Off Course

Leading lights of the Japanese folk-rock scene, Off Course formed in 1964 and ruled the roost for the next 25 years. Cooked up by a group of high school students that included keyboardist Kazumasa Oda and guitarist Yashiro Suzuki, the band spent the latter half of the '60s honing their sound at homegrown competitions, before releasing their debut single "Gunshou no Naka De" in 1970. The song failed to make an impact on the charts, which promped the band to go back to the drawing board. After a few line-up changes, including the hiring of Kouji Yoshida as a backup vocalist, they dropped their debut LP. Released in 1973, Off Course 1: Boku no Okurimono was followed by five more albums during the '70s, and the band hit the Top 20 with 1978 effort Fairway (1978), also scoring a signature tune in 1979 single "Sayonara," which went to number two in Japan. The success of "Sayonara" ultimately paved the way for their subsequent chart victories, and they bagged two more Top Ten singles in 1980 and 1981, after having welcomed Kazuhiko Matsuo (guitar, harmonica) and Hitoshi Shimizu (bass) into the fold in 1979. They topped Japan's Oricon charts with their eighth album in 1980, We Are (1980), and racked up another seven albums during the '80s, culminating in 1988's Still a long way to go. Off Course parted ways following a farewell concert at the Tokyo Dome on February 26, 1989.

Please enable Javascript to view this page competely.