Whiskey. Formed in 1982 as a four-piece band composed of Konta (vocals, soprano saxophone), Tomotaka Imamichi (いまみちともたか; also known as Imasa) (guitar), Enrique (bass), and Toshiaki Konuma (小沼俊昭; Koiso) (drums), at first they really were all boys. The other vocalist Kyoko (杏子) was eventually recruited into the group after a demo tape that she submitted to one of the venues they were performing at caught their attention. Still, their name remained the same even with a female presence around.

Barbee Boys' career spanned between 1984 and 1992, during which they release 16 singles and 6 studio albums. The band then reunited for a few live shows in 2003 and then once more between 2008 and 2010. Right from the start, they distinguished themselves from other rock bands of the time with their peculiar sound that was influenced by British New Wave and featured Konta's signature performance on soprano saxophone. Another feature of theirs was their cynical lyrics, which usually dealt with the unstable relationships of Japanese youth of the time and their reckless behavior. You can hear all of the above in their second single, "Mou Yada!" (もォ やだ!...I've Had Enough!) (released on February 1st, 1985) , which pretty much runs like an argument between two fussy lovers clashing against one another. You can just picture them swinging their arms at one another. Konta's and Kyoko's expressions in the PV are rich. The song was written and composed by the guitarist Imamichi (who was responsible for the majority of the band's output) and features some solid playing from the members. Now, I realize that the aggressive vocals are not for everyone, and Konta's in particular are an acquired taste, but I personally could listen to these two going at it all day. Never hesitated to like this band when I first discovered them back in 2006. And this is coming from someone who is normally picky about rock singers.

Though not a hit by any means, "Mou Yada!" was definitely a stepping stone for the band towards superstardom, with each of their subsequent releases being bigger than the last. Some of their signature songs include "Me wo Tojite Oide yo" (目を閉じておいでよ), "Megitsune on the Run" (女ぎつねon the Run), and "chibi". They also had some influence on contemporary acts like Shiina Ringo and Porno Graffitti.

Some interesting piece of trivia from J-Wiki: apparently the band's songs featured both male and female parts even before Kyoko came into the picture. During those days Konta would show up on stage decked out in white makeup performing both roles. Oh, the mental picture!

Source: hm6666hero from blogs.yahoo.co.jp