Tokyo Yankees
| Tokyo Yankees | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Tokyo, Japan |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Labels |
|
| Associated acts |
|
| Website | Official website |
| Members | Nori Yoshi U.D.A. |
| Past members | Ume Ami Tohda Hiyori |
Tokyo Yankees (stylized as TOKYO YANKEES and previously as 東京YANKEES) is a Japanese metal band that formed in 1988 Tokyo. Vocalist Soichiro "Ume" Umemura died in 2007 after nearly twenty years fronting the band. Tokyo Yankees however continue to perform with the other members sharing vocals.
Tokyo Yankees formed in 1988 and began playing shows in the local club scene the following year. Umemura and Nori were previously in the heavy metal band Guerilla, while U.D.A. and Ami were in the speed/thrash metal band Rommel. Rockin 'f, a Japanese heavy metal publication, issued their first single, "Joker", with an issue of their magazine in 1990. That same year their song "Rat Race" was issued on an omnibus album titled The End of the Century Rockers Emergency Express II. The band eventually signed with Extasy Records, who released their debut album, Do The Dirty, in 1991. That year they participated in Extasy Records' Extasy Summit '91 at the Nippon Budokan to a crowd of 14,000.
The band released another record, Overdoing, on Extasy in 1992. The band's popularity peaked at that point, gaining them a contract with major label Nippon Columbia, where they released two albums; 1993's Ghost Rider and 1994's Vacate Your Useless Brain. The band's popularity declined afterwards, and they returned to the indies scene in 1995.
Ami and U.D.A left after the band returned to the indies scene. Yoshinuma (ex. Grimm the Capsule) replaced Ami in 1996, while the band went through a rotation of drummers until U.D.A returned in 2000. After Tokyo Yankees, Ami went on to form Charisma, who released three albums between 1997 and 2000.
A Tokyo Yankees compilation LP was issued from Nippon Columbia in 1996. The band continued to perform in the local club circuits, and participated in V/A releases. After U.D.A returned in 2000, the band released Pre-Emptive Strike in 2003. A year later they issued 777, their second EP. It features covers of influential bands (The Damned, Black Sabbath, Venom, and Anthrax) and well as re-recordings of two classic Yankees tracks; "Dirty Dog" and "Devil".
Vocalist Soichiro "Ume" Umemura died on December 11, 2007. The band decided to continued on, with Yoshi and Nori taking over vocal duties. One of the band's first shows following Ume's death was the "hide memorial summit" in May 2008, where they performed with Extasy Records alumni X Japan and Luna Sea.
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