English translation

PINK SAPPHIRE was an all-girl rock band active in early 1990s. 

Members:

- Tsukada Ayako (born: July 28, 1969), nickname: Aya, vocal. pic: 1, 2

- Suzuki Takako (born: August 3, 1967), nickname: Taka, guitar. pic: 1, 2

- Ishida Miki (born: December 9, 1969), bass. pic: 1, 2

- Kikuno Harumi (born: October 26, 1968), drums. pic: 1, 2

Other members:

- Kanako, one of the founding members and the original vocalist. Their label decided to replace her with Tsukada Ayako before their professional debut. It was said that some of their debut posters still showed her as the vocalist.

- Yanmi, one of the founding members and the original guitarist. She was replaced by Suzuki Takako before their debut. 

- Mayu, the third vocalist. In 1994, Tsukada Ayako got married and left the group. Mayu was chosen to replace her but the group went into hiatus in 1995 before she got a chance to record any new song with the band.

 

As for the origin of the band name, Pink was their drummer's favorite color, and then from their birthstones, Sapphire sounded the coolest, and they went with Pink Sapphire. There was once a band competition tv show: "Ikasu Band Tengoku" aired on TBS that created a band boom from 1989 to 1990. PINK SAPPHIRE participated in one of their episodes on May 20, 1989.

 

The original PINK SAPPHIRE when they were amateur band

^ when Kanako and Yanmi were still parts of the group before they were replaced

 

After the show, they were signed by a label but their company decided to scout Tsukada Ayako who was a trainee in a talent agency back then to replace the original vocalist. The original guitarist was also replaced. PINK SAPPHIRE with Aya, Taka, Miki and Harumi made their pro debut on July 25, 1990.

 

Who is who?

^ (0:26) Tsukada Ayako (Aya) the vocalist, (2:14) Suzuki Takako (Taka) the guitarist, (1:34) Ishida Miki the bassist, (2:57) Kikuno Harumi the drummer.

 

 

About this song

Released on July 25, 1990 as their debut song, this song became their biggest hit and their signature song, it reached #2 on Oricon chart and sold 452,000 copies. It won them at least two newcomer awards. 

 

The song was used as OST for the drama: "Kimochi Ii Koi Shitai!" (1990)

^ 0:00 - 2:09. Among the three female leads, there were (0:25) Tanaka Minako and (0:28) Morio Yumi. 

 

 

Their live performances:

 

 

In their career, PINK SAPPHIRE has released a total of 8 singles, 4 original albums and 1 mini album. Their singles position on Oricon chart were #2, #5, #8, #10, #13, #29, #60, #(not ranked). There's no information about their total sales (all singles + all albums) but their total singles sales alone are 826,000 copies (*add that with their albums sales, their total sales are almost guaranteed to exceed 1 million). 

 

In 1994, Aya the vocalist got married and left the group. In 1995, PINK SAPPHIRE went into indefinite hiatus (or simply disbanded (?)). Bassist Ishida Miki formed her own 3-people band in 1998. Taka became substitute guitarist for other bands on their tours. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...and decades have passed...

 

 

 

The members met again for the first time in 2012. In 2013, they performed in a bar with just Aya and Taka, although the other two were also there watching. All four of them finally performed togehter live in 2014.

 

They commemorated their 25th anniversary in 2015.

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1xA411V7TE

https://www.yo-hey.com/archives/55388555.html

 

 

And...this was the last time PINK SAPPHIRE performed on TV in 2017

video with youtube id 00GcNuV4Vso was removed automatically due to unavailability

 

 

May 13, 2023, PINK SAPPHIRE held their last live event with three members (the drummer Kikuno Harumi couldn't come and replaced by substitute drummer) and decided to cease their activity after that

 

Sadly for their guitarist Suzuki Takako, that was literally her last performance with PINK SAPPHIRE. 7 months later, on December 12, 2023, she died of cancer at the age of 56.