Yellow Magic Orchestra

Tracks played

1. Behind the Mask played 2 times, last on 2026-08-24 by Nick Grimshaw
   • - The version of 'Behind the Mask' you're hearing is probably the one with lyrics by Michael Jackson. He originally wrote them for his *Thriller* album, but it didn't make the cut. Greg Phillinganes, who played on *Thriller*, ended up recording it for his own album, and that's the version YMO covered. - YMO were one of the first bands to use the Roland TR-808 drum machine, which became a cornerstone of electronic music. Their early use of it helped popularise the machine, shaping the sound of countless tracks that followed. - Haruomi Hosono, one of YMO's founders, was reportedly inspired to create the band after hearing Kraftwerk and wanting to make a Japanese equivalent. Their early sound was heavily influenced by exotica and lounge music, blended with synthesizers. Lineup: Haruomi Hosono (bass, keyboards, vocals), Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards, vocals), Yukihiro Takahashi (drums, vocals)
   • - "Behind the Mask" was originally an instrumental written by Ryuichi Sakamoto for a 1978 Seiko quartz watch advertisement. Michael Jackson later wrote lyrics for it, intending it for his *Thriller* album, but it did not make the final cut. - The version with Michael Jackson's lyrics was eventually covered by Eric Clapton in 1981, and then by Michael Jackson himself on his posthumously released 2010 album, *Michael*. - Haruomi Hosono, a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra, reputedly decided to pursue electronic music after hearing Kraftwerk's *Autobahn* album in 1975, supposedly buying a synthesiser the very next day. Lineup: Haruomi Hosono (bass, keyboards, vocals), Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards, vocals), Yukihiro Takahashi (drums, vocals)
   • - Yellow Magic Orchestra were one of the first bands to use the Roland TR-808 drum machine extensively, a piece of kit that would go on to define the sound of early hip-hop and electronic music. They were essentially making dance music before most of the world knew what it was. - Michael Jackson later recorded a version of 'Behind the Mask' for his *Thriller* album, but it was pulled at the last minute due to a dispute over publishing rights. It eventually saw the light of day on the posthumous 2010 album, *Michael*. - Ryuichi Sakamoto, one of the band's members, would later win an Academy Award for his work on the soundtrack for the film *The Last Emperor*. He also composed the iconic theme for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Lineup: Haruomi Hosono (bass, keyboards, vocals), Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards, vocals), Yukihiro Takahashi (drums, vocals)
2. Tighten Up (Japanese Gentlemen Stand Up Please!) played 2 times, last on 2026-08-24 by Guy Garvey's Finest Hour
   • - Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi, the three members of Yellow Magic Orchestra, were among the very first musicians in the world to use the now-iconic Roland TR-808 drum machine. They used it on this track, which was released in 1980, the same year the 808 came out. - The "Japanese Gentlemen Stand Up Please!" subtitle was added for the 1980 US release of the track. This was reportedly a nod to a catchphrase used by comedian Marty Feldman in a series of Japanese whisky adverts. - The band's 1980 world tour included a stop in London, where they played with special guest support act, Duran Duran. Lineup: Haruomi Hosono (bass, keyboards, vocals), Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards, vocals), Yukihiro Takahashi (drums, vocals)
   • - The band reputedly recorded parts of this track, specifically the "Japanese gentlemen stand up please!" vocal sample, by running a microphone through a karaoke machine in a hotel room in Honolulu. - Haruomi Hosono, one of the band's founders, was apparently inspired to create Yellow Magic Orchestra after using a Roland MC-8 MicroComposer to produce a track for a cosmetics commercial. - The track's title is a reference to Archie Bell & The Drells' 1968 hit "Tighten Up", which was a popular dance craze at the time. Lineup: Haruomi Hosono (bass, keyboards, vocals), Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards, vocals), Yukihiro Takahashi (drums, vocals)
3. Insomnia played 1 time, last on 2026-09-27 by Dream Time
   • - Ryuichi Sakamoto wrote the music for this track, but Chris Mosdell provided the surreal English lyrics, which were inspired by an eccentric news report about an insomniac woman who drove around Manhattan all night just to stay awake. - Haruomi Hosono originally conceived YMO as a one-off studio joke to mock Western stereotypes of exotic Asian music, fully expecting the band to dissolve immediately after releasing a solitary, disco-infused exotica parody album. - Michael Jackson was such an enormous fan of the group's early work that he recorded a cover of their track "Behind the Mask" during the *Thriller* sessions, though it was shelved for decades following a disagreement over royalty splits. Lineup: Haruomi Hosono (bass, synthesizers), Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards, synthesizers), Yukihiro Takahashi (drums, vocals)
4. Firecracker played 1 time, last on 2026-10-03 by Don Letts' Culture Clash Radio
   • - The track was conceived as an elaborate joke: Haruomi Hosono set out to parody the West's cheesy exoticisation of Asian music by covering a 1959 tune written by American Martin Denny, yet it ended up becoming a pioneering cornerstone of synth-pop instead. - Drummer Yukihiro Takahashi was also a respected fashion designer who personally tailored the band's iconic red Mao-style stage suits, which was quite the shift from his previous gig playing with the British-obsessed glam rockers Sadistic Mika Band. - The synth hook took on an unexpected second life in American hip-hop and R&B, finding its way into Afrika Bambaataa sets and eventually being directly sampled for Mariah Carey's 2001 chart hit "Loverboy". Lineup: Haruomi Hosono (bass, synthesizers), Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards, synthesizers), Yukihiro Takahashi (drums, vocals)