From the mid 70s through mid 80s, Yamaha held dozens of band battles, specializing in different musical styles and regions. They had 10 different major festivals (plus smaller minor ones), most of which ran annually, though a few festivals died out quickly. Additionally, Yamaha had enormous pop tournaments which began in the 60s and ran til who knows when, though that was sort of its own thing and a separate entity from these band-focused events, so I won’t be touching on those.
These particular historic festivals held some really neat significance in that they started the careers of a whole bunch of bands ranging from notable ones with cult-followings to full-blown superstars within their scenes, and of course, many Japanese metal acts competed over the years. I have to say, while creating this I’ve become a gigantic fan of Yamaha’s old music division for hosting so many of these festivals, as quite a few were directly responsible for helping launch the careers of dozens of important bands, a few of which I listen to on a regular basis. Other bands got a good career start due to record labels scouting these festivals, so even if a band didn’t win, you’ll notice quite a few other great names who got going that way.
I thought this would be a useful resource for one of the most unique parts of Japanese rock and metal history, to list off each festival by year with its participants, award winners, grand champions, as well as the big-name guests that Yamaha brought in as further entertainment for each festival. This has been an extremely long time in the making, translating band names and other info from old documents and dead websites and band or musician blogs, listing them all in one relatively easy to navigate place.
This list will be updated to show bands relevant to this site in more detail as I continue to buy and research more and more of the old festival compilations. I own 7 of the live albums, and there’s probably in the neighborhood of 30 out there. Also, as you’ll evidently see, Japanese band names were every bit as awkward, bizarre or hilarious back then as they are today.
A couple things to take note of before you might read this:
-Early on the festival featured largely blues, folk and southern/classic rock bands (with a few unique exceptions), though in later years several bands significant to our fanbase began to appear. I’ve highlighted the bands that relate specifically to our site’s theme, as well as other curiosities. I have also written any notable info that I could find on each festival, year by year, from the start until the end of the Yamaha band battles. Please also consider that Japanese is obviously not my first language, so if you happen to notice there’s screwy translations of certain kanji band names just let me know and I’ll correct them.
-Every champion got some sort of cash prize, which allowed many bands to start their career with an album, if they didn’t spend their winnings elsewhere. I tried to figure out exactly how much each primary champion won from these, and based on Yamaha’s prizes handed out at other non-rock competitions it seemed to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,000,000 yen. When these rock themed festivals started in 1974, the million yen prize would be about the equivalent of 18,000 USD today. In 1986 when these festivals ended, the million yen would be roughly an 11,000 USD prize today. Pretty lofty rewards regardless of the currency inflation over the years, really. I’m unsure what secondary champions won however. While obviously less than primary champions, it seemed to still be a nice prize.
-Directly underneath each collapsed festival’s title, I’ve listed the Japanese metal or rock highlights of that particular event in brackets. (♛) Represents a band or one of its members winning a significant prize.
-When reading through these I would suggest expanding whichever spoilered festival, then scrolling up and collapsing the segment again when you finish, so as not to lose your place on this list so easily, especially since some festivals are quite large. Additionally, the red lines separate segments, so that everything is a little easier to read/navigate.
-Lastly, if any links happen to die, let me know and I’ll repair them right away. I have basically everything that’s linked below saved somewhere in my backups so it wouldn’t be hard to fix. The vast majority of links should stay pretty stable though.
The following wasn’t intended to be a big project initially, but interest in one festival led to finding all the others which intertwined with each other and in turn grew into a multi-part wall of text.
1974
1st L-Motion
Festival: L-Motion
Date: August 1
Venue/festival location: Kyuden Memorial Gymnasium, Fukuoka
Special guest performer: None
Compilation album released: No
Tournament Day Competitors:
Sun House
Unspecified other bands
Historical significance notes: The first L-Motion festival. It became an annual event, with a budget that grew in later years.
8.8 Rock Day ’74
Festival: 8.8 Rock Day
Date: March 3 (tournament day), August 2 (festival day)
Venue/festival location: Biwako Valley, Otsu
Special guest performer (festival day): None
Compilation album released: Yes (8.8Rockday’74ライブレコード)
Tournament Day Competitors (13):
Electric Banana
Blues Library
Open Chuck
Delta People
Apple
Zoom
Bronx Blue
Love Affair
Watt
Kenichi Yamamoto and Abbey Road (山本憲一とアビーロード)
Strawberry Jam
Daruma Shokudo (だるま食堂)
West Road Blues Band
Tournament Champion(s):
Electric Banana
Open Chuck
Kenichi Yamamoto and Abbey Road (山本憲一とアビーロード)
Strawberry Jam
Festival Day Performers:
Masaki Ueda and South to South (上田正樹とSouth to South)
West Road Blues Band
Blues House Blues Band
Mama Ringo
Daruma Shokudo (だるま食堂)
Kenichi Yamamoto and Abbey Road (山本憲一とアビーロード)
*Unspecified other bands also performed the festival day
Historical significance notes:
Yamaha’s first big-ticket rock festival. Yamaha launched another the following year, becoming an annual event following the success of this one.
1975
2nd L-Motion
(Featuring guests: Sadistic Mika Band)
Festival: L-Motion
Date: August (unknown day)
Venue/festival location: Kyuden Memorial Gymnasium, Fukuoka
Special guest performer: Sadistic Mika Band
Compilation album released: No
Tournament Day Competitors:
Sun House
Big
Cinderella (Note* Not the all-female Japanese metal band.)
Candies
Unspecified other bands
Historical significance notes: Again, not much info out there on this 2nd L-Motion festival (not much for a couple more years either), though it can be assumed the festival’s budget increased by a decent amount, because the guest performer was none other than the legendary Sadistic Mika Band. Wow!
