Two shameless attention seekers announced their recording debuts yesterday. Comedian Razor Ramon HG (photo, 30), whose Hard Gay character made probably the biggest splash in the variety circuit last year, said he’ll be releasing his first single on February 8. Not too surprisingly, it’ll be a cover of Saijo Hideki’s “Young Man”, itself a cover of the Village People hit “YMCA”. He also unveiled his latest catchphrase, “Wasshoi!” Somewhat less appealing is the idea of Horie Takafumi (33), CEO of IT company Livedoor, and his new band. Horiemon likes to use the expression “souteigai” (thinking outside the box) and so has provisionally used that as the name of the band. They are said to be working on a mini-album of 80s-style pop due for release in March. Unfazed by the failure of his attempts to buy a baseball franchise and a major TV network and get elected to the Diet, Horie has become a regular on the variety circuit and seems willing to do anything for publicity.
• Ichiro (32) proved an able villian but was no match for Furuhata Ninzaburo. The Seattle Mariners superstar made his acting debut Wednesday, playing himself in the second segment of a 3-night special that pitted three major names against the popular detective, played by Tamura Masakazu (62). The show got a very impressive 27% audience rating in the Kanto area. Other stars in the special included Fujiwara Tatsuya and Matsushima Nanako. Tamura has said he’ll be retiring from the role.