Big In Japan – Budgie i/v (’Rock Family Trees: The New MerseyBeat’, S01 E06, BBC4, 05 Aug 1995)

BIG IN JAPAN was a punk band that emerged from Liverpool, England in the late 1970s. They are better known for the later successes of their band members than for their own music. According to the Liverpool Echo: “BIG IN JAPAN were a supergroup with a difference - its members only became super after they left.“ Coming from the same Merseyside scene as ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN, THE TEARDROP EXPLODES and OMD, BIG IN JAPAN started off playing gigs around Liverpool, most notably at the famous Eric’s Club. As an initial idea of guitarist Clive Langer, his friend Bill Drummond (guitar, vocals), Kevin Ward (bass, vocals) and Phil Allen (drums) formed the band in May 1977, playing only three gigs, the first of them at Bretton Hall College in Yorkshire. In August, the line-up grew, joining Jayne Casey (vocals) and Ian Broudie (guitar) but Clive Langer quit in September, just after the band recorded their first song “Big In Japan“ which was released in the 7“ single compilation ’Brutality, Religion and a Dance Beat’