8.8 Rock Day ’75
(Featuring guests: Murasaki (紫), Datetenryu)
Festival: 8.8 Rock Day
Date: August 8 (tournament), August 9 (festival)
Venue/festival location: World Expo Memorial Park, Osaka
Special guest performer (festival day): Murasaki (紫), Datetenryu
Compilation album released: Yes (8.8Rockday’75ライブレコード)
Tournament Day Competitors (20):
LSD
Charisma
Watt
Mari Family Band
F.B.I. Band
Kutty Sark
Iron Defense (鉄守凡)
Laid Back Band
Delta People
Port Jubilee Band
Asura (阿修羅)
Sound Edge
Maruri Karasu (魔璃鴉)
Gekitotsu Momonga Part II (激突モモンガパートII)
Lady First
Idol・Wild・South
Zoom
Travellin’ Band (Note* This isn’t the Flower Travellin’ Band.)
Star King Delicious
Sanzunokawa (三途の川)
Tournament Champion(s):
Star King Delicious
Zoom
Gekitotsu Momonga Part II (激突モモンガパートII)
Additional Tournament Prizes:
Best vocalist: Ruriko Ogami from Star King Delicious
Best keyboardist: Charles Shimizu from Idol · Wild · South
Best guitarist: Yoshiaki Hiraki from Sound Edge
Best drummer: Yuji Tsuchiya from Sanzunokawa (三途の川)
Best bassist: Katsuya Kimura from Gekitotsu Momonga Part II (激突モモンガパートII)
Festival Day Performers:
Star King Delicious
Zoom
Gekitotsu Momonga Part II (激突モモンガパートII)
Blind Express
Strawberry Jam
Datetenryu
Mentanpin
Banana Kids
Junshi Yamagishi Group (山岸潤士グループ)
Murasaki (紫)
West Road Blues Band
Masaki Ueda and South to South (上田正樹とサウス・トゥ・サウス)
Historical significance notes: This was a massive gig for Japanese hard rock pioneers and special guests Murasaki, they were already one of Japan’s most famous rock bands in that era, but this performance on the stage of a former World Expo was probably the grandest of their career and a monumental achievement for musicians (in particular rock bands) from the tiny islands of Okinawa. Murasaki’s performance was such a big deal for Japanese rock at the time, that Yamaha dedicated an entire side of the two-vinyl live album for this festival to the band.
Here you can listen to each of the four songs that Murasaki had featured on 8.8 Rock Day ’75’s live album. Thinking of my friend Kevin’s interview with Minoru Niihara and then hearing them here, I can totally see why Niihara mentioned Murasaki as being one of the heaviest Japanese bands to come before Loudness. Being held in Osaka in 1975, Niihara and who knows what other Osaka rock musicians could easily have even been in the crowd watching this event. (Devil Woman | Do What You Want | Double Dealing Woman | Highway Star)
In addition to featured guest Murasaki, the early 70s prog band Datetenryu also performed on the festival day as a guest.
With the success of this event Yamaha launched another major band battle festival called EastWest, beginning the next year.
1976
1st One Way Contest
Festival: 1st One Way Contest
Date: Likely sometime in Spring, day unknown
Venue/festival location: Unknown, likely held in Kichijoji
Special guest performer: Unknown
Compilation album released: No
Tournament Competitors:
Unknown
Historical significance notes: The first One Way Contest. An extremely small event, I presume one of Yamaha’s many qualifier events within certain regions, this wasn’t a main Yamaha band battle. I only have actual info on one of these, and it doesn’t come until 1982. It’s safe to assume some of the bands you see at much larger events could have passed through a One Way Contest event at some point in their journey.
3rd L-Motion
Festival: L-Motion
Date: October 10
Venue/festival location: Nokonoshima Island Park
Special guest performer: Sooo Baad Revue, Sun House
Compilation album released: No
Tournament Day Competitors:
Pinocchio
Joy Train
Unspecified other bands
8.8 Rock Day ’76
Festival: 8.8 Rock Day
Date: August 7 (tournament), August 8 (festival)
Venue/festival location: World Expo Memorial Park, Osaka
Special guest performer (festival day): None
Compilation album released: Yes (8.8Rockday’76ライブレコード)
Tournament Day Competitors (21):
Southern Breed
Magic Staff
Funky Chicken Part II
Knott’s Berry Farm
Cold Lavish
Yanagimachi Haru Same Sho (柳町はるさめショー)
‘Merican Boots
Fats Bottles Blues Band
Panic Shoji (パニック商事)
Kobayashi Emi and Laid Back Band (小林エミとレイド・バック・バンド)
Syndicate Chapter
Alabama
The Fire Bird
Cocky Master
Mock Turtle Soup
Morning After Gumbo
Ginko Goto (銀行強盗)
Bourbon Street Band
Abreos Band
Ashura (阿修羅)
Sexy Dynamites
Tournament Champion(s):
Southern Breed
Cold Lavish
Fats Bottles Blues Band
Additional Tournament Prizes:
Best vocalist: Emi Kobayashi from Kobayashi Emi and Laid Back Band (小林エミとレイド・バック・バンド)
Best keyboardist: Satoru Watanabe from Cold Lavish
Best guitarist: Yoshiro Hagiwara from Cold Lavish
Best drummer: Koichi Motomura from Panic Shoji （パニック商事）
Best bassist: Kou Shimizu from Syndicate Chapter
Special prize: Magic Staff for their use of horns.
