ESSAY 25
SHOWTIME WITH PINK LADY!
by Jeffrey C. Branch
On the eve (kinda sorta) of the twentieth anniversary of my having travelled to Japan to see Pink Lady alive in concert, I thought I’d dedicated this essay to something I’m surprised I haven’t discussed before now: Mie and Kei in concert.
Throughout the long and storied career of Pink Lady, from their heyday in the late 70’s to early 80’s to the numerous reunions right up to just a decade ago, Mie and Kei were quite the force in live shows, be they in auditoriums, arenas, or even baseball stadiums which they sold out with remarkable ease. I suppose there had been a reason the Ladies released more live albums than studio recordings, and that’s because the concert performances were not just shows, but events. When Mie and Kei made their breakthrough with “SOS” which had been their first of what would be nine straight number one hit songs, fast making them popular with fans, what with their cute looks, flashy costumes and dazzling dance moves, it was inevitable that fans would want to see them live and in person. While complete videos of “Challenge Concert” (the first live album), “Bye-Bye Carnival” and “Summer Fire ‘77” appear not to exist, from what little I’ve seen of those early shows from VHS tapes a friend from Japan had sent me in the early 00’s, Mie and Kei were amazing, put so much energy, passion and, most of all, heart into their performances as I could see the girls loved giving their all for their fans. The successful formula for a Pink Lady concert featured the girls singing their hit tunes as they rolled out, b-sides of said records, solos, and American pop, country, soft rock and Disco standards, some, if not most the girls sang in English. The first time I heard Mie and Kei sing in English, I was more than a little surprised as they sounded pretty darn decent.
Then came early 1978 and “America! America! America!”, a.k.a., the Pink Lady concert in Las Vegas as Mie and Kei brought their magic to the States. I was in the Navy and stationed in Yokosuka at the time, I was stunned when I bought a cassette copy (remember cassettes?) of the show in a record store in downtown Tokyo, and that was wild, especially after watching a documentary of sorts on VHS over twenty years later about the event, from the announcement of the show in Japan, the trip to Vegas, the girls being feted in Sin City, practice sessions to the show itself where the girls were at turns dynamic and delightful, singing both their hits and American songs, highlighted by Mie’s sugary sweet rendition of “I Love How You Love Me” and Kei’s kick-ass version of “House of the Rising Sun”. Back home in Japan a few months later came PL’s biggest live show ever, “‘78 Jumping Summer Carnival” which was held in Tokyo’s Korakuen Stadium, a baseball park (long since demolished) which held nearly 43,000, and with seating added on the field itself, we’re talking close to 50,000, and from a grainy VHS tape I had gotten of the entire show, the place was, well, jumping as Mie and Kei were in absolutely terrific form, the show starting with the girls being rolled out to the stage In convertibles to an unearthly din of cheering from their fans as the girls followed their concert formula while adding songs from ABBA and a Bee Gees medley since Disco was still king of the music scene. As live shows go when it came to Pink Lady, ‘78 JSC was their best.
Ironically enough, almost three years later, Mie and Kei returned to Korakuen for their farewell concert in late March 1981. It was one hell of a show, despite less than perfect weather, what with chilly temperatures and a drizzly rain, the girls performed their hearts out in what they, and everyone else thought would be their last ever time as Pink Lady, watching the entire show on VHS, I was amazed at how they pulled off all their dance routines on a wet stage….and in heels to boot! Troopers to the end. However, it turns out that wasn’t the end as three and a half years later, the girls held their first of would be numerous reunion shows, “Forever Pink Lady” was quite a treat, the girls hadn’t lost a step since their last performance as they sang all their hits along with a couple of numbers from “Pink Lady Again: Suspense”, my favorite studio album. Jumping ahead to 2003, and a full blown reunion tour for the Ladies, but this time, thanks to the internet, yours truly would finally get to see them in person for the first time ever, something I wasn’t able to do while I had been in Japan back in 1977-1978. Even though Mie and Kei were in their late 40’s, they were every bit as energetic and dynamic like they were in their twenties, something I found to have been amazing, then, almost a decade later, the Ladies were at it again, touring in their FIFTIES, even more amazing! For parts of FIVE decades, Pink Lady wowed scores of crowds with their concerts, demonstrating how they were the best there ever was when they did it LIVE!
