Bow Wow (band)
| Bow Wow | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Vow Wow, Bowwow |
| Origin | Japan |
| Genres | Hard rock, heavy metal |
| Years active |
Bow Wow: 1975–1983, 1995–present Vow Wow: 1984–1990 (reunions: 2009 and 2010) |
| Labels |
Victor, Sony Music, Toshiba EMI, Arista (US), Rockcandy (US), Heavy Metal (EU), Roadrunner (EU) |
| Associated acts | Wild Flag, Noiz, Whitesnake |
| Website | Official site |
| Members |
Kyoji Yamamoto Mitsuhiro Saito Toshihiro Niimi |
| Past members | Kenji Sano Genki Hitomi Rei Atsumi Neil Murray Mark Gould Tetsuya Horie Hiroshi Yaegashi Shotaro Mitsuzono Eiji Mitsuzono |
Bow Wow is an influential Japanese rock band formed in Japan in 1975. They renamed themselves to Vow Wow in 1984, before moving to England in 1987 and disbanding in 1990. Guitarist and vocalist Kyoji Yamamoto reformed Bow Wow in 1995 with all new members, before original members Mitsuhiro Saito and Toshihiro Niimi rejoined him three years later.
In Japan their best-selling album is 1990's Mountain Top which reached number 16 on the Oricon chart, and also featured the band's best-selling single "Tell Me". Internationally their best-selling album is Helter Skelter, which reached number 75 on the UK Albums Chart.
Bow Wow was formed in 1975 by Yoshimi Ueno, an inexperienced music producer who recruited vocalist and guitarist Mitsuhiro Saito and drummer Toshihiro Niimi, whom he had managed before. Guitarist Kyoji Yamamoto and bassist Kenji Sano were scouted from Yamaha Music School and Bow Wow was officially formed. They soon signed to Victor and released their self-titled debut a year later. In 1977 they opened for Aerosmith and Kiss on their Japanese tours and released two more albums. Their next few records were criticized by critics and fans as being musically all over the place, veering from their hard rock roots, and suffering from poor production values.
However seeing talent in the band, production would soon be overseen by Touru Yazawa who had produced Alice, a renowned folk rock group in Japan. Their first release with the new producer was the album Hard Dog in 1981, which set the pace for the band's future as a respectable hard rock act. In 1982 Bow Wow performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and later the Reading Festival in England. They also released Warning from Stardust, which Daisuke Kawasaki, writing for Rolling Stone Japan, rated No. 23 on a 2007 list of the "100 Greatest Japanese Rock Albums of All Time". The following year they toured with Hanoi Rocks across the UK and performed their final concert at Nakano Sun Plaza. Guitarist Mitsuhiro Saito left in November 1983 to join ARB.
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