Yellow Magic Orchestra, from Tokyo Japan, was Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards, vocals), Haruomi Hosono (bass, keyboards, vocals) and Yukihiro Takahashi (drums, lead vocals and occasionally keyboards). On tour in 1978 they were joined by Akiko Yano on keyboards, (she and Sakamoto later married) and Masayoshi Takanaka on guitar. Below they play Behind the Mask at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles:
On tour in 1980, the band appeared on Soul Train to cover Archie Bell & the Drells' Tighten Up, chat with a feisty Don Cornelius and perform Firecracker, their biggest hit from their first self titled album. Firecracker is itself a tongue in cheek repatriation of a Martin Denny exotica novelty that turns a somewhat cringy Orientalist pastiche into a Disco masterpiece. Visuals from the appearance are combined with the recording in the below:
YMO's version was sampled by Afrika Bambaata in1983 for Death Mix Part 2.
Yukihiro Takahashi and the YMO's guitarist on tour Takanaka were previously in Sadistic Mika Band which had at least one memorable appearance on BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test with Mika Kato fronting in 1976. Suki Suki Suki from that performance is below:
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