SPEED -- Steady

 

Despite the negative news about "The Flash", I had been interested in seeing this superhero movie for a while because of all of the powers that the titular character possessed through decades of comic book and cartoon production. And of course, there were also the TV versions of "The Flash" that happened in 1990 and over the past decade. 

Well, as it turned out, it wasn't the greatest flick. For example, the plot has been done over and over again in "Star Trek" and even a recent Marvel "What If" story involving Dr. Strange, and those special effects especially in the beginning rescue mission were just...ouch. However, it wasn't the horrifying skid trail that some folks were describing either and that was because of the performances of Ezra Miller and Michael Keaton among others. They were able to lift things a little higher.

So, of course, when I begin an article with the Scarlet Speedster, guess which group I'm going to have to mention? Obviously, it'll be the 90s hit quartet SPEED. And I'm bringing in their second single "Steady" which was released in November 1996. To be honest, of all of their songs that I've covered in KKP, "Steady" is the one that I've remembered the least about; it actually took me until the main chorus to recognize it again. I'm gathering therefore that I probably got to know "Steady" originally more through SPEED's performance of it in quick clips on music shows.

Frequent SPEED songwriting contributor Hiromasa Ijichi（伊秩弘将）was responsible for words and music. "Steady" hit No. 2 on Oricon, became a million-seller (1.5 million copies) and ended 1997 as the 5th-ranked single of the year. It was also a track on the group's debut album "Starting Over" from May 1997 which was at the top of the charts for three weeks straight and sold 2.5 million copies. 

I didn't know that "Steady" had been used as the theme song for the TV Asahi live-action dramatization of the manga "Itazura na Kiss"（イタズラなKiss...Playful Kiss） which had its run in the last few months of 1996.

SPEED -- Alive

Hearing the opening lines of this SPEED single, I didn't quite recognize "Alive" but then the refrain came in and then things started getting familiar.

"Alive" is SPEED's 7th single from July 1998 and continuing from their previous single "my graduation", it became another million-seller at about 1.3 million copies according to J-Wiki. Written and composed by Hiromasa Ijichi（伊秩弘将）, the song is overall very nice but I have to admit that I even liked the verses even more than the refrain due to the melancholy and those strings imbued into them. "Alive" is also a bit mellower than "my graduation" and its message is the needed one about getting through adversity and seeing another day with hope.

"Alive" hit No. 1 and ended the year as the 16th-ranked single, also winning a songwriting prize at the Japan Record Awards. It first made its appearance on an album through the group's first BEST compilation, "Moment" which was released in December of that year. That also hit the top spot and was the No. 4 album of 1999, selling over 3 million copies. It was also used as the theme song for the Takashi Miike sci-fi movie "Andromedia"（アンドロメディア）which starred both SPEED and Da Pump.

I was shocked and saddened to hear about the destruction of one of Okinawa's most famous sites, Shuri Castle（首里城）some days ago. I'd never gotten to Okinawa but my student was able to visit and I had translated some articles on the place for a tourist website a few years ago. Its colour and scale were the elements that caught my eye, and it's sad to see the footage of Shuri Castle being burned down to the ground, especially after it had been restored following a long process back in the early 1990s. However, I've heard news already that there will be plans to start over again and rebuild the castle to its former glory, no matter the time and expense needed.

SPEED -- my graduation

Not really my favourite SPEED song, but "my graduation" is something that I used to see a lot of on the various rankings shows. I definitely remember the scene where the members sang around that nexus of microphones.

"my graduation" was SPEED's 6th single released in February 1998 and it was written and composed by Hiromasa Ijichi（伊秩弘将）who created a lot of the group's hits. According to J-Wiki, the song's lyrics don't directly reference anything about graduations which I'm not sure that I agree with. Perhaps they may not refer directly to any graduation ceremonies but they certainly hint at a major transition in a person's life and illustrate the gratitude that the person has to that special someone. It might be a past romantic interest but I think it can also easily pertain to now-former high school classmates and buddies who are now going in their own separate directions. Besides, according to that same article, it has become one of the popular songs to be played at graduations.

Interestingly enough, "my graduation" was used as a campaign song for Nisshin's brand of yakisoba known as "UFO"...because of course, when one thinks of graduations, one has to think of seasoned noodles (yes, I'm being sarcastic). The song was at No. 1 on Oricon for 3 weeks straight and ended up as the No. 3 song of 1998, selling a total of 1.75 million copies. On the Oricon list for top singles in its history, it ranks at No. 89.

