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The story
On BS Fuji’s Naoko Iijima talk show, Fujii Fumiya was asked about rumors that he used to be a “Kurume delinquent” (yankii), and his answer — “Back in our day, everyone had a pompadour,” “well, it was more New Wave, really” — became a hot topic. The thread spiraled from Checkers’ hairstyles and the bontan-trouser craze into a full-blown discussion of early-80s fashion and music history, including the old rivalry between Eikichi Yazawa’s band Carol and Kiyoshiro Imawano.
8/28 (Fri) 1:39 PM
Singer Fumiya Fujii (64) appeared on the BS Fuji program “Naoko Iijima’s Shall We Have a Drink Tonight?”, which aired on the 27th. He was asked about rumors that he was a former delinquent, and responded.
That day, Fujii chatted over drinks with actress Naoko Iijima (58) at an izakaya in Yoga, Tokyo, covering a wide range of topics. When the conversation turned to his younger days, Iijima asked him whether the persistent rumor that he’d been a “delinquent from Kurume, Fukuoka” was actually true.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
That shaved-back-and-sides look with a long dangling fringe up front got huge thanks to Checkers.
Re: #10
I had short hair myself, but literally every guy in my class had that cut lol
A childhood friend of mine was taking the entrance exam at the same school as me — I told him "at least look presentable for one day" — but he showed up with his Checkers hair still intact and wearing bontan trousers… and failed. Maybe that's why.
I didn't even know what to say to him.
I had short hair myself, but literally every guy in my class had that cut lol
A childhood friend of mine was taking the entrance exam at the same school as me — I told him "at least look presentable for one day" — but he showed up with his Checkers hair still intact and wearing bontan trousers… and failed. Maybe that's why.
I didn't even know what to say to him.
Peak bontan-trouser era
Re: #15
That candy's actually pretty tasty though (a nod to "Bontan Ame," the citrus candy that shares the name)
That candy's actually pretty tasty though (a nod to "Bontan Ame," the citrus candy that shares the name)
Wait, this guy's older than me?
He sings such kiddy songs I figured he was way younger.
So that means he was already an adult when he sang "Giza Giza Heart no Komoriuta"?
Singing a song like that at his age must've been embarrassing.
He sings such kiddy songs I figured he was way younger.
So that means he was already an adult when he sang "Giza Giza Heart no Komoriuta"?
Singing a song like that at his age must've been embarrassing.
Re: #22
What do you think of actors who keep playing students (high schoolers and the like) well past that age?
What do you think of actors who keep playing students (high schoolers and the like) well past that age?
Huh, so it wasn't Mod style he was into
Re: #26
The music he was doing before his debut was totally different
https://youtu.be/RkVyRlvE-8g
The music he was doing before his debut was totally different
https://youtu.be/RkVyRlvE-8g
Re: #34
Back in their amateur days they were basically a party band close to Shanels (the group later known as Rats & Star)
Back in their amateur days they were basically a party band close to Shanels (the group later known as Rats & Star)
Re: #34
Going in that direction, they'd have just ended up as a watered-down Shanels
The record label's strategy call was the right one
Going in that direction, they'd have just ended up as a watered-down Shanels
The record label's strategy call was the right one
I heard he used to be the guy Takamoku would send out to buy yakisoba bread, but once they hit it big the power dynamic flipped — and all that pent-up resentment eventually turned into the tell-all book "Bouro."
Re: #29
When you type "bouro" into your IME, doesn't the real word ("bakuro" — "exposé") pop up right next to it in the predictions?
When you type "bouro" into your IME, doesn't the real word ("bakuro" — "exposé") pop up right next to it in the predictions?
New Wave Kitakyushu
Re: #49
There was a soccer club with that name, right?
There was a soccer club with that name, right?
I'm from Fukuoka myself, and all my classmates who were Checkers fans knew exactly where each member's family home was.
I had zero interest so I never bothered to find out, though.
I had zero interest so I never bothered to find out, though.
Re: #57
If we're talking Kurume, Seiko Matsuda is one year above Fumiya, right?
If we're talking Kurume, Seiko Matsuda is one year above Fumiya, right?
Re: #57
There was a Fukuoka local TV show with Cunning Takeyama that covered this — they even handed out maps of the area around each member's family home. Local news back then actually reported on the Fujii brothers' parents inviting fan "pilgrims" into their house, showing off childhood photo albums and serving them tea and sweets.
There was a Fukuoka local TV show with Cunning Takeyama that covered this — they even handed out maps of the area around each member's family home. Local news back then actually reported on the Fujii brothers' parents inviting fan "pilgrims" into their house, showing off childhood photo albums and serving them tea and sweets.
