Thee Michelle Gun Elephant
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Thee Michelle Gun Elephant (also known as TMGE) was a Japanese Garage band of notable popularity in its country of origin. Its music is known for the loud guitars of Abe Futoshi and lead singer Chiba Yusuke's loud, gravelly yet melodious vocals. Other members of the band include Kuhara Kazuyuki (drums) and Ueno Koji (bass). The band was formed while the band members were students at Tokyo's Meiji Gakuin University, and their name came from a combination of the name of Billy Childish's offbeat band Thee Headcoats and a former bassist's mispronunciation of the name of The Damned's album, Machine Gun Etiquette.
Their first major label release, Wonder Style, was released in 1995, and produced in London, United Kingdom, by Chris Brown, who previously engineered albums and tracks for Radiohead and Pink Floyd. Their breakthrough album, however, was 1998's Gear Blues which sold more than 4 million copies worldwide. Gear Blues was released in the United States in 2000 by Alive Records.
The band announced that they would break up on October 11, 2003, after their Last Heaven tour of Japan.
Discography
Albums
- Cult Grass Stars (1996) Triad
- High Time (1996) Triad
- Chicken Zombies (1997) Triad
- Gear Blues (1998) Triad
- Casanova Snake (2000) Triad
- Rodeo Tandem Beat Specter (2001) Triad
- Sabrina Heaven (2003) Island
- Sabrina No Heaven (2003) Island
Live Albums
- Casanova Said "Live or Die" (2000) Triad
- Last Heaven's Bootleg (2003) Island
Singles
- Sekaino-Owari (1996) Triad
- Candy House (1996) Triad
- Lily (1996) Triad
- Culture (1997) Triad
- Get Up Lucy (1997) Triad
- The Birdmen (1997) Triad
- G.W.D (1998) Triad
- Out Blues (1998) Triad
- Smokin' Billy (1998) Triad
- GT400 (2000) Triad
- Baby Stardust (2000) Triad
- Abakareta-Sekai (2001) Triad
- Taiyou wo Tsukande Shimatta (2002) Island
- Girl Friend (2003) Trippin' Elephant
- Electric Circus (2003) Island
B-Sides Collection
- Rumble (1999) Triad
Best of Collection
- TMGE 106 (2000) Triad
- Grateful Triad Years (2002) Triad
Other releases
- Maximum! Maximum!! Maximum!!! (1993) Self-Released
- Wonder Style (1995) Trippin' Elephant
- Wonder Style (reissue) (1997) Triad
- Vibe On! (1998) Trippin' Elephant
- Kwacker (with Mick Green) (2001) Trippin' Elephant
External links
- English language fan page by Troy Johnson
- Thee Michelle Gun Elephant Bio on VH1.comfr:Thee Michelle Gun Elephant