Festival Day Performers:
Masaki Ueda and South to South (上田正樹とSouth to South)
West Road
Sooo Baad Revue
Mentanpin
Sentimental City Romance
Blind Express
Star King Delicious
Zoom
Shichan Brothers
Yukadan (憂歌団)
Historical significance notes: This was a less interesting festival, Yamaha didn’t bring in a special guest this year, and I don’t believe any of the prize winners did a whole lot after the win.
EastWest ’76
(Featuring competitors: Blaze (Kaen), Casiopea)
(Featuring guests: Tin Pan Alley, Yumi Matsutoya, Taeko Ohnuki)
Festival: EastWest
Date: October 9 (tournament), November 6 (festival)
Venue/festival location: Shimbashi Yakult Hall, Tokyo
Special guest performers (festival day): Tin Pan Alley, Yumi Arai (AKA Yumi Matsutoya), Taeko Ohnuki
Compilation album released: No
Tournament Day Competitors (12):
The Royal
Dropping Pie
Ohanabatake (お花畑)
Asoca
Casiopea
Blaze (AKA Kaen)
With (Note* this isn’t related to the 90s hard rock band sharing the same name.)
KBR Modern Schacks
Duesenberg
Blues Band More
Stained Glass
Groovy
Try!
Tournament Grand Champion:
Asoca
Other Tournament Champions:
Groovy
The Royal
Additional Tournament Prizes:
Best vocalist: Hiroyuki Ejiri from Groovy, Tomiko Omoto from The Royal
Best keyboardist: Izumi Kobayashi from Asoca
Best guitarist: Issei Noro from Casiopea
Best drummer: Yuichi Tokashiki from Asoca
Best bassist: Morio Watanabe from Asoca
Special award (unspecified): Hiroyuki Ejiri from Groovy
Festival Day Performers:
Asoca
Groovy
The Royal
Southern Breed
Tin Pan Alley
Historical significance notes: EastWest’s debut was much better than the 8.8 Rock Day festival of this year, it marked the first major appearance for eventual Japanese jazz fusion legends Casiopea, and while they didn’t win the grand prize, guitarist Issei Noro took home the best guitarist award, a foreshadowing of the massive career he’d later have.
Another interesting feature at this festival was the Japanese heavy metal/hard rock band Blaze (the one that’s also known as Kaen), who joined this competition only 10 months after formation and at this event they performed two songs, “The Road” and “He is Only Rockin Roller”. Blaze also didn’t win, however all these years later they’re a pretty solid band. They’re one of Japan’s oldest metal bands.
Guests for the festival day included Happy End/Yellow Magic Orchestra related band Tin Pan Alley, as well as eventual city pop legends Yumi Matsutoya and Taeko Ohnuki.
1977
2nd One Way Contest
Festival: 2nd One Way Contest
Date: Likely sometime in Spring, day unknown
Venue/festival location: Unknown, likely held in Kichijoji
Special guest performer: Unknown
Compilation album released: No
Tournament Competitors:
Unknown
4th L-Motion
(Featuring guests: Creation (a.k.a. Blues Creation))
Festival: L-Motion
Date: October 9
Venue/festival location: Nokonoshima Island Park
Special guest performer: Kazuo Takeda & All Stars (竹田和夫＆オールスターズ), Kashin (花神), Masaki Ueda & Bakers Shop (上田正樹とベーカーズショップ), Creation (Blues Creation)
Compilation album released: No
Tournament Day Competitors (17):
Northern Lights
Brownshoe
Kera (啄木鳥)
Question
Lilac
Bank West
Mailwater
Humpty Dumpty
Jake
New Dobb
Nishiku Rhythm Section (西区リズムセクション )
Night Shift
Bad Stuff
Kokushimusou (国士無双)
Cinderella (Note* not the all-female Japanese metal band.)
Pandora’s Box
Shull More
Tournament Grand Champions:
Shull More
New Dobb
Other Tournament Champions:
Question
Jake
Additional Tournament Prizes:
“Special prize”: Kera (啄木鳥), Bad Stuff
Historical significance notes: Quite a bit more info on this fourth edition of L-Motion, nothing too notable as far as the competitors, however as a guest the festival brought in Blues Creation, which had to be a pretty fun time.
An interesting piece of info I found on this one which puts into perspective the size and spectacle of these Yamaha events was that there were 10 different days of qualification (between August 24 and September 25) where countless bands were eliminated leading up to this largest tournament, so I can assume all of the Yamaha tournaments were at the very least this big, since this was a minor tournament in comparison to, say, 8.8 Rock Day or EastWest.
8.8 Rock Day ’77
(Featuring guests: Murasaki (紫))
Festival: 8.8 Rock Day
Date: August 7 (tournament), August 8 (festival)
Venue/festival location: Yamaha Resort Nemu no Sato / Outdoor Hall, Hamajimacho Hazako
Special guest performer (festival day): Cold Lavish, Minotaur, Murasaki (紫)
Compilation album released: Yes (8.8Rockday’77ライブレコード)
Tournament Day Competitors (14):
Magic Staff
Bullet
Round House
Kokushimuso (国士無双)
Black List (Note* not the short-lived 80s metal band.)
