Happy End (band)

Happy End はっぴいえんど
Happy End in September 1971. From left to right: Ohtaki, Hosono, Suzuki and Matsumoto
Background information
Also known as	Blue Valentine
Origin	Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
Genres	Folk rock, psychedelic rock
Years active	1969–1972 1973 and 1985 (reunion shows)
Labels	URC, Bellwood/King
Associated acts	Tin Pan Alley, Nobuyasu Okabayashi, Apryl Fool
Past members	Haruomi Hosono Eiichi Ohtaki Shigeru Suzuki Takashi Matsumoto

Happy End (Japanese: はっぴいえんど, Hepburn: Happī Endo^?) was a Japanese folk rock band, which existed from 1969 to 1972. Composed of Haruomi Hosono, Takashi Matsumoto, Eiichi Ohtaki and Shigeru Suzuki, the band's pioneering avant-garde sound is highly revered and they are considered to be among the most influential artists in Japanese music. Credited as the first rock act to sing in the Japanese-language, their impact has led to them being referred to as the "Japanese Beatles."MTV described Happy End's music as "rock with psych smudges around the edges."

In October 1969, Haruomi Hosono and Takashi Matsumoto formed a group named Blue Valentine (ヴァレンタイン・ブルー) right after their previous psychedelic rock band Apryl Fool disbanded. In March 1970, Hosono, Matsumoto and Shigeru Suzuki contributed to Kenji Endo's album Niyago. The group also changed their name to Happy End and were the backing band for Nobuyasu Okabayashi, performing on his album Miru Mae ni Tobe (見るまえに跳べ). The band began recording their own album in April 1970.

Their self-titled debut album (written in Japanese as はっぴいえんど) was released in August on the experimental record label URC (Underground Record Club). This album marked an important turning point in Japanese music history, as it sparked what would be known as the "Japanese-language Rock Controversy" (, Nihongo Rokku Ronsō). There were highly publicized debates held between prominent figures in the rock industry, most notably the members of Happy End and Yuya Uchida, regarding whether Japanese rock music sung entirely in Japanese was sustainable (previously, almost all popular rock music in Japan was sung in English). The success of Happy End's debut album and their second, Kazemachi Roman released a year later, proved the sustainability of Japanese-language rock in Japan.