A couple of old groups announced this week that they are brushing off the cobwebs. Legendary rockers Kai Band said that they are to embark on their first nationwide tour since they broke up 22 years ago. The group have since got back together on and off and did a brief tour in 2001, but at the end of last year there was huge fan interest in a re-release of the band’s back catalog, a hits album and a one-off concert in Tokyo. A ticket for that show was sold on an online auction site for ¥400,000. Prior to the October start of their Japan tour, the band will release a pair of concert DVDs. The band’s first ever video release, they will footage of a famous 1981 show at the Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Stadium. The band was formed in 1974 by leader and vocalist Kai Yoshihiro (photo, with guitarist Tanaka Ichiro). Their biggest hits include “Uragiri no Machikado” and “Hero.”
• Pinkii to Kirazu (Pinky and the Killers) are a five-member group that formed in 1968. With their trademark bowler hats, they immediately broke through with the hits “Koi no Kisetsu” and “Namida no Kisetsu.” Last night in Tokyo they performed together for the first time since their 1972 breakup, when vocalist Kon “Pinky” Yoko decided to go solo. At a press conference to announce their temporary re-formation yesterday, Kon said of the breakup, “I was just 20 at the time and very full of myself. I was just a kid.” In recent years she has worked mainly as a TV and stage actress. The group will make a live appearance on an NHK concert in mid-September, and they say they are aiming for a slot on the network’s annual “Kohaku Utagassen” special on New Year’s Eve. They appeared on the show each year from 1968-71.