A new written feature for The Wire, titled “Once Upon A Time in Tokyo” traces the short-lived history of Tokyo Rockers, a collection of misfits who spearheaded punk and new wave in Japan, from the late 70s to the early 80s and beyond. Apart from the music, there’s a gondola, the flash of a ‘deba’ knife, normally reserved for filleting fish, and a pig’s head thrown at concertgoers in a quote-unquote expression of love. Love thy audience!

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The piece was written after seeing a screening of Taguchi Tomorowo’s new film Street Kingdom, inspired by a book of photographs from that period by Yuichi Jibiki. He kindly allowed us to reprint a few so that my story had some element of truth to it. I spent a lot of time trawling through old magazines and articles online but the piece only came together after attending a conversation at Tower Records in Shibuya between photographer Jibiki, director Tomorowo, and musicians Harumi Yamazaki (Gaseneta/Taco) and Genet (Auto-mod) to celebrate the release of the film and a new edition of Jibiki’s book now available online — https://slogan.theshop.jp/items/137455670

A heartfelt thanks to everyone at SLOGAN and Happinet Phantom Studios for their help in piecing things together and putting a name to the odd anonymous face.

Above: The Stalin performing at Shinjuku loft, August 1981. Photo: Yuichi Jibiki