X | Profile X first started in 1982, when childhood friend Yoshiki (drums, piano) and Toshi (vocals) formed the band while still in high school. Their first singles “I’ll Kill You” and “Orgasm”, are indicative of what were to become the band’s most common themes, violence and sex. The band did not fully develop until the 1987 line-up fixed Taiji on bass, Pata on guitar, and Hide on guitar. The band is generally regarded as the first of the “visual-kei” bands, and if they were not the first they certainly took it to a new extreme, with ghoulish make-up, cross-dressing fashions, and incredible hairdos (Hide had in fact worked as a hair dresser before joining the band). Given that no labels were interested in touching this over- the- top outfit, Yoshiki, widely regarded as the band’s leader, founded his own record label, Extasy. Yoshiki’s mother financed the album and has remained involved in his career behind the scenes. X’s first album in 1988 was called Vanishing Vision, and featured an illustration of a woman in a leather teddy having an X carved in her chest with a large knife. While many shops did not stock the album, it became hugely successful, and Sony signed the band. They followed up with Blue Blood and were soon a major live act, their staging and hordes of fans eventually requiring a touring party even larger than Michael Jackson’s, in part because the band all had their own minders. Their third album, 1991’s Jealousy was also a smash, and in January 1992 X became the first Japanese band ever to sellout the 50,000 capacity Tokyo Dome. There had always been rumors of conflicts between the band members, and later that year Taiji left the band and was replaced by Heath. It seemed however that there was little left to conquer in Japan, and the band signed a deal for America with Atlantic Records. Given that there was an establish LA punk band with the same name, outside of Japan they became X Japan. However while there was much talk and media attention about their venturing internationally, ultimately little became of it, and the members increasingly worked on solo projects. In 1996 they released Dahlia, however they band did not tour behind the album, as Toshi was already headed out the door. In September 1997 they announced that they would break up after a final show on December 31. However soon there were rumors that the band would re-unite in some form. Then in May 1998 Hide was found hung. A huge debate erupted over whether it was or wasn’t a suicide, but the tragedy marked the end of X, beyond a performance of “Forever Love” at his memorial. Yoshiki has maintained the highest profile since the bands demise, possessing remarkable musicianship, good business sense and being an incredible self-promoter. Amongst his many solo projects, he has recorded with Beatles producer George Martin and the London Philharmonic, worked with Queen drummer Roger Taylor, recording the Kiss song “Black Diamond” with a symphony, made two collection albums of his favorite classical works, produced TV commercials for 7-11 and produced and written for various other major artists. In 2002 he stunned the entertainment world by joining the overtly commercial pop band Globe, who had an image and sound miles apart from his own. The collaboration was short-lived, but it was assumed he laughed all the way to the bank. He has in fact built a considerable business empire, part of which is a record label and two recording studios based in Southern California. by Keith Cahoon
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