The song also got onto SPEED's 2nd album "Rise" which came out in April 1998. That album also hit No. 1 for 2 weeks and became the No. 9 album of the year, selling over 3 million copies. SPEED also showed up on the 1999 Kohaku to perform a special version of the song.

SPEED -- All My True Love

Last week saw those Upper House elections in Japan coming to pass with one of the notable things being that for the first time, the voting age was brought down to 18. So there were a number of teens still in their school uniforms going to the booths. The other notable thing for those J-Pop fans of the 1990s is that Eriko Imai（今井絵里子）, formerly of the teen group SPEED, was elected as an Upper House Member of Parliament. She and her fellow mates were in the boom time of their existence as highly energetic entertainers when some of these new voters were born. And my hair simply gets grayer (well, it's all fait accompli now).

As she gets comfortable sitting with a larger number of colleagues who are pretty much guaranteed not to have the same dance moves as she does, we can all reminisce the days of loose socks with another old SPEED song, "All My True Love". Mind you, the way the logistics worked in the group was that Eriko and Hiroko Shimabukuro（島袋寛子）were primarily the songstresses while Takako Uehara（上原多香子）and Hitoe Aragaki（新垣仁絵）provided more of the dancing.

The ladies didn't exactly bowl me over with their singing but I can't deny their spunkiness as they burned up the charts during the latter half of the 90s. SPEED was all over the media and "All My True Love" was another one of their hits that got plenty of heavy rotation on TV. This was their 8th single from October 1998 and as was usually the case, the song was written and composed by Hiromasa Ijichi（伊秩弘将）.

What I found out about the song from J-Wiki is that although "All My True Love" was supposed to be released for sale on a Wednesday at the CD shops, there were already eager SPEED fans waiting in line from the previous Sunday at some of these establishments. As a result, some of those places relented and started selling early which meant that Oricon started registering the song about a week earlier than anticipated so it actually entered the charts at No. 113. The effect had "All My True Love" soaring up to the No. 1 position (where it stayed for a couple of weeks) from that lowly ranking, a record that had been held by Pink Lady's "Chameleon Army"（カメレオン・アーミー）. Talk about All My True Dough!

Breaking the million barrier, the song became the 13th-ranked single of the year and got SPEED another ticket to the Kohaku Utagassen. It was also a track on their first BEST album, "Moment" from December 1998. That super-seller not only hit No. 1 but it also managed to sell 3 million albums!

SPEED -- Go! Go! Heaven

Ahhh...more nostalgic feelings from my early days of Ichikawa. The SPEED girls were starting to make waves into the ocean occupied by Namie Amuro（安室奈美恵）and the rest of the Komuro Boom. And I distinctly remember this song by them, "Go! Go! Heaven", getting heavy rotation on the TV CD rankings for months.

Recalling all those years back when their 3rd single was released in March 1997, my nostalgia didn't particularly reach into their vocal prowess. However, Hitoe, Hiroko, Takako and Eriko had plenty of spunk in their performances including their dancing. I wouldn't have been surprised if a lot of little girls and boys badgered their parents to put them through SPEED's alma mater, the Okinawa Actors' School after watching the group's music videos.

Hiromasa Ijichi（伊秩弘将）, who also created songs for Chisato Moritaka（森高千里）and Misato Watanabe（渡辺美里）, wrote and composed "Go! Go! Heaven", and his melody got admiration from guitar-shredding Takahiro Matsumoto（松本孝弘）of B'z according to the J-Wiki article on the song. There is a certain feeling of B'z-ness in the tune when I roll it around in my head. And more importantly, "Go! Go! Heaven" also got the love from the listening public as it became SPEED's first No. 1 hit, becoming a million-seller. The video, by the way, was filmed in New York City and Miami. By the end of the year, the song was the 37th-ranked single of the year.

SPEED -- White Love

I hope all of you are having or have had a wonderful Xmas 2013. Missed disaster by the skin of my nose but it looks like the electricity at my place is back up and running permanently again after that ice storm on Saturday. And I now have my first turkey roasting away in the oven for later devouring with my family.

My final J-Xmas song for this year is SPEED's "White Love". This is the girl group's most successful entry from their discography, and certainly remembering how often I saw the music video on the various music shows for the next several months after release, I'm not at all surprised. Released in October 1997, "White Love" roared up the charts white hot to quickly become the 10th-ranked song of the year, so hitting the weeklies at No. 1 was a no-brainer. It also kept good standing in 1998's yearly rankings by sticking around at No. 34. And the group's 5th single broke the two million barrier in sales.

