THEY have been a going concern since 1981 and their fans include Sonic Youth and Nirvana. They are Japanese pop-punk band Shonen Knife and they play Galway next week.
Shonen Knife originally formed in their hometown of Osaka, where Michie Nakatani (vocals, bass ), Naoko Yamano (vocals, guitar ), and Atsuko Yamano (drums ), were working at the time as office clerks.
Within a few months they were playing shows and by 1986 had released four albums. The band proved popular in their native land and began to enjoy underground success in the USA, a fact underlined by their appearance on a Sub Pop 100 compilation. In 1989, a variety of alternative bands recorded renditions of their favourite Shonen Knife songs for the tribute album Every Band Has a Shonen Knife Who Loves Them.
The band began playing outside Japan regularly and in 1991 toured as support for Nirvana, just prior to the release of Nevermind. Shonen Knife then signed to Capitol which resulted in the release of the Japanese trio’s finest and best-known album, Let’s Knife in 1992.
Even if they never quite made the breakthrough into the mainstream many expected, Shonen Knife’s Ramones meets the Beatles sweet punk-pop has earned them a worldwide cult following which sees them continue to tour and release albums on a regular basis.
Vocalist Naoko Yamano is the only original member for the mid to late 2000s, but even after 20+ years the band showed no signs of slowing. In 2005, Oglio reissued the band’s first four albums, and the band released the Genki Shock album in 2006; more recent albums include 2009’s Super Group and last year’s Free Time.
Shonen Knife play Strange Brew at the Róisín Dubh on Thursday August 18 at 9pm. Gugai will be DJing afterwards. Tickets are available from the Róisín Dubh and www.roisind ubh.net
