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Blankey Jet City was a Japanese rock trio from Aichi Prefecture, active from 1987 to 2000.[1] It consisted of Kenichi Asai on vocals and guitar, Toshiyuki Terui on bass, and Tatsuya Nakamura on drums.
Blankey Jet City was formed in 1987, in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Their career then officially started in 1990, when they appeared on a popular TBS television show for amateur bands that August. Their performances attracted the attention of the major record labels, and the band then decided to sign a record contract with Toshiba EMI, who sent the band to London to record their first album. Released in 1991, their memorable debut album "Red Guitar And The Truth" focused on topics such as juvenile delinquency, broken families, and the pain experienced by neglected children. Fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto, used the album to promote his 1991 Paris collection.
The band embarked on their first nationwide tour and released their second album "Bang!" in 1992, which received numerous album of the year awards by music publications. Blankey Jet City gained a reputation for shows that highlighted their raw, emotional sound, and the label duly brought out a live album in the same year.
The next two years set the pace for the bands prodigious output. Releasing their third album "C.B. Jim" in 1993, they again received acclaim from critics, when each song on the album was about the same fictitious person. Enjoying success, they released their fourth album "Metal Moon" during the same year, and quickly followed in 1994 with the release of their fifth album, which was more Jazz orientated than previous titles. Deciding the next step was to compile a selection of singles and re-recordings, they released a compilation titled "The Six" in 1995, and followed up with the album "Skunk" eight months later.
Taking a break from Blankey Jet City, Asai started his own indie label "Sexy Stone Records" in 1996, and formed the dream pop band "Sherbets" at the same time. Meanwhile, Nakamura started his own band "Losalios" with members from Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. After extended disagreements with Toshiba EMI, Blankey Jet City left the label and signed with Polydor to release their new surf-rock sounding album "Love Flash Fever" in 1997.
In 1998, another compilation was released, along with their eighth album "Romeo's Heart" (ロメオの心臓). After four more hit singles, they released their final studio album "Harlem Jets" in May, 2000, followed by their swan-song "Saturday Night" within the next month. Their final live performance was at the Fuji Rock Festival on July 28, 2000, with the announcement that they wish to pursue indie careers.
