Happy End -

Happy End (はっぴいえんど) was a Japanese folk-psych band from Chiyoda, Tokyo, that released two albums in 1970/71 on URC, followed by a 1973 third a Bellwood live disc.

Members: 細野晴臣 [Haruomi Hosono] (bass, vocals), 大瀧詠一 [Eiichi Ohtaki] (vocals), 松本隆 [Takashi Matsumoto] (drums), 鈴木茂 [Shigeru Suzuki] (guitar, vocals)

Background

Happy End took shape in Tokyo in 1969 when bassist Haruomi Hosono and drummer Takashi Matsumoto formed Valentine Blue after the breakup of Apryl Fool.

Hosono played bass in the Doctors while he attended Rikkyo University. He met teenage guitarist Shigeru Suzuki at a 1967 audition for PEEP, a student concert series. In 1968, Matsumoto recruited Hosono into the Burns.

Eiichi Ohtaki moved from Iwate to Tokyo in 1967 and drummed for singer Fumio Nunoya’s band Taboo. Ohtaki later joined Hosono and Yoshihiko Nakada in Lamp Post, a trio engaged in record spins and song exchanges. Suzuki played guitar in the school band C.I.A. and later joined bassist Rei Ohara and drummer Tatsuo Hayashi in Skye.

Hosono and Matsumoto joined singer Chu Kosaka in Apryl Fool, which made a 1969 psychedelic album for Nippon Columbia. Amid that group’s collapse, the pair formed Valentine Blue with Ohtaki. Hosono then asked Suzuki to play on “12月の雨の日” at the home of Matsumoto. Suzuki devised a guitar part for the song and joined the group. Matsumoto wrote Japanese lyrics for that song and “春よ来い,” set to an Ohtaki theme.

Valentine Blue made its stage debut on October 28, 1969, at Zendentsū Hall in Tokyo. URC representative Eiji Ogura offered the group an album deal. Folk singer Nobuyasu Okabayashi chose the quartet as his backing band after attending a February 1970 rehearsal. Singer Kenji Endo recorded three tracks with Hosono, Matsumoto, and Suzuki for niyago at Aoi Studio in March. The quartet adopted the name Happy End from a Matsumoto lyric. An initial album session stalled at Aoi Studio in March; the group returned in April to record はっぴいえんど.

Discography:

はっぴいえんど (Happy End) (1970)
風街ろまん (Kazemachi Roman) (1971)
Happy End (1973)
ライヴ!!はっぴいえんど (live, 1974)

Sources

Yūji Shibasaki, “Happy End History, Part 1.” Label history covering the members’ early groups, the October concert, URC contact, and the debut sessions. (otonano)
Takashi Matsumoto and Haruomi Hosono, interview. Firsthand account of their meeting and the Burns. (BRUTUS)
Shigeru Suzuki, “Beginnings” interview. Firsthand account of C.I.A., PEEP, and his meeting with Hosono. (Kioku no Kiroku)
Takashi Matsumoto and Shigeru Suzuki, interview. Their account of Valentine Blue