The Spiders were a Japanese rock band formed in Tokyo in 1961, as one of the leading groups of the Group Sounds genre.

The Spiders
The Spiders during their 1966 visit to the Netherlands
Background information
Also known as	ザ・スパイダース
Origin	Tokyo, Japan
Genres	Group Sounds[1] beat[1] garage rock[1]
Years active	1961 (1961)–1970 (1970)
Labels	Philips
Past members	Masaaki Sakai Jun Inoue Hiroshi Kamayatsu (deceased) Takayuki Inoue Katsuo Ōno Mitsuru Kato Shochi Tanabe

History

Band members were Hiroshi "Monsieur" Kamayatsu (rhythm guitar and backing singer), Jun Inoue (singer), Masaaki Sakai (tambourine and backing singer), Shochi Tanabe (drums), Takayuki Inoue (lead guitar and backing singer), Mitsuru Kato (bass guitar) and Katsuo Ōno (steel guitar and electronic organ). They had many hit singles, made feature films and were popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s in Japan. They toured Europe in 1966, and the United States, including Hawaii, in 1967.[2] Most of the band members are still active in the music industry, with the exception of Monsieur, who died on 1 March 2017[3] and Takayuki Inoue, who died on 2 May 2018.[4]

Their biggest selling record was "Yuhiganaiteiru" which sold over 1.2 million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[2]

Selected discography

Albums

• Album No. 1 (Rel. April 15th, 1966)
• Album No. 2 (Rel. June 1st, 1966)
• Album No. 3 (Rel. February 1st, 1967)
• The Spiders Meets The Savage (Rel. March 1967)
• Album No. 4 (Rel. September 5th, 1967)
• Album No. 5 (Rel. March 15th, 1968)
• Meiji Hyakunen Spiders Nana Nen (Rel. October 25th, 1968)
• The Spiders '69 (Rel. May 25th, 1969)
• Rock 'N' Roll Renaissance (Rel. May 25th, 1970)

Singles

• Furi Furi b/w Monkey Dance (Crown CW-291 - Rel. May 10th, 1965)
• Etenraku Go, Go b/w Twilight Zone (Victor SS-1597 - Rel. November 15th, 1965)
• No No Boy b/w Little Robby (Philips SFL-1034 - Rel. February 1st, 1966)
• Seishun a Go Go b/w Kurai Ando Kurai (Crown CW-444 - Rel. March 10th, 1966)
• Hey Boy b/w Michelle (Philips SFL-1043 - Rel. April 15th, 1966)
• Summer Girl b/w Up-Side-Down (Philips SFL-1057 - Rel. July 1st, 1966)
• Yuhiganaiteiru b/w Chibi No Julie (Philips FS-1003 - Rel. September 15, 1966)
• Nantonaku Nantonaku b/w Boom Boom (Philips FS-1007 - Rel. December 25th, 1966)
• Taiyo No Tsubasa b/w Sora No Hiroba (Philips FS-1013 - Rel. March 1st, 1967)
• Balla Balla b/w Land Of 1,000 Dances (Philips FS-1014 - Rel. April 20th, 1967)
• Kazeganaiteiru b/w Kimi Ni Ageyou (Philips FS-1020 - Rel. July 15th, 1967)
• Ano Niji Wo Tsukamo b/w Koi No Doctor (Philips FS-1022 - Rel. August 25th, 1967)
• Itsumademo Dokomademo b/w Ban Ban Ban (Philips FS-1030 - Rel. October 25th, 1967)
• Anotoki Kimi Wa Wakakatta b/w Mo Ichido Mo Ichido (Philips FS-1040 - Rel. March 5th, 1968)
• Shinjyu No Namida b/w Akai Dress No Onna No Ko (Philips FS-1050 - Rel. June 5th, 1968)
• Kuroyuri No Uta b/w Rock And Roll Boy (Philips FS-1060 - Rel. September 5th, 1968)
• Glass No Seijo b/w Kaze Wa Liyatsu (Philips FS-1065 - Rel. November 25th, 1968)

Films

• Friends (1964, Nikkatsu) Director: Nozomu Yanase
• Highland Lady (1965, Nikkatsu) Director: Nozomu Yanase
• Youth A Go-Go (1966, Nikkatsu) Director: Kenjiro Morinaga
• Goodbye Mr. Tear (1966, Nikkatsu) Director: Shōgorō Nishimura
• You Are A Lover (1967, Nikkatsu) Director: Buichi Saitō
• Kigeki ekimae hyakku-nen (1967, Toho) Director: Shirō Toyoda
• The Sunset Is Crying (1967, Nikkatsu) Director: Kenjiro Morinaga
• Wild Scheme A Go Go (1967, Nikkatsu) Director: Buichi Saitō
• Go Forward! (1968, Nikkatsu) Director: Kō Nakahira
• Big Commotion! (1968, Nikkatsu) Director: Kenjiro Morinaga
• Road To Bali (1968, Nikkatsu) Director: Katsumi Nishikawa
• The Wonderful Ones (1968, Shochiku) Director: Kōichi Saitō
• Nippon oyafukō jidai (1968, Toho) Director: Kunihiko Yamamoto

References

External links

• The Spiders on Radio Diffusion
• The Spiders film: Wild Scheme A-Go-Go 1967
• The Spiders film: Big Commotion 1968
• The Spiders film: Go Forward 1968
• The Spiders film: The Road To Bali 1968