1980s
Everything started in 1983 when Imai abruptly decided that he wanted to start a band. He told his friends and his friends told their friends, and the first lineup was complete: Imai on guitar, Yuta on bass, Hide on guitar, Sakurai on drums, and Araki on vocals. None of them knew how to play any instruments, but they started taking the idea of it very seriously; Sakurai even got drum lessons from Yuta's brother! This band would be named Hinan Go-Go by Imai in 1984.
Soon, Araki would willingly leave due to his voice not being able to keep improving at the same speed as all the other members. With the empty spot, Sakurai insisted on switching places. He had his whole heart set on this position and he had never really wanted anything in life like he wanted this. After extensive begging, Imai succumbed and said yes. But, oh no! Now there's no drummer!
Well, Sakurai's drum teacher was in a band, too. Yuta begged his brother to join, and he eventually agreed. The new lineup has been the same ever since (not including post-Atsushi Buck-Tick): Imai on guitar, Hide on guiat, Toll on drums, Yuta on bass, and Sakurai on vocals. They spent the next couple years practicing like hell and doing their absolute best to secure gigs. We can thank Yuta for being their businessman and trying to get gigs/find other musicians. They were basically starving to death because they were dedicate themselves entirely to the band, hoping to make it big. With this side fling becoming more serious, Imai renamed the band Buck-Tick. This is a creative spelling of bakuchiku (firecracker), referencing the Yellow Magic Orchestra's song, Firecracker.
By 1986, they would release their first single on Taiyou Records: To-Search. The next year, they would release their first full album: Hurry Up Mode. They would soon release their first video, Buck-Tick Live at the Live Inn, to announce that they had signed with a major record label (Victor) and ended up releasing Sexual XXXXX! with them.
They were making it!! In 1988, they would release a single or two and another album titled Seventh Heaven. Atsushi would started writing lyrics for the first time in this album. They were wholly committed now! They improved rapidly and really starting forming their own way of performing and writing music. They had all been putting their hair up big, using makeup, and dancing on stage to try to spread their image. One thing that helped them grow was their effort to stand out among other bands: they were always up to something unique.
In 1989, they would release Taboo, a real kickass album for a band that has no idea what they're doing. This album was recorded all the way over in London! They first started exploring more serious topics in their music in this album. Every song was based after a social taboo, and Buck-Tick said that they wanted to write an album that "nobody would ever be able to understand". This is also when some of the members started letting their hair down.
Just as they're starting to gain traction and become a truly popular band, tragedy strikes!!! Imai is arrested for being caught with the first pill-form of LSD in Japan! This type of thing isn't a huge deal for westerners, but this is definetly a huge deal in Japan. Shit like this tears bands apart and strips them of all their publicity. Against all odds, though, fans couldn't let go of Buck-Tick! The news was all over, but people were begging Buck-Tick not to disband!
1990s
It's already 1990! The band continued against all odds and Imai came back after a couple months. So... they released a new album! Aku no Hana, meaning Flowers of Evil, was named after Charles Beaudelaire's most famous piece of poetry. This album was much more gothic than their past work and you could tell that the members were truly exploring themselves musically. Despite this album being something the members (or at least Sakurai) cringe at in embarassment now, it was still a very important turning point in their history. It may be shallow and downright silly, but this was the first Buck-Tick album I heard and fell in love with. I heard National Media Boys for a couple seconds online and never turned back.
Aku no Hana was released with a big ol' set of music videos, all in black and white. Nobody really cares about this album, but they also released Buck-Tick Symphonic in Berlin in 1990. This album contains a collection of Buck-Tick songs rearranged and played by the Berlin Chamber Orchestra. If you're interested in classical music, please give it a listen. Who said Buck-Tick wasn't cultured back then?
Around this time, Sakurai was going through some tough shit. His mother died (he lived the entirely of his childhood in an extremely abusive household at the hands of his father and was suddenly thrown into success with Buck-Tick, and then wasn't even able to see his mother when she was dying due to him being mid-tour), he married Buck-Tick's stylist, he had a kid with Buck-Tick's stylist, and then they divorced a year later. I think it was the death of his mother that first sparked his interest in the afterlife. He wrote songs dedicated to her in their 1991 album, Kurutta Taiyou.
Kurutta Taiyou (Mad Sun/Crazy Sun) was much different from their previous releases and, dare I say, much more cultured. If they weren't good before, they were definetly good now. Their melodies were more experimental and creative and their lyrics were more meaningful and poetic. This is when they stopped just trying to be cool and got popular enough to stop starving. They had the time to sit down now and really study music and think about what they wanted to convey to people.