Tutenkhamen
Funky Chicken Part II
Yanagimachi Haru Same Sho (柳町はるさめショー)
Southern Cross
Kinta Band (金太バンド)
Kulu Se Mama
Brad Shot
Twist
Hanashin (花伸)
Tournament Grand Champion:
Hanashin (花伸)
Other Tournament Champions:
Funky Chicken Part II
Kokushimuso (国士無双)
Additional Tournament Prizes:
Best vocalist: Misao Miyai from Hanashin (花伸)
Best keyboardist: Satoshi Hirai from Brad Shot
Best guitarist: Hideo Onishi from Kokushimuso (国士無双)
Best rhythm guitarist: Kaoru Nakao from Kokushimuso (国士無双)
Best drummer: Yuji Onoda from Hanashin (花伸)
Best bassist: Koji Minozumi from Hanashin (花伸)
Special award (unspecified): Kinta Band (金太バンド)
Kanto award: Yanagimachi Haru Same Sho (柳町はるさめショー)
Festival Day Performers:
Cold Lavish
Minotaur
Ogami Tome Nashigo + Baker Shop (大上留梨子+ベーカーショップ)
Sentimental City Romance
Nyudo + Shinji Shiotsugu Group (入道+塩次伸二グループ)
Breakdown
Murasaki (紫)
Mentanpin
Yukadan (憂歌団)
Chari + Kenji Omura Group (チャーリー+大村憲司グループ)
Hanashin (花伸)
Unspecified other bands
Historical significance notes: Nothing too special on the competitors front, but Yamaha brought in Murasaki as a guest again for what I’m sure was another great show for the fans.
EastWest ’77
(Featuring competitors: Casiopea ♛, Southern All Stars)
(Featuring guests: Haruomi Hosono)
Festival: EastWest
Date: August 27 (tournament), August 28 (festival)
Venue/festival location: Nakano Sun Plaza Hall, Tokyo
Special guest performer (tournament day): Minotaur
Compilation album released: Yes (EastWest’77ライブレコード)
Tournament Day Competitors (20):
Chanels
Zoom
Deuce
Yokosuka Central Station (横須賀セントラルステーション)
Jibo & Dian
With (Note* Not the hard rock band that morphed into Roxcy, they were from the 90s.)
Hard Maple
T.H.M
Albatross Jr.
Chains
Yasuo Inada & Super Dream Bemi Family (稲田保雄とSuper Dream Bemi Family)
Bast
Tanuki Brothers
Southern All Stars
Riverside
Full Moon
Supernova
Blowin’ Free
Casiopea
Thunder Chief
Tournament Grand Champion:
Tanuki Brothers
Other Tournament Champions:
Casiopea
Riverside
Additional Tournament Prizes:
Best vocalist: Jibo from Jibo & Dian, Keisuke Kuwata from Southern All Stars
Best keyboardist: Yasuo Inada from Yasuo Inada & Super Dream Bemi Family (稲田保雄とSuper Dream Bemi Family)
Best guitarist: Issei Noro from Casiopea
Best drummer: Yumi Maruyama from Blowin’ Free
Best bassist: Hiroki Fujimoto from Tanuki Brothers
Special award (unspecified): Thunder Chief, Southern All Stars, Bast, Chanels
Festival Day Performers:
Asoca
Haruomi Hosono
Kubota Makoto and Sunset Orchestra
Sadisticus
Kiyoshi Hayami and Coast (速水清司とコースト)
Kaneko Mari and Bucks Bunny (金子マリとバックスバニー)
Panta
Junko Yamagishi (山岸潤史)
Tanuki Brothers
Flying Again
Hanashin (花伸)
Historical significance notes: For a second straight year, this festival was better than 8.8 Rock Day. Returning from EastWest ’76 was an improved Casiopea who ended up taking home a prize as one of the festival’s best bands. They broke out and became a huge success very quickly after this festival.
He also won EastWest’s guitarist prize again here in 1977, making him the only two time best guitarist at a Yamaha rock tournament.
Also featured here was the then unknown Southern All Stars. They didn’t take home one of the top 3 prizes, but vocalist Keisuke Kuwata won best vocalist honors for the tournament, and the band went major and exploded in success only a year after this, going on to become one of the most successful bands in the history of Asia.
Featured as a special guest was Haruomi Hosono, formerly of the legendary folk rock band Happy End. He would start Yellow Magic Orchestra the very next year. This tournament and festival did so well Yamaha launched another 3 events for 1978, including W² (Wind&Wave), MidLand, and Stage Flight.
1978
3rd One Way Contest
Festival: 3rd One Way Contest
Date: Likely sometime in Spring, day unknown
Venue/festival location: Unknown, likely held in Kichijoji
Special guest performer: Unknown
Compilation album released: No
Tournament Competitors:
Unknown
W² (Wind & Wave) ’78
(Featuring competitors: Bi Kyo Ran (美狂乱) ♛)
Festival: W² (Wind&Wave)
Date: July 23 (tournament)
Venue/festival location: Tsumagoi Resort Sainosato (Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall)
Special guest performer: None
Compilation album released: Yes (Wind&Wave つま恋決勝大会ライブ)
Tournament Day Competitors (15):
Fantasy Country
Emeraldas
Shake & Jive
Ocean
Kashmir
Spiral
Sea Urchin
Trip Out
Ranman Dragon (乱鬼龍)
Aid Band
Satendor
Chucks
Bi Kyo Ran (美狂乱)
Flying Octopus
T Bone Frontier Joke Band
Tournament Grand Champion:
Flying Octopus
Other Tournament Champions:
Bi Kyo Ran (美狂乱)
Fantasy Country
Trip Out
Additional Tournament Prizes:
Best vocalist: Chifumi Fujita & Emiko Arai from Fantasy Country
Best keyboardist: Takayuki Hirano from Flying Octopus
Best guitarist: Kunio Suma from Bi Kyo Ran（美狂乱）, Suzuki Toru from Kashmir
Best drummer: Masayoshi Imaizumi from Flying Octopus
Best bassist: Tomio Iwase from Flying Octopus
Historical significance notes: One of the festival’s champions was the later famous prog rockers Bi Kyo Ran who released several albums between the late 70s through present-day, beginning immediately after their prize win here. Guitarist Kunio Suma took this tournament’s prize as the best guitarist competing. The band played a single song to knock the judge panel’s socks off, playing “Warning” in full. The band and their song was featured on this festival’s live album, so hopefully I’ll hunt a copy of it down sometime and I’ll certainly let you hear their performance. I imagine it must have been utterly incredible.
