The Birthday

The Birthday emerged as a Japanese punk and psychobilly rock outfit led by vocalist Yusuke Chiba and guitarist Akinobu Imai, both of whom had previously belonged to the J-rock act Rosso. After parting ways with Rosso in 2006, the pair first tested the waters briefly as the duo Midnight Bankrobbers before assembling the new group. They completed the lineup by adding drummer Kazuyuki Kuhara, a former Thee Machine Gun Elephant colleague of Yusuke’s, and bassist Haruki Hirai. The band wasted no time issuing its debut single “Stupid” during summer 2006. Later that year the full-length debut Rollers Romantics followed, backed by a tour spanning the entire country. Their profile had risen enough by the arrival of the second album Teardrop in 2007 for them to headline Japan’s top venue, the Budokan, an event later preserved on the DVD Looking for the Lost Teardrops Tour Final. Sticking to an annual release cycle, the band first dropped the Motel Radio Sixty Six EP and then delivered its third album, Night on Fool, in 2008.