In 1992, they released Koroshi no Shirabe This is NOT Greatest Hits. This was technically a compilation album. They took their most popular songs and completely rethought the melodies. The songs were rerecorded by the now-experienced members. Some songs sounded nothing like the old versions, while others had a couple different phrases, breaks, and chords. Listen to this album.
They would go on to perform a 2-day concert titled Climax Together in Yokohama Arena that same year. The first day was recorded and released as a video, and the second day was recorded and released as a live album in 2017.
The next year, they released an album that is still heavily respected: Darker than Darkness -style 93-. A lot of insufferable teenagers online like to call this a goth album. It certainly has gothic aspects, but it's more of a jazz album than anything. If that doesn't make sense to you, go give it a listen. This is an album that, no matter how much time passes, they can never grow humiliated of. This album was proof of the pure musical genius Buck-Tick has and the amount of exploration and studying they had all done in terms of music. Sakurai even played the saxophone during the tour! It also had what is possibly the first time a band in Japan put a hidden bonus track in their album. The last track on Darker than Darkness is titled DTD (obviously an acronym for the album title) and wasn't listed as a song. A remix album I think is significant enough to mention came out in 1994 and was titled Shapeless. All the songs were remixed by foreign artists.
Their album Six/Nine was released in 1995. This is considered by a respectable few as their first true concept album, and the first album that actually traveresed truly metaphysical topics. Buddhism started to become truly present in their work, with Atsushi desperately searching for proof of an afterlife as his fear of death grew stronger and stronger.
Some interesting singles were released with this album and the members were maturing with their releases. Issay of Der Zibet provided vocals in Itoshi no Rockstar (although I can't even tell the difference between the two men's voices) and I Atsushi brought back the saxophone for the last time in that same song. This album covers many themes discussed in previous albums, but evoke a more emotional and regretful response. This is the first time Buck-Tick would obsess over non-dualism and the repetitive cycle of all life and existing matter out there. Speaking of non-dualism, Buck-Tick would make black and white music videos for every song in this album, just like in Aku no Hana! The different now is that the usage of colors was meant to imply parallels. Atsushi even cut his long hair he was known for because he was sick of people saying his face was pretty when he wanted them to judge him based on his work!
After the life changing Six/Nine came Cosmos in 1996. This was the same year that they flew to Nepal for a photoshoot and Atsushi almost died! He was in horrible pain and, insisting to die in Japan, was hurridly flown to and rolled into the hospital closest to him home.
They've always been known to change their sound regularly, but 1997 would bring on their cyberpunk era with their brand new album, Sexy Stream Liner. They released a video for the tour, as they would with their next album as well...
2000s
One Life, One Death year!! This year also came with some legendary singles!! I think I should probably mention that Buck-Tick has changed record labels and stuff like that many times by now and throughout their entire career. I just don't think it's important enough to include in these brief summaries. Basically, record labels love control and money and Buck-Tick keeps telling everyone to stop bossing them around.
After One Life, One Death, Buck-Tick was going to write Mona Lisa Overdrive and Kyokuto I Love You as one big album. However, Buck-Tick decided that they couldn't just stay silent in 2001 when America was struck by 9/11. (2001 was also when they had the first The Day In Question concert; DIQ is an annual concert Buck-Tick has been holding at the end of the year as a sort of celebration that they were able to come back from Imai's arrest all those years ago) Kyokuto Ai Yori Wo Komete is one of the best anti-war songs ever written... as is Sid Vicious on the Beach. Kyokuto launched Tour 2002 Warp Days its release in 2001 with a video following it, as did Mona Lisa Overdrive in 2003. Mona Lisa actually released a whopping 2 videos!
2004 was the year of solo projects, which I won't be mentioning because they're technically not Buck-Tick! Atsushi announced that he had remarried this year. They also had the second Climax Together concert being held on the same day in the same venue as the original. Because it was coincidentally 9/11, they played lots of anti-war songs. Sakurai even asked everyone to put their heads down for a moment of silence in memory of those who lost their lives at the event, which is something he will only do one other time in his career (in 2012 for the Tohoku Earthquake victims).
By 2005, Buck-Tick was back at it! This year gifted us Juusankai wa Gekkou (13th Floor is Moonlight), a gothic concept album! This album was the band stating what they believe goth truly is. Most of the members have been influenced by goth music in some way (I'm not sure about the brothers, I never looked) and Atsushi is a sucker for anything dark, so this album was a real treat. It came with a very theatric tour where they hired a real ballerina and clown and based the stage performance off of a Russian Ballet: Petrushka. This is also the tour that they first opened Kirameki no Naka De with Swan Lake Ballet!! Their first tribute was released this year: Parade ~Respective Tracks of Buck-Tick~.