Also, I don’t know who these Flying Octopus guys were, but they must have been pretty good to take home the grand champion prize plus 3/5 individual instrumental awards, even with the supremely talented Bi Kyo Ran to compete with.
5th L-Motion
(Featuring competitors: The Mods ♛)
Festival: L-Motion
Date: July 28, 29, 30
Venue/festival location: Nokonoshima Island Park
Special guest performer: Downtown Boogie Woogie Band and other unspecified guests
Compilation album released: No
Tournament Day Competitors:
The Mods
Flying Birds
Unspecified other bands
Tournament Grand Champions:
The Mods
Flying Birds
Other Tournament Champions:
Unknown
Additional Tournament Prizes:
Unknown
Historical significance notes:Though there’s little known about this festival again for some reason, one note of significance is that one of the tournament’s two primary champions was future Japanese punk legends The Mods. Their L-Motion win came a full 3 years before their debut release.
This tournament was strangely held over a period of 3 days, the first being a local Kyushu band tournament, the second day was basically the festival day that the bigger tournaments had, where the guests performed and all, and then the third day was the main tournament which The Mods won.
MidLand ’78
(Featuring competitors: Nokemono (野獣) ♛)
Festival: MidLand
Date: August 6 (tournament)
Venue/festival location: Nagoya Civic Assembly Hall
Special guest performer: None
Compilation album released: No
Tournament Day Competitors (15):
Grass Hop
Stormy Monday
James
Kyofu no Zen (恐怖の禅)
Meruhen Do
Messiah
Michelle
Pegasasu Shōchikubai (ペガサス松竹梅)
Galapagos
Tyranno Saurus
Sold Out
Saint
Rockin’ Boys
Kid
Nokemono (野獣)
Tournament Grand Champion:
Nokemono (野獣)
Other Tournament Champions:
Sold Out
Pit
Historical significance notes: One of Yamaha’s 3 new tournament additions, MidLand also had a bit of a smaller budget, cutting out a festival day as well as individual instrumentalist prizes, however this festival held some major significance to early Japanese metal.
The tournament’s champion band was Nokemono. In addition to their prize, they were given the opportunity to go on tour across Japan with none other than Judas Priest in 1978. Nokemono were also invited to return as a guest performer for the EastWest ’78 festival day later this year. The prize win allowed them to release one of the first Japanese metal albums ever in 1979, titled “From the Black World“.
8.8 Rock Day ’78
(Featuring competitors: Naniwa Express, Noise ft. Kouzou Suganuma)
Festival: 8.8 Rock Day
Date: August 6 (tournament)
Venue/festival location: World Expo Memorial Park, Osaka
Special guest performer: Hanashin (花伸), Yukadan (憂歌団), Fop Pish Band, Stella, JunkeyJoe
Compilation album released: Yes (8.8Rockday’78ライブレコード)
Tournament Day Competitors (10):
Southern Cross
Noise (Note* Not the pre-X Japan band. This one interestingly features Kouzou Suganuma on drums)
Parental Guidance
Masuro Musou & Otis Blue R&B.B (女郎桝＆オーティスブルーR&B.B)
Naniwa Express (浪花エクスプレス)
Shisei Michi (死生道)
Sweet PaPa John
Tutankhamun
Congratulation
Round House
Tournament Grand Champion:
Southern Cross
Other Tournament Champions:
Noise
Parental Guidance
Additional Tournament Prizes:
Best vocalist: Kenichi Masuya from Masuro Musou & Otis Blue R&B.B (女郎桝＆オーティスブルーR&B.B)
Best keyboardist: Kenji Nakamura from Naniwa Express (浪花エクスプレス)
Best guitarist: Kazuhiko Iwami from Naniwa Express (浪花エクスプレス)
Best drummer: Kozo Suganuma from Noise
Best bassist: Masanobu Taniguchi from Masuro Musou & Otis Blue R&B.B (女郎桝＆オーティスブルーR&B.B)
Effort award: Shisei Michi (死生道)
“Fighting Prize”: Masuro Musou & Otis Blue R&B.B (女郎桝＆オーティスブルーR&B.B
Historical significance notes: Not a lot of notables in this one, however it did see the first appearance of Japanese jazz-fusion standard Naniwa Express, who released five albums between 1978 and 1986, with three additional albums during reunions in the years since. The band obviously fared quite well too, winning two individual member performance prizes. For your listening, just one example from their classic debut would be “Field Athletor“. The band wouldn’t actually break out this early though, and continued to compete at these events for a few more years until their aforementioned 1982 debut.
Another interesting sneaky little feature here is drummer Kozo Suganuma with Noise, who would eventually become quite the hot commodity as a career-long freelance/session guy in the rock, metal and jazz worlds. He won the tournament prize for best drummer, no shocker there.
EastWest ’78
(Featuring competitors: Kaori)
(Featuring guests: Casiopea, Southern All Stars, Nokemono (野獣))
Festival: EastWest
Date: August 27 (tournament)
Venue/festival location: Nakano Sun Plaza Hall, Tokyo
Special guest performer: Casiopea + Jibo, Southern All Stars, Nokemono (野獣), Southern Cross
Compilation album released: Yes (EastWest’78ライブレコード)
Tournament Day Competitors (16):
Wshakoda
Tokorozawa Comfort Station
Rolly Pop
Countach
Full Count
Kaori (香り)
Groovy
Kanpari
Ten Saw
Tetsu Jomon (鉄城門)
Love Stock
Yume Shokunin (夢職人)
Naoko Hashimoto & Her Band (橋本奈央子＆Her Band)
Zero
Scandal (Note* Definitely not the ladies’ rock band.)
