THE SINGLES
From late 1976 to the end of 1978, Pink Lady was THE hottest recording act in Japan, if not the world, scoring an incredible nine straight number one hit songs after their debut single, "Peppa Keibu", a feat which, to my knowledge hasn't come close to being equalled. The truly amazing thing was that their hits came out like clockwork about every three months! And now, for your viewing pleasure are the top 10 hits made famous by the incomparable Mie and Kei!
FYI: Below are the song titles with the release date and total number of copies sold in parenthesis
Click on the record sleeves for the English translations to Pink Lady's top ten hits! Many thanks to Ted Park for all his hard work on this project!
LEFT: "PEPPER KEIBU" (August 25, 1976, 1,050,000 copies)
RIGHT: "SOS" (November 25, 1976, 1,200,000 copies)
LEFT: "CARMEN '77" (March 10, 1977, 1,100,000 copies)
RIGHT: "NAGISA NO SINDBAD" (June 10, 1977, 1,450,000 copies)
LEFT: "WANTED" (September 5, 1977, 1,650,000 copies)
RIGHT: "UFO" (December 5, 1977, 1,950,000 copies)
LEFT: "SOUTHPAW" (March 25, 1978, 1,800,000 copies)
RIGHT: "MONSTER" (June 25, 1978, 1,600,000 copies)
LEFT: "TOMIE NINGEN" (September 9, 1978, 1,150,000 copies)
RIGHT: "CHAMELEON ARMY" (December 5, 1978, 1,250,000 copies)
Below are songs Mie and Kei recorded between 1979 and 1981 that didn't hit number one, but are worthy of mention here as they're on all of Pink Lady's most recent best hit collections, including "Twin Best"!
LEFT: "Zipangu" (March 1979), this song had a cute, peppy feel as the Ladies sang about a 'miracle island'
RIGHT: "Pink Typhoon" (May 1979), Mie and Kei's version of The Village People's "In The Navy"
LEFT: "Nami Nori Pirates" (June 1979), The legendary Beach Boys sang back up on the B-side which, translated, means "Surf Riding Pirates"
RIGHT: "Kiss In The Dark" (September 1979). Need I say more?
LEFT: "Monday Mona Lisa Club" (September 1979), a searingly powerful Disco scorcher that sounded like something the Bee Gees might've done during their "Saturday Night Fever" heyday. It's my second all-time favorite PL tune after "Wanted"!
RIGHT: "Do Your Best" (December 1979), the theme song for Japan's 1980 Summer Olympic team, a bold and funky rock and roll tune
LEFT: "Agiri Giri" (March 1980), this stylish soft rock song represented dynamic a change of pace for the Ladies as they broke away from their bubblegum pop roots for a more sophisticated sound
RIGHT: "Sekai Eiyushi"(May 1980), translated, it means "World Hero History", another straightforward soft rock number
LEFT: "Utakata" (September 1980), the Japanese version of "Strangers When We Kiss". Check out Mie's sassy jeri-curl hairdo!
RIGHT: The theme to "Fame" (December 1980), also in Japanese
LEFT: "Last Pretender" ( January 1981), this synthesizer heavy Techno/New Wave tune, a la The Cars or Gary Numan was an incredibly stark departure from the cute and perky songs Mie and Kei sang in their heyday
RIGHT: "OH!" (March 1981), a lovely ballad which was the last single the Ladies recorded during their legendary five year run
