Big In Japan

Me and the band in Tokyo

Six thousand miles away in Japan, there’s a band that sell thousands of records and top the charts. They’re called Abingdon Boys School.

Abingdon is a town in Oxfordshire with a population of around 34,500 and there is a boys school called Abingdon School. The band have never played in the UK, let alone Abingdon, so why the name?

I was out on holiday in Japan and curious to meet this band that seemed to have a strange link with Oxfordshire.

Initial research showed me fan sites that claim the name links to Radiohead, as the band met and formed at Abingdon School.

However, the band claim this is not really the case.

Abingdon Boys School is commonly shortened by fans and the band to ‘A.B.S’ and lead singer Takanori Nishikawa says this is because he loves cars.

“I happened to know there was a technical term, ‘Antilock Braking System’ and this fitted in with the initials ‘A.B.S’.

“I also happened to know that a school called Abingdon School actually exists in the UK. Then I thought I could name our band A.B.S. if I add the word ‘Boys’, just because four of us are all boys,” he said.

There is certainly a clear love of all things school-related, which can be seen in the costumes they wear – full school uniform with blazers and ties, almost like an AC/DC tribute band.

Takanori-san says this is because they wanted to re-live their school days.

“We’re about the same age, and we went to the same school, but no one thinks of us as school students anymore. So we thought about what we could do make people think of us as students again, like we see each other. And we thought it would be good fun as well,” he said.

“So we designed clothes, wallets and other things in the style of a school uniform, and it helps us feel like we’re back as school together,” he added.

The band members are all in their late thirties and have had other successful music projects in the past. Takanori Nishikawa was famous for his band T.M Revolution (Takanori Makes Revolution) which sold 1.5 million albums. He also starred in a spin-off anime series and published books.

A.B.S make catchy, yet hard rock music, with a hint of electronica. They say their influences come from bands like Led Zeppelin, Roxy Music and Kraftwerk. It certainly does not sound like wannabe Radiohead.

Both Takanori-san and A.B.S have found fame in Japan over the past decade. Now the band hope to make a bid for the international market, and are looking forward to coming to the UK some time in the future…

——————————————————————

This is a version of a piece I wrote for the BBC Oxford website, see original here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/oxford/content/articles/2009/05/16/abs.shtml