Was I the only one who thought "please, not two songs in one episode" whenever they came on Best Ten or Top Ten?
Re: #58
That never bothered me personally.
What was rough was when an enka song charted with several different singers covering it at once.
Like "Hisame," lol
That never bothered me personally.
What was rough was when an enka song charted with several different singers covering it at once.
Like "Hisame," lol
More than that, ten years earlier in the 70s, long hair on guys was the "now" look, right? Like Tetsuya Takeda.
And what changed all that was the pompadours of Eikichi Yazawa's band Carol, wasn't it?
And what changed all that was the pompadours of Eikichi Yazawa's band Carol, wasn't it?
Re: #59
And the guy who mocked Eikichi Yazawa's pompadour look at Carol's peak was Kiyoshiro Imawano
And the guy who mocked Eikichi Yazawa's pompadour look at Carol's peak was Kiyoshiro Imawano
Heavy metal guys still had long hair around this time though
Re: #62
Personally I was more into Loudness and 44 Magnum than Checkers
(-。-)y-~ (a smug little smoking emoticon)
Personally I was more into Loudness and 44 Magnum than Checkers
(-。-)y-~ (a smug little smoking emoticon)
For the record, a "pompadour" (riizento) doesn't mean the puffed-up bit above the forehead — it means sweeping the side hair back.
Re: #70
Imawano was more into makeup himself, after all
Imawano was more into makeup himself, after all
Re: #79
I think Kiyoshiro's real gripe was that Carol was ripping off the Beatles — he couldn't stand it.
RC Succession's sound at the time leaned more toward the Stones anyway
I think Kiyoshiro's real gripe was that Carol was ripping off the Beatles — he couldn't stand it.
RC Succession's sound at the time leaned more toward the Stones anyway
Sweeping your hair to the side was non-negotiable back then
Re: #84
The Mitsuru Hanagata hairdo (a character from the classic anime Star of the Giants)
The Mitsuru Hanagata hairdo (a character from the classic anime Star of the Giants)
He worked for Japan National Railways coupling and uncoupling the Blue Train sleeper cars, right? And his dad was a stationmaster.
Re: #86
Wasn't it freight trains, not the Blue Train?
He did his apprenticeship at Tosu Station, then moved to Haiki Station in Sasebo.
Wasn't it freight trains, not the Blue Train?
He did his apprenticeship at Tosu Station, then moved to Haiki Station in Sasebo.
Re: #86
Oh, so it was just connections (nepotism), huh
Oh, so it was just connections (nepotism), huh
Re: #93
Wasn't RC Succession still a three-piece folk act during Carol's peak?
Wasn't RC Succession still a three-piece folk act during Carol's peak?
Re: #100
That's right.
Back when RC opened for Carol — right around when RC put out their "Single Man" album — Ei-chan (Yazawa) was riding his motorcycle without a helmet, pompadour and all, right past the National Diet Building on his way to the concert venue. That was the era.
That's right.
Back when RC opened for Carol — right around when RC put out their "Single Man" album — Ei-chan (Yazawa) was riding his motorcycle without a helmet, pompadour and all, right past the National Diet Building on his way to the concert venue. That was the era.
Fittingly enough, there was an article about bontan-trouser shops — back at the peak of the delinquent era, the theory was that a straight-laced student in a standard uniform would get looked down on and picked on, so dressing a bit rough was actually a way to avoid trouble. But go too flashy and you'd attract the real delinquents' attention, so the sweet spot was a moderate, "just a little bad" look.
Re: #110
Maybe these days it's tattoos serving that same "don't mess with me" purpose
Maybe these days it's tattoos serving that same "don't mess with me" purpose
Apparently back then, bontan trousers and long/short school jackets (nagaran/tanran) were just sold openly at regular school-uniform shops in town.
Did nobody try to stop that? lol
Did nobody try to stop that? lol
Re: #111
Yeah, they'd just make them for you, no questions asked. Though I went to a shop an upperclassman introduced me to, so maybe I got special treatment.
Yeah, they'd just make them for you, no questions asked. Though I went to a shop an upperclassman introduced me to, so maybe I got special treatment.
Re: #111
The shop owner: "Now don't wear this to school, okay? Absolutely do not wear this to school."
The shop owner: "Now don't wear this to school, okay? Absolutely do not wear this to school."
*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “Fujii Fumiya Asked About “Former Delinquent” Rumors, Responds: “Back in Our Day, Everyone Had a Pompadour,” “Well, It Was More New Wave”.”
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