The Vapors

The Vapors
The Vapors, 1980. Left to right: Edward Bazalgette, David Fenton, Steve Smith, Howard Smith
Background information
Origin	Guildford, Surrey, England
Genres	New wave,power pop
Years active	1978–1982, 2016–present
Labels	United Artists, Liberty
Members	David Fenton Edward Bazalgette Steve Smith Michael Bowes
Past members	Howard Smith Bob Heard

The Vapors are an English new wave and power pop band that initially existed between 1978 and 1982. They had a top ten hit with the song "Turning Japanese" in 1980, which reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart, and No. 36 in the US Billboard Hot 100.

Based in Guildford, Surrey, an early version of the band was playing the Three Lions pub in Farncombe when The Jam's bassist Bruce Foxton spotted them. The familiar line-up of David Fenton (songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist), Howard Smith (drummer), Edward Bazalgette (lead guitarist) and Steve Smith (bass guitarist and vocals) took shape before Foxton offered the band a few gigs and agreed to jointly manage them with John Weller (father of Paul Weller). The Vapors were then offered a prestigious slot supporting The Jam on the Setting Sons tour in 1979.

The band signed to United Artists, releasing their first single, "Prisoners" at the end of 1979; but it failed to chart. Their second single is the song for which the group is best remembered. "Turning Japanese", was produced by The Jam's producer Vic Coppersmith-Heaven. It reached the top three in the UK at the same time that "Going Underground" was at number one. It was also a top ten hit in Canada and New Zealand and reached the top of the charts in Australia. It scraped into the top 40 in the US, something The Jam never managed to achieve.

"Turning Japanese" was believed to euphemistically refer to masturbation, although Fenton (the song's author) denied that claim in an interview on VH1. He did, however, say he wished to thank whoever first came up with that interpretation, as he felt that the salacious rumour about what the song "really" meant may have been what made it a hit.