In an attempt to expand the scope of their popularity as recording stars, Mie and Kei came to America----twice---- to seek truly international recognition.
1978
Their first foray was in April when the girls did two shows at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas. The local press did a fair job of hyping the arrival of Pink Lady to the States, mentioning their history in Japan and how they were, technically, the highest grossing pop music act in the world at the time. Judging from photos in a picture book I bought, Mie and Kei were wined and dined and treated like royalty during their stay which included press conferences with both American and Japanese audiences, and a side trip to Los Angeles.
Then came the shows themselves. One of the two concerts was recorded for an album called "America, America, America" which I bought in (while in Japan) the fall of '78. On that album, which I still have on cassette, half the songs they sang in English (Mie covered Harry Nillson's "Without You" while Kei did The Animals' "House of the Rising Sun"), the other half being their own hits in Japanese. As far as I could tell, there was barely a trace of an accent and they sounded surprisingly good in English.
1979-1980
Mie and Kei's second American adventure coincided with the release of their first English language single, "Kiss In The Dark" in June of 1979. Even though "KITD" only lasted three weeks on the Billboard singles charts and wasn't critically acclaimed because it was a Disco tune (See: Pink Music), Mie and Kei had become popular in other circles----with American teenagers.
In May of '79, one of the most popular teen idols of the day, Leif Garrett (Remember him?) had a one hour variety special on CBS, and the girls were one of his guests, performing "KITD". Almost immediately, kids fell for the adorable Mie and Kei and were dying to learn more about them. Before you could say "SONY!", teen magazines like Tiger Beat and Superteen were running features on the girls. In June, Look Magazine ran a piece on them, even Rolling Stone chimed in with an in depth article (See: Pink Clippings). At first glance, it would appear that Mie and Kei had struck it rich in the fame department as they had become all the rage with kids who can make, or break celebrities.
According to clippings I found from Superteen Magazine dated October and November of '79, plans were supposedly in the works for Mie and Kei to do TV appearances and promotion tours to hype "KITD". This was to be followed by their first major U.S. concert tour in the spring of 1980 to coincide with the release of a new album and single. Another clipping from the September issue of Tiger Beat Magazine also mentioned the self same concert tour, but with Bob Mackie onboard to design their costumes. Whether or not any of that ever came to pass (I don't think it did), I have no idea as I was overseas at the time. However, I did return to the States in time to see the girls on TV.
After their first go 'round on American TV in '79 with Leif Garrett, Mie and Kei took center stage, sort of, in a limited run, six week prime-time comedy/variety show on NBC called Pink Lady And Jeff, the Jeff in question being Jeff Altman, said in press releases and articles to be a young, up and coming comedian. I guess that the overall aim of the show was to give Mie and Kei big time exposure in the U.S. market, a nationwide stage on which to showcase their talents which, in turn, would make them a hot commodity in the music market, thus leading to more U.S. albums. Let me state for the record that the strategy didn't work too terribly well.
LEFT: From Tiger Beat, July 1979. The girls with Bob Hope and Leif Garrett
RIGHT: From Tiger Beat, August 1979. Mie and Kei make Dolly Parton feel at home during a trip to Japan
LEFT: From TV Guide, Philadelphia, PA edition, March 14, 1980
RIGHT: From TV Guide, Philadelphia, PA edition, March 21, 1980
The show aired three months before I bought my first VCR, so I wasn't able to record it for posterity, still, from what little I do remember seeing, I'm sad to say PL and J wasn't that great. For starters, the variety show genre, once a staple on television since the 50's had become a relic (save for Saturday Night Live) as the 80's began, so the show already had one strike against it. Regarding the headliners, while I hate to badmouth anyone who shares my name, Jeff, who did impersonations and played quirky characters in the skits wasn't the least bit funny to me. Next to Bill Murray, John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams and all the other great comedians of the day, the guy simply didn't measure up.
As for Mie and Kei, the kindest thing I could say was that they did their best. When it comes to doing comedy, said to be the toughest job in show business, you either have it, or you don't, and the girls, hindered by their less than stellar English didn't. If anything, I thought they embarrassed themselves at times in the attempt. Even though the producers lined up guest stars like Blondie (on tape), Cheap Trick (ditto), Teddy Pendergrass, Donny Osmond, Larry Hagman, Florence Henderson, Roy Orbison and even Jerry Lewis, the show was irredeemably awful. In fact, PL and J's only claim to fame (or infamy) was that it would be recognized as one of THE worst shows in the history of American television..
Mie, Jeff and Kei frolic in a hot tub with Larry Hagman, Teddy Pendergrass (two years before the automobile accident in 1982 that left him wheelchair bound to this day) and Sid Caesar
While I never found out how the show fared in the Neilsen ratings, it was pretty much a given that PL and J stunk, and it really pains me to say that. Hell, I was surprised the execs at NBC allowed the show to run the full six weeks, considering how bad it was. If PL and J were to air today, it would've been yanked after it's premiere. Afterwards, Jeff Altman disappeared, at least I never heard from him again. Whatever budding career he might have had probably went down the drain after that calamity. And we all know what happened to Mie and Kei who returned to Japan and were never again seen on American TV, or any other American medium. For more info on PL and J, check out TV Party.
If I were to grade Mie and Kei on their efforts to become popular in the States, I'd honestly have to say they failed, thanks mostly to their American handlers who seriously dropped the ball on both their musical endeavors and PL and J. But then, for a totally unknown foreign act to strike it rich in the U.S. was a crapshoot at best, and in the end, the girls crapped out, plain and simple. Still, between their short lived stay on the Billboard charts and the TV show, Pink Lady did manage to enjoy a small amount of noteriety in America, five minutes of fame instead of the full fifteen, something a lot of homegrown acts can't say.