Chanels
Tournament Grand Champion:
Wshakoda
Other Tournament Champions:
Yume Shokunin (夢職人)
Chanels
Additional Tournament Prizes:
Best vocalist: Koichi Fujii from Wshakoda, Sawada Kumiko from Tokorozawa Comfort Station
Best keyboardist: Koichiro Wakayama from Wshakoda
Best guitarist: Matsushita Toshifumi from Rolly Pop
Best drummer: Moro Yoshitaka from Countach
Best bassist: Efuku Koji from Wshakoda
Best horn section: Satō Susumu, Koike Osamu from Love Stock
Special award (unspecified): Ten Saw, Zero
Effort award: Tetsu Jomon (鉄城門)
Historical significance notes: Not much of note for this one for competitors, though Countach were pretty darn cool. You could give me 10 guesses as to what musical style a band named after a Lamborghini would play, and surf rock certainly wouldn’t be one, yet that’s exactly what Countach were. Among other things, they played a wicked cover of Japanese guitar icon Takeshi Terauchi‘s classic “Tsugaru Jongara Bushi“, which was featured on the festival live album. The band’s drummer won the tournament’s drum prize, and pretty deservingly so. The band Kaori played some pretty fun late 70s rock too, and also made it onto the live album with the song “Going Down“.
Casiopea and Southern All Stars returned as special guests. Both Casiopea and Southern All Stars were starting to gain a bunch of popularity by this point.
Also featured as a special guest was MidLand ’78’s winner Nokemono. Playing a full set as most of the guests did, Nokemono were given the largest feature with three songs on EastWest ’78’s live album, with their classic “Run Away“, in addition to two other songs, “Down to Hell” and “聖への旅路“, the latter of which would be reworked into “閉ざされた街” for their album. Down to Hell would never be officially released by the band, interestingly, despite being really, really good.
Stage Flight ’78
(Featuring competitors: Noise ft. Kouzou Suganuma)
Festival: Stage Flight
Date: September 10 (tournament)
Venue/festival location: Sapporo Kyosai Hall
Special guest performer: Yoshitaka Minami
Compilation album released: No
Tournament Day Competitors (19):
Rainy
Because
Zero
X-Offender
Hideko-chan & Chiaki-chan
Omen
Overnight Sensation
Hijikata-gumi & Sexy Yuka Band (土方組＆セクシーユカバンド)
Noise (Note* Not the pre-X Japan band. This one interestingly features Kouzou Suganuma on drums)
Ocean
Hippopotamus
Yoneyama (ヨネヤマ)
Burning Sky
Anzen Chitai (安全地帯)
Wind-Spin
Lucy
Syrinx
Final Station
Jugemu (じゅげむ)
Tournament Grand Champion:
Anzen Chitai (安全地帯)
Other Tournament Champions:
Jugemu
Burning Sky
Additional Tournament Prizes:
Best vocalist: Because
Best keyboardist: Overnight Sensation
Best guitarist: Ocean
Best drummer: Anzen Chitai (安全地帯)
Best bassist: Anzen Chitai (安全地帯)
“Best Original Award”: Hideko-chan & Chiaki-chan
Judges special award (unspecified): Hippopotamus
Yamaha Association award: Hijikata-gumi & Sexy Yuka Band (土方組＆セクシーユカバンド)
1979
4th One Way Contest
Festival: 4th One Way Contest
Date: Likely sometime in Spring, day unknown
Venue/festival location: Unknown, likely held in Kichijoji
Special guest performer: Unknown
Compilation album released: No
Tournament Competitors:
Unknown
W² (Wind & Wave) ’79
(Featuring guests: Nokemono (野獣), Creation (Blues Creation))
Festival: W² (Wind&Wave)
Date: July 22 (tournament)
Venue/festival location: Tsumagoi Resort Sainosato (Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall)
Special guest performer: Creation (Blues Creation), Nokemono (野獣), Flying Octopus
Compilation album released: No
Tournament Day Competitors (12):
Sydney
Ghost Town Parade
Solid Slider
Backboard Student
Ocean & Valentine
Olive’s Step
Maron’s Band
Salt
Bow
Pip Eleki Band
Survival
Galapagos
Tournament Grand Champion: Unknown
Historical significance notes: This one didn’t really spawn stars either, but the guest performances alone would have been awesome to see, as not only were Nokemono invited back, but Blues Creation made their second appearance at a Yamaha festival.
Info on this tournament is scarce for the next couple years.
Stage Flight ’79
(Featuring competitors: Vanishing Point)
Festival: Stage Flight
Date: July 28 (tournament)
Venue/festival location: Sapporo Nakajima Outdoor Music Stage
Special guest performer: Morizono Katsutoshi Group (森園勝敏グループ), Hīrō & Satō Mitsuru (ヒーロー＆佐藤ミツル), Sky Dog, Super Guitar Session in Sapporo
Compilation album released: No
Tournament Day Competitors (8):
Vanishing Point
List
Good News
Matenrou (摩天楼)
Bath
Ladder
Super Pink Cobra
Second Helping
Tournament Grand Champion:
Second Helping
Historical significance notes: The first Stage Flight, held way north in Sapporo, this was a smaller festival, at least initially, featuring only 8 bands (after qualifiers) with only a grand champion prize awarded, no individual instrumental awards.
Interestingly, heavy metal/hard rock act Vanishing Point who went on to have a decently long career took part in this one, though they didn’t win.
