Legendary Japanese rock band X Japan dazzles die-hard fans at London show

Record ID: 394047

  • Title: Legendary Japanese rock band X Japan dazzles die-hard fans at London show
  • Date: 7th March 2017
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) DRUMMER, YOSHIKI, SAYING: "Our next goal should be releasing a new album, we have not released a new album almost over 20 years"
  • Embargoed: 21st March 2017 12:15
  • Keywords: x japan concert wembley london
  • Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK / UNIDENTIFIED LOCATIONS / LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK / UNIDENTIFIED LOCATIONS / LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Music
  • Reuters ID: LVA00966YO40D
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Legendary Japanese rock band X Japan dazzled die-hard fans at London's Wembley stadium on Saturday (March 4) with a live show that followed hot on the heels of the UK premiere of 'We Are X', an award winning documentary about the band.
    The show, delayed for a year after guitarist Pata suffered a life-threatening illness, saw X Japan, the most successful rock band in Japanese history, stun British fans with their pioneering spectacle-driven style of visual rock.
    "I feel some kind of electrical current up and down my spine. I cry almost every time I listen to their music," Spanish fan Lazaro told Reuters outside Wembley stadium.
    X Japan, which reunited in 2007 after a bitter 10 year split, has sold over 30 million singles and albums combined, captivating admirers such as Sir George Martin, KISS, Stan Lee, and even the Japanese Emperor.
    Their fame scaled new heights after 'We are X' premiered in Los Angeles last October. It was officially selected for the Sundance Film Festival, SXSW and the BFI London Film Festival, winning multiple awards.
    The film, which premiered at Picturehouse Central in London last month, provides an up close and personal history of the band and a searingly intimate portrait of the group's deeply haunted, virtuoso founder and drummer Yoshiki.
    "I was very suicidal and maybe still, I try to almost kill myself on stage. When you think there's no tomorrow, today is the last day you can live, you just put entire energy into it," said Yoshiki.
    The creative force behind the group, Yoshiki said he is currently working on new songs with American shock rocker Marilyn Manson as X Japan gears up to release their first album in around twenty years.
    The film 'We are X' will be released for home entertainment on June. It was directed by acclaimed filmmaker Stephen Kijak, of Stones in Exile fame, and produced by the Oscar winning team behind the documentary 'Searching for Sugar Man'.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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