Written and composed by Hiromasa Ijichi（伊秩弘将）, "White Love" was used as a campaign song for a Shiseido product, but it seems as if it has become a nicely accepted part of the annual J-Xmas song list over the years. And it was quite the karaoke favourite among my old students at least. I think the coolness factor with the girls' dark suits and the choreography helped out on that level. The popularity of the tune also got SPEED their first of three consecutive appearances on the Kohaku Utagassen before they did the initial breakup. But as all of the fans will know, the group came back and appeared in the 2008 edition doing a new version of their greatest song. "White Love" is also a track on SPEED's 2nd album, "Rise".

Pedro & Capricious/SPEED -- Johnny e no Dengon （ジョニイへの伝言）

One of those evergreen folk songs from yesteryear, "Johnny e no Dengon" (Message For Johnny) was a tune I first heard via Mariko Takahashi's（高橋真梨子） tape "More 5th Love Affair" more than a quarter of a century ago. Actually, though, the history goes much further back to March 1973 when the song, Pedro & Capricious' 4th single, was first released. It's special for a number of reasons, one of which is that it was the very first recording by Takahashi when she became the second vocalist for the band. At the time, she was known as just Mari Takahashi（高橋まり）.

"Johnny e no Dengon" is one of those poignant tunes in which the heroine asks to send her regards and reassurances to good ol' Johnny after waiting for 2 hours before she heads off elsewhere, perhaps forever, with the impression that she and Johnny had shared something closer in the past. Of course, any feeling of sadness is warmly comforted by a cheerful and gentle melody. It was created by the duo of Yu Aku and Shunichi Tokura（阿久悠・都倉俊一）, the same pair who would also create hits for Momoe Yamaguchi（山口百恵） and Pink Lady.

The song managed to get as high as No. 24 on Oricon and became the 85th-ranked song on the yearly rankings of 1973, selling close to 250,000 records. And though it took a while, it also got Pedro & Capricious onto the 1974 Kohaku Utagassen.

https://music.apple.com/jp/album/vision-factory-compilation-%E9%98%BF%E4%B9%85%E6%82%A0-%E4%BD%9C%E5%AE%B6%E7%94%9F%E6%B4%BB40%E5%91%A8%E5%B9%B4%E8%A8%98%E5%BF%B5/299793990

(excerpt only)

"Johnny e no Dengon" also had its share of covers over the decades, and I managed to find an interesting one by SPEED. Their version won't be found on any of their albums. Instead the song came on "Vision Factory Compilation", a 2008 tribute album to lyricist Aku who had passed away the previous year. The arrangement has this Latin/Dance beat which invigorates this update to the classic ol' chestnut.

SPEED -- Body & Soul

Although I did watch the Saturday night program "Yoru mo Hippare"（夜もヒッパレ） from time to time on the telly, I hadn't been aware that the phenomenal girl group, SPEED, was basically born on the show. Apparently the name was chosen on it, and considering the potential alternatives of Habu and Mongoose, Ryukyu Girls or Super Monchicchi, I think we're all glad for the final choice.

I remember my first sighting of Hiroko Shimabukuro（島袋寛子）, Eriko Imai（今井絵里子）, Takako Uehara（上原多香子） and Hitoe Aragaki（新垣仁絵） from this video for their debut single, "Body & Soul". Now, Namie Amuro（安室奈美恵） and the Super Monkeys had already launched their career rocket into space, but their kohai from The Okinawa Actors School especially stood out since they were pulling some Amuro & Monkeys moves while they obviously looked like (and were) elementary school students. I could actually feel my hair graying as I saw the video. The group name of SPEED was well chosen, but just for their energy I would've also easily dubbed them as SPUNK!

"Body & Soul" was released back in August 1996, and was written and composed by Hiromasa Ijichi（伊秩弘将）. He would continue to write many of the group's songs, and in the past, he was also responsible for several of Chisato Moritaka's（森高千里） and Misato Watanabe's（渡辺美里） tunes. As for their debut, it, and SPEED, were instant hits. It peaked at No. 4 on Oricon and became the 45th-ranked song of the year, selling over 600,000 copies. Personally, I think SPEED was definitely given its royal jelly for stardom, considering the dynamism of these young kids, the length of the song itself (at over 5 minutes), and a pretty elaborate video....perhaps there was an uptick in tourism to the Golden State after the song had been released. The single would also be included in their debut album, "Starting Over" which was released in May 1997. The album would hit No. 1 on the Oricon weeklies and then end up at the 8th position by the end of the year, eventually selling about 2.5 million copies.

In any case, it was only the beginning of what would be an eventful 1st phase in their career, and probably a huge number of applications to the Okinawa Actors School.