WestWave ’79
Festival: WestWave
Date: Unknown, likely July or August
Venue/festival location: Unknown
Special guest performer: Unknown
Compilation album released: No
Tournament Day Competitors: Unknown
Tournament Grand Champion: Unknown
Historical significance notes: The first of Yamaha’s WestWave festivals, unfortunately there’s bizarrely little info online about it and its competitors. I can only assume it had a pretty low budget. Things would improve for the next edition.
Interestingly, there’s quite a bit of footage of this festival online, in the form of this archival video, still no word on who the bands actually were though lol:
RockFusion ’79
Festival: RockFusion
Date: Unknown (likely July or early August)
Venue/festival location: Unknown
Special guest performer: Unknown
Compilation album released: No
Tournament Day Competitors:
Field Worker
Unknown other bands
Historical significance notes: This was what I assume was the first RockFusion festival, as was the case with a few others of these festivals when they first began, there was little to no info on them. Likely very low on the Yamaha festival totem pole. The band Field Worker, who I assume was the winner of this festival, appeared at MidLand ’79 as a guest, so the festival must have been held sometime in July or early August, as MidLand was on August 5th this year.
8.8 Rock Day ’79
Festival: 8.8 Rock Day
Date: August 4
Venue/festival location: Takino Loan Stage
Special guest performer (festival day): Breakdown, Lazy Hip
Compilation album released: Yes (8.8Rockday’79ライブレコード)
Tournament Day Competitors (14):
Daregakabayanen Rock ‘n’ Roll Show (誰がカバやねんロックンロールショー)
Zeus
Lake Shore Drive
Jamaica
Carnival
Rakkī Machiyume (楽喜待夢)
Alexander
Sylvia
Section
Doujin Band
Takeo Miyake (三宅建夫)
Karasuma Shack (烏丸車庫)
Cabaret
Jin Jini
Tournament Grand Champion:
Daregakabayanen Rock ‘n’ Roll Show (誰がカバやねんロックンロールショー)
Zeus
Lake Shore Drive
Other Tournament Champions:
Jamaica
Carnival
Additional Tournament Prizes:
Best vocalist: Yūji Esukawa from Cabaret, Setsuko Shiojiri from Karasuma Shack (烏丸車庫)
Best keyboardist: Minoru Hattori from Carnival
Best guitarist: Kazutaka Iwahara from Section, Takeo Miyake from Doujin Band
Best drummer: Tetsuji Horio and Osamu Abe from Jamaica, Toshihiro Furue from Sylvia, Masako Hikawa from Lake Shore Drive
Best bassist: Mayumi Sakamoto from Karasuma Shack (烏丸車庫)
Historical significance notes: The band Zeus won a prize based partially on their performance of the Murasaki song Double Dealing Woman, in addition to whatever other song(s) they played.
Footage of the festival’s awards segment exists:
MidLand ’79
Festival: MidLand
Date: August 5
Venue/festival location: Nagoya Civic Assembly Hall
Special guest performer: Field Worker, Solid Soldier
Compilation album released: Yes (MidLand’79ライブレコード)
Tournament Day Competitors (17):
The Donpa
City Magic
Zōkei Club (造形倶楽部)
Eve
Doratama Queen (怒羅偶Queen)
Anzu (杏)
Saint
Kyōfu no Zen (恐怖の禅)
Mity
Itoshino Butcher (愛しのブッチャー)
Pegasus Shōchikubai (ペガサス松竹梅)
Lonesome City House
Mongol (蒙古(モンゴル))
Weight
Zett
Bad Junkie Blues Band
Filty
Tournament Grand Champion:
Kyōfu no Zen (恐怖の禅)
Other Tournament Champions:
Itoshino Butcher (愛しのブッチャー)
Pegasus Shōchikubai (ペガサス松竹梅)
Weight
Additional Tournament Prizes:
Best vocalist: Miyako Horie from The Donpa
Best keyboardist: Masakazu Takeuchi from Pegasus Shōchikubai (ペガサス松竹梅)
Best guitarist: Kazunori Matsushita from Doratama Queen (怒羅偶Queen)
Best fiddler: Hiroki Tanaka from Pegasus Shōchikubai (ペガサス松竹梅)
Best bassist: Shinka from Weight, Toshio Horiba from Itoshino Butcher (愛しのブッチャー)
“Best combination award”: Hiroko Hirai and Akiyo Hayakawa from Eve
Special award (unspecified): Eve, Anzu (杏)
6th L-Motion
(Featuring guests: Prism, Creation (Blues Creation), Sheena & the Rokkets)
Festival: L-Motion
Date: August 7 (tournament), August 8 (festival)
Venue/festival location: Fukuoka Sports Center
Special guest performer (tournament day): Prism
Special guest performer (festival day): Sheena & the Rokkets, Shotgun, Sentimental City Romance, Kenji Omura Group, Junshi Yamagishi Group, Creation (Blues Creation), Takechiyo Dadyi & Tokyo Otoboke Cats
Compilation album released: Yes (6th L-Motionライブレコード)
Tournament Day Competitors (34):
New Dobb
Nuts
Roadster
White Flash
Band of Gypsy
Modern Dolls
Panko House Band
Abe Maria & Goods (安部マリア&グッズ)
Ningen Club (人間クラブ)
Lost
Lilac
Dream
Zill
Scantie
Groovy
Make
Jeffrey
Cheese Bit
Frisky
Sergeant Pepper Lonely Heart Club Band
Charge
Mustang
Scotch
Situation
Banana Shake
Salty Dog
Almighty Blues Band
Kaja
Kokushimusō (国士無双)
Captain Harlock
Ito Ippei & Sexy
Scandal
Rockers
Ziggy (Note* Not the famous glam rock band.)
