Big in Japan

In the history of supergroups, Big in Japan is an exception, in that its members became famous after their participation in the band, rather than before, as is usually the case. It was in 1977, in Liverpool, that a handful of local musicians decided to join the cohort of countless punk bands forming that year. Clive Langer (future producer of The Teardropes Explodes and Madness), Bill Drummond (future member of The KLF), Holly Johnson (future leader of Frankie Goes to Hollywood), Ian Broudie (Original Mirrors, The Lightning Seeds) and Budgie (later drummer for Siouxsie & the Banshees) were the members of Big in Japan who would go on to achieve fame. The band's history itself was brief and tumultuous, with frequent personnel changes, a handful of concerts and only a dozen or so tracks recorded after a petition orchestrated by Julian Cope calling for Big in Japan to break up. This finally took place on August 26, 1978, after a final concert at Eric's club. Big in Japan's sole legacy was the split single Brutality Religion and a Dance Beat, shared with The Chuddie Nuddies, and the 1978 EP From Y to Z and Never Again. Big in Japan reformed briefly in 1979 for a Peel Session with host John Peel.

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