The next year didn't bring us much, but a lovely fanclub concert was recorded and released! Hide also announced that he had married this year.
200 gave us some of the best singles yet and a brand-spanking-new album, called Tenshi no Revolver (The Angel's Revolver)!! Buck-Tick held multiple tours this year and sold some official phones, but they were honestly overpriced and not as useful as a normal phone you could buy at the store.
2008 had an interesting DIQ concert, but not much else. The following year gave us another new album called Memento Mori and a subsequent tour. Imai started his blog this year (he had always been one for taking pictures of things and generally keeping records of what was around him) and Buck-Tick held a beautiful DIQ concert that I still seethe with rage at when I remember only a couple songs were recorded and released. Honestly, I would've prefered they released the DIQ from this year instead of the FTO.
2010s
In 2010, they released a brand new album titled Razzle Dazzle and a following tour. Imai broke his pinky finger during this tour and blogged about it (he started the blog a year prior). The blog bug was spreading and Yuta decided to start his own blog as well! While Imai has stopped updated his and has moved to posting on Instagram, Yuta's blog is still available to fan club members and he updates it regularly.
2011 brought disaster to Japan. There was a horrible earthquake with a tsunami and nuclear meltdown coming right after it. Japan was fighting tooth and nail against pollution and many citizens has been displaced if they hadn't lost their life. Buck-Tick wanted to help out and began to sell lots of charity goods. (I believe they've been making monthly charity donations to people displaced due to natural disasters to this day still, but the person I heard it from might've been lying... I don't down it though!!) Imai had several of his friends sell the goods in hopes to gather as much funds as possible, which sparked controversy from some stuck-up fans that were upset they didn't know every place they could ever buy Buck-Tick merch. Imai responded on his blog and basically said "Fuck you, we're just trying to help those in need. This isn't for Buck-Tick, this is for people whose lives are on the line." Wait to go, Imai!!!! Buck-Tick was fed up with all the bullshit from their record label (remember, they had been jumping around with labels because everyone was too bossy) and created their own label called Lingua Sounda. They still release music under Lingua Sounda to this day. The DIQ concert for this year was recorded and released due to it being their 25th anniversary.
Japan was still struggling with the Tohoku aftermath in 2012 and Buck-Tick was not going to stop doing what they could to help. They released a new album called Yume Miru Uchuu (which envisioned the Earth and its people as a crying, peaceful baby reacting to the pain of the world; it's a beautiful album conveying the importance of loving one another and accepting that we are all apart of grand cycle of life and death among this world, one with the rest of the universe as a unified consciousness) and paired it with an extensive tour. The second tribute Parade album was released this year and an official Facebook page was created for the band, which I still refuse to follow to this day (I am NOT downloading Facebook for Buck-Tick). Buck-Tick had a lot of little events and collaborations this year that I don't think are important enough to mention. I think Toll also started his It's a Now! birthday lives this year.
2013 didn't bring us a new album, but Buck-Tick still did lots of touring this year (tour We Love All has a special place in my heart). I believe the first Buck-Tick documentary-ish movie was put together this year. They put out some snazzy official Buck-Tick phone cases this year a had a lovely DIQ and Fish Tanker's only concert, although only the FTO got its own DVD.
In 2014, Buck-Tick released a surrealist concept album called Arui was Anarchy, which translated to Or Anarchy (although that's not a very good translation, as Japanese is a very context-dependent language that uses implications more that specificity. The album would be more properly titled, If Nothing Else, Anarchy is the Answer). Although it's probably important to know that Imai said the album had no title; the title given is simply a subtitle. He said the title is empty space as it cannot be seen, heard, smelt, or perceived. Imai had the letters BT added to his front missing teeth in his denture partial, a funny addition to the letters he's been writing on his teeth for 30 years. Other than a cute little tour, not much happened this year.
Jump over to 2016 and Buck-Tick held the third Climax Together concert! Not only that, but they brought back some of the good old 90s themes they loved so much and threw everything in a pile that churned out Atom Miraiha No.9! This is a beautifully profound album that poses as a warning for us to stop with our cruel treatment of the world. Imai and Atsushi really let themselves nerd out in terms of references and metaphysics in this album, which is something I greatly appreciate. This is the tour that Atsushi really started being comfortable with himself on stage. I don't mean to rant, but I really hate when people spend a lot of time romantisizing Sakurai's looks when he was younger even though he made it very clear when he wanted to be sexualized: in his fifties when he started wearing thigh highs, short shorts, lace, skirts, and the like. He really started showing skin this year, and it makes me happy to see how comfortable he was on stage.
