Biography
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Years Active
1973 – 1976 (3 years)
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Members
- 伊藤銀次 (1975 – 1975)
- 大貫妙子 (1973 – 1976)
- 寺尾次郎 (1975 – 1976)
- 山下達郎 (1973 – 1976)
- 村松邦男 (1973 – 1976)
SUGAR BABE was a Japanese band formed in Tokyo, Japan in 1973 and split up in 1976. The original lineup consisted of 山下達郎(Tatsurō Yamashita), 大貫妙子(Taeko Ōnuki), 村松邦男(Kunio Muramatsu), 鰐川己久男(Kikuo Wanikawa) and 野口明彦(Akihiko Noguchi).
Together for a brief three years and just one album, Sugar Babe has become somewhat of a legend in Japanese pop music circles. Featuring a pre-solo debut Tatsuro Yamashita (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Taeko Onuki (vocals), and produced by Yamashita and Eiichi Otaki (guitarist/vocalist for Happy End), Sugar Babe played melodic, well-crafted tunes heavily influenced by American pop. The group made its live performance debut in 1973 at the farewell concert for the band Happy End, with a tight set showcasing the members' strong musicianship and defined by vocal tradeoffs between Yamashita and Onuki, strong arrangements, and exquisite songcraft. Sugar Babe's lone album, Songs, produced and engineered by Otaki, was release in 1975 as the flagship release of Otaki's Niagara label. Songs channeled Yamashita's worshipful obsession with American pop from the '0s and '0s and soul music. While sales of the record were marginal, in retrospect it can be said that Songs was at least partially responsible for launching the fertile pop music scene that exploded in Japan through the '70s. From the funky, soul-laced euphoria of "Show" to the Isley Brothers influenced "Down Town", which became the group's signature tune, the record showed a band that was on top of its game. While the band broke up in 1976, due in part to the bankruptcy of their record label, both Yamashita and Onuki went on to have long and successful careers, and remain active as artists. Songs was re-released in 1999 on the Planets label, rekindling interest in the band and its music, and introducing it to a whole new generation of artists and music lovers. Even today, several decades after the dissolution of the band, their songs are a fixture on radio programs and in the sets of cover bands across the country.
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