Vodka Collins | Profile

Vodka Collins was a meteoric glam band that existed from 1971 until 1973, when they split a part over management problems. The band was in fact a supergroup of sorts, consisting of Japan-raised pop star /singer/guitarist Alan Merrill, former The Tempters drummer Hiroshi Oguchi, former Four Leaves backing band guitarist Take Yokouchi (who in Vodka Collins played bass) and Spiders guitarist Hiroshi “Monsieur” Kamayatsu. All four members were known from their previous bands, Kamayatsu perhaps the best-known. The mischievous, fun-loving character from the hugely popular “group sounds” band The Spiders, was in fact, already a bonafide superstar when he joined the group. Merrill was the younger, more fashionable one, and made the band stand out, given that he wrote and sang songs in English. Merrill was the son of famed jazz singer Helen Merrill and Fatha Hines sax/clarinet player Aaron Sachs. Merrill literally grew up in the music business, and was playing in semi-pro rock bands in NYC at age 14. After his parents split up, Merrill moved to Japan with his mother who married a journalist stationed there. He was soon signed by the famed production company Watanabe Pro. Merrill did modeling for fashion magazines and TV acting, and in 1968 released his first solo album. The seed for Vodka Collins was planted when Kamayatsu was putting together a band for live solo shows he was to do. He drafted Merrill and Oguchi, as bassist and drummer, and hired on guitarist Masayoshi Takana... Read More

Vodka Collins was a meteoric glam band that existed from 1971 until 1973, when they split a part over management problems. The band was in fact a supergroup of sorts, consisting of Japan-raised pop star /singer/guitarist Alan Merrill, former The Tempters drummer Hiroshi Oguchi, former Four Leaves backing band guitarist Take Yokouchi (who in Vodka Collins played bass) and Spiders guitarist Hiroshi “Monsieur” Kamayatsu. All four members were known from their previous bands, Kamayatsu perhaps the best-known. The mischievous, fun-loving character from the hugely popular “group sounds” band The Spiders, was in fact, already a bonafide superstar when he joined the group. Merrill was the younger, more fashionable one, and made the band stand out, given that he wrote and sang songs in English. Merrill was the son of famed jazz singer Helen Merrill and Fatha Hines sax/clarinet player Aaron Sachs. Merrill literally grew up in the music business, and was playing in semi-pro rock bands in NYC at age 14. After his parents split up, Merrill moved to Japan with his mother who married a journalist stationed there. He was soon signed by the famed production company Watanabe Pro. Merrill did modeling for fashion magazines and TV acting, and in 1968 released his first solo album. The seed for Vodka Collins was planted when Kamayatsu was putting together a band for live solo shows he was to do. He drafted Merrill and Oguchi, as bassist and drummer, and hired on guitarist Masayoshi Takanaka , who would later go on to fame as founder of the Sadistic Mika Band, and as a solo artist, best known for his international hit “Rainbow Goblin”. After these shows Merrill and Oguchi continued to work together, mostly on glam-leaning songs that Merrill was writing. Later they roped in Kamayatsu and guitarist Take Yokouchi, and Vodka Collins was born. The band quickly signed to Toshiba/EMI, and released Tokyo-New York, which produced three hit singles - “Billy Mars”, “Automatic Pilot”, and “Sands of Time”. Another song, “Scratchin’”, was used as the theme song for a yakuza themed TV show. Despite all the positive things that were happening with the group, a busy schedule of TV, radio and live performances, Vodka Collins soon disintegrated. By all appearances the band seemed to be doing very well, but somehow they were not getting paid. On the eve of a scheduled performance at Budokan, Merrill left Japan and moved to London. In London, he soon formed The Arrows. Before long Merrill’s new group were recording with legendary producer Mickie Most, and appearing regularly on TV. They soon had a hit with a Merrill-penned song called “A Touch Too Much”. However it was an album track that originally had little impact that became Merrill’s biggest claim to fame. Joan Jett, on tour with her band The Runaways in 1975, saw the Arrows play a song called “I Love Rock’n’Roll”, which she soon recorded as a solo artist. In 1982 the song was number one in the States for eight weeks. It also became a mega-hit worldwide. Joan Jett’s version is the best known, but many others have recorded the song, including Britney Spears, and the song has been featured in a number of major films. “I Love Rock’n’Roll” song resurfaces often, at different times in different countries. “Monsieur” Kamayatsu meanwhile remains a well known celebrity in Japan. With his trademark rooster haircut and jovial manner, he remains a popular guest on TV shows, and still performs music live from time to time. Oguchi studied percussion in Africa after the band broke up, and still remains active in music. Yokouchi went on to form the band Tensaw, who re-recorded the song “Automatic Pilot”, which was a modest hit. The band has reformed off and on, with Mayoshi “Mabo” Kabe from The Golden Cups taking over bass duties. The group, in fact, recorded Chemical Reaction in 1996, Pink Soup in 1997, and Boys Life in 1998. A compilation of their material, Boys In The Band, was released in 2004. The debut Tokyo-New York album was re-issued in April 2005. Collapse