2017 didn't bring us a new album, but we got some incredible performances! The had a Parade 30th even and an extensive DIQ tour where they played some older songs that had been collecting dust. They released a single or two that would be present on their 2018 album, No.0. This album is incredibly ambitious, and one might even say that they experimented more in terms of composition and lyrcisim than ever before. Two tours (?) were held for this album, and Atsushi also produced the cutest little maneki neko with himself as the cat! If you don't know what a maneki neko is, look it up. You've probably seen it before but never knew the name. At the end of the year, they had a lovely FTO concert where Atsushi might've worn his girliest outfit yet! During the very last day of this tour, he had internal bleeding in his stomach in the middle of the concert but insisted on carrying out the rest of the encore despite the horrible pain he was in. Props to him.
A lovely single was released in 2019 and Buck-Tick did a 2 day concert event called Locus Solus No Kemonotachi. The DIQ concerts of this year weren't recorded, but some old songs were played.
2020s
2020 started off pretty we well, but we all know how that went. The third Parade trubite album was released, as was one of the best singles ever (Datenshi/Luna Park). To make sure the fans didn't starve to death from a lack of concert, they hosted a number of streams of Youtube and Niconico (basically the Japanese Youtube). They released a brand new album this year that not only had an overseas version to be sold in 2021 (sold overseas and had English translation in lyric book), but sold this album on Cassette tapes, overwhelmed with nostalgia for their younger days. To pair with the cassette tapes, they sold a portable cassette player and record player! The members held a no-audience concert in a studio and sold it as Abracadabra Live on Screen/Abracadabra Live on the Net. It was also revealed this year that Atsushi's son from his first marriage back in 1991 is the award winning author Haruka Toono! An awkward interview was held between them and published. Deppressed about not being able to tour, they finally convinced a venue to let him hold their annual DIQ concert! Half the seats were required to be empty and I think audience members had to wear a mask, but it's better than nothing!
In 2021, a lovely interview thingy was held between Atsushi and a comedian named Hiroshi. Please with the success of last years streaming events, Buck-Tick held another streaming event for another no-audience concer called Misemonogoya Ga Kurete Kara ~Show After Dark~. This is one of my favorite concerts ever and would be released as an official video. Instead of having a DIQ 2021, they had a Misemonogoya Ga Kurete Kara ~Show After Dark~ in Nippon Budokan and released it as well. They released a new single this year with some lovely acoustic version of old songs and a catchy new couple of songs. They had planned to hold a tour for the single but Imai fractured his thigh bone and they were unable to play live. Atsushi specifically was writhing at this point, eager to get back to his lifestyle of playing on stage that he depended on so much. Poor guy. I hate to get personal, but it makes me so sad to think about.
Buck-Tick was finally able to play again by 2022. They kicked off the year with a tour-thing (I think?) for their fanclub and went on a seperate tour for their 35th anniversary, which they would release a whole 3 videos for! I am 99.999% sure that they released a FTO 2022 video with a limited edition DVD that stopped selling, but I can't prove it.
In 2023, the members were nostalgic for their 80s days when composing music was something they did out of fun rather than obligation, so they released an album (Izora) but let the recording process be leisurely. They now had the wisdom of alsmot 40 years in the music industry and the passion of angels, so Izora was quite a treat. The tour also gave us a refreshing DVD.
Unforutnately, in that same year, Atsushi Sakurai would pass away. He felt terribly ill only 3 songs into a fanclub only concert and asked to be brought to the hospital. He died that night.
The Buck-Tick members decided that it would be a betrayal to their long-time fans and Atsushi to disband. They played a concert in December of 2023 called Buck-Tick Gensou (Phenomenon) and played songs that they said they didn't think they would ever play again, due to the songs having a special connection to Atsushi. The members were teary-eyed on stage but carried it through. Several more streaming events were held in 2024 to commemorate new releases that were to be released even before Atsushi had died (I'm proud to say that I had the pleasure of attending almost every streaming event since 2024!)
In 2024, I think I remember the live album from Atsushi's last Izora concert (Izora Finalo) being released, the single for Subrosa and the album itself. Buck-Tick decided that they would try to go a completely different route in terms of composing and writing, because Atsushi was gone. Upon leading the lyrics, it's easy to tell that the album is a sort of tribute to Atsushi.
If Subrosa wasn't a tribute to Atsushi, the 2025 single Mabushikute Mienai definetly is! The single is a very obvious song basically bidding him farewell and encouraging fans to continue on with life despite the loss. They've written a lot of songs like this in the past, but this was specifically for and about Atsushi. The cover is also all of his favorite things. 2 new Buck-Tick documentary movies have been released this year (they were planning to even before Sakurai had died). That's all so far. I'm writing this as of April. The Parade will only continue!