GAL -- Magnet Joe ni Ki wo Tsukero（マグネット・ジョーに気をつけろ）

 

It was a dozen years ago that I first posted on the short-lived aidoru trio GAL（ギャル）. Lasting between 1977 and 1979, just to refresh folks' memories, GAL consisted of Mayumi Kuroki（黒木真由美）, Hitomi Meguro （目黒ひとみ）and Michiyo Ishie（石江理世）initially. Ishie left the group in 1978 with Akiyo Nakaseko（中世古明代）taking her place for the remaining time into 1979.

That article that I posted back in 2014 was for their debut single "Bara to Pistol"（薔薇とピストル）in October 1977. Well, for this long-awaited grand reunion on KKP, I have their second single "Magnet Joe ni Ki wo Tsukero"（マグネット・ジョーに気をつけろ...Watch Out for Magnet Joe） from February 1978. I had no idea who Magnet Joe was and I'd assumed that he was some sort of anime or manga character but actually I think he's just an especially charismatic cad who pulls the women in and repels them once they've served their purpose. Created by the same songwriting team behind "Bara to Pistol", lyricist Yu Aku（阿久悠）, composer Makoto Kawaguchi（川口真）and arranger Koji Makaino（馬飼野康二）, the music is nice and disco kayo, and in a way, I think the ladies dressed the part as well. In fact, I could even say that they kinda hit a refined middle ground between the more girl-next-door types of Candies（キャンディーズ）and the hyperactive dancing duo Pink Lady（ピンクレディー）.

GAL -- Bara to Pistol （薔薇とピストル）

I was doing some maintenance for the article covering Mayumi Kuroki's（黒木真由美） "Koibito to Yobarete" since the YouTube video had been taken down when I discovered the above video on the right side of the screen. It turned out that Kuroki hadn't given up the mike for good in 1976 after releasing 6 singles. Instead, her management company placed her with two other ladies, Michiyo Ishie and Hitomi Meguro （石江理世・目黒ひとみ）the year after to form the trio GAL（ギャル...Gals）.

"Bara to Pistol" (Rose and Pistol) was GAL's debut single from October 1977, and watching the video of the three performing it on that music show, I got the impression that GAL had been molded to be some sort of synthesis combining the harmonies of Candies, the glitter of Pink Lady and perhaps even the fashion of the disco-age Pointer Sisters. I even found a Japanese page that gives much more information than J-Wiki on this group in which the writer refers to the trio as second-string aidoru who lasted basically for little more than a year.

To be honest, just looking at the performance, I kinda cheekily thought that GAL was a backup group missing a lead singer, but "Bara to Pistol" isn't too bad a song. Written by Yu Aku （阿久悠）and composed by Makoto Kawaguchi（川口真）, it actually sounded like a Pink Lady tune tackled by Candies...without the frantic choreography. It pressed all of the right nostalgia buttons in my cerebrum, and there is a part where Mayumi (nicknamed Mami while in the group) is doing her solo where I especially liked the musical arrangement.

GAL released 4 singles and 1 album according to that Japanese page. The April 1978 album, "GAL no Space Opera King"（ギャルのスペース・オペラ・キング...GAL's Space Opera King）, contained "Bara to Pistol" along with their 2nd single, "Magnet Joe ni Ki wo Tsukero"（マグネット・ジョーに気をつけろ...Watch Out For Magnet Joe） followed by covers of anison and even "Star Wars"!