The Roosters

Formed during the first peak of punk music in the late '70s, the Roosters, who mixed punk with blues, ska, and rock & roll, became one of the first and most important Japanese bands to influence the generation that led the J-rock world conquest in the 1990-2000s. The group eventually ranked 75 on HMV's famous Top 100 of Japanese artists. Established in 1978 in Fukuoka, the Roosters initially included guitarist Hiroyuki Hanada, vocalist and guitarist Shinya Ohe, bassist Tomio Inoue, and drummer Jyunji Ikehata and aimed to be a cover band -- covers dominated their first two albu...