Tournament Grand Champion:
Unspecified
Other Tournament Champions:
Captain Herlock
Rockers
Kokushimusō (国士無双)
Ningen Club (人間クラブ)
Kaja
Ziggy
Almighty Blues Band
Additional Tournament Prizes:
Best vocalist: Mari Abe from Abe Maria & Goods
Best keyboardist: Kaja Teruhei Yamasaki from Salty Dog
Best guitarist: Kaoru Nakao from Kokushimusō (国士無双)
Best bassist: Tatsuro Miyazaki from Captain Herlock, Yoshimasa Ito from
“Japan Columbia prize”: Ziggy
Judges’ special award: Frisky
“Television West Japan prize”: Frisky
“Hitachi Rodi award”: Abe Maria & Goods
Festival Day Performers:
Sheena & the Rokkets
Shotgun
Sentimental City Romance
Kenji Omura Group
Junshi Yamagishi Group
Creation (Blues Creation)
Takechiyo Dadyi & Tokyo Otoboke Cats
Unspecified other bands
Historical significance notes: Featured as a special guest on the tournament day was the up-and-coming jazz fusion band Prism. The festival day notably featured Sheena & the Rokkets and yet another Blues Creation appearance.
EastWest ’79
(Featuring competitors: Kodomo Band (子供ばんど) ♛)
(Featuring guests: Casiopea, Southern All Stars)
Festival: EastWest
Date: July (unknown day) (youth tournament), July 28 (ladies’ tournament), August 25 (senior tournament), August 26 (festival day)
Venue/festival location: Nichifutsu-Kaikan, Shinjuku, Tokyo (youth and ladies’ tournaments), Nakano Sun Plaza Hall (senior tournament and festival)
Special guest performer (youth tournament day): Zero
Special guest performer (ladies’ tournament day): Blowin’ Free
Special guest performer (senior tournament day): Carnival, Beatrice, Lady Killer
Special guest performer (festival day): Lake Shore Drive, kyōfu no Zen (恐怖の禅), Rockers, Second Helping
Tournament sponsors: Japan Airlines, Shiseido, Shinko Music Entertainment, Levi’s, Rockin’f Magazine (ロッキンｆ), Ongakusenkasha, Keyboard Magazine, City Road, 16 Magazine, Victor, Nippon Columbia, Warner Pioneer, Alpha Records, EPIC Sony, Canyon Records, SMS Records, Nihon Phonogram (Philips Records)
Compilation album released: Yes (EastWest’79ライブレコード)
Youth Tournament Day Competitors (17):
Happy Jack
Kegare (穢)
Murayama Band (村山Band)
Maetel
Kikuei (菊永)
Shōko & Swan (翔子 & Swan)
LFD
Moomins
Kanpei & Rikuko
Crystal
Sailing
Cray Fish
Carnival
Liar (Note* Not Morrie of Dead End’s Liar, they formed in 1982.)
Madhouse
Amatsu (天津)
Ranputei (洋燈亭)
Ladies’ Tournament Day Competitors (17):
Violet Fizz
SMS
Viginal Queen
Shooting Star
Panther
Murishinjū (無理心中)
LaLa Band
Pink Panther
Beatrice
Muma (夢魔)
Sloe Gin
Jelly Jelly
Rucille
Mirage
Lady Killer (Note* Not the all-female metal band from the mid-80s.)
Milky
Asami Ryuko (朝美留香)
Senior Tournament Day Competitors (16):
Jugando
Onsendan (温泉団)
Azami
Death Penalty
Gypsy
Anarchy
The Midnight Brothers
Yakkinkin
Suganami Schools Family
Panama Limited
Hot Line
Gold Rush
Hot Family
Orange Tube
Kodomo Band (子供バンド)
The Nakazono
Tournament Grand Champions:
Carnival (Youth tournament)
Lady Killer, Beatrice (Ladies’ tournament)
Kodomo Band (子供バンド) (Senior tournament)
Other Tournament Champions:
Gypsy
Anarchy
Additional Tournament Prizes:
Best vocalist: Shigeru Nakano from Anarchy
Best keyboardist: Mariko Ikeda and Yuji Kawashima from Suganami Schools Family
Best guitarist: Tsuyoshi Ujiki, Kōichi Tanihira from Kodomo Band (子供バンド)
Best percussion: Kuroyoshi from Jugando
Best drummer: Harako from Yakkinkin
Best bassist: Tsuneo Watanabe from Gypsy
“Effort award”: The Midnight Brothers
“Fighting award”: Panama Limited
Special award (unspecified): Jugando, Yakkinkin, Death Penalty
Festival Day Performers:
Lake Shore Drive
Kyofu no Zen (恐怖の禅)
Rockers
Second Helping
Kanpei & Ritsuko
Wshakoda
Casiopea
Southern All Stars
Historical significance notes: It had been a gradual rise, but from this point forward and for the next couple years, EastWest took the reigns as Yamaha’s flagship tournament/festival combo with all other national tournaments basically feeding talent to EastWest for its own gigantic tournament. The 1979 EastWest tournament, held over 3 different days was a mega band-battle with a whopping 50 competitors, each of whom had passed initial qualifications. Guest bands brought the total to nearly 60 bands.
To become a grander spectacle, Yamaha were able to bring on a bunch of other sponsors in addition to their own funding.
As for competitors, one of the winning bands was Kodomo Band, who became pretty successful.
Additionally, Yamaha thought they’d go overkill on the guests front and brought in newly minted star bands Casiopea and Southern All Stars as guests, bands whose careers also spawned from Yamaha festivals only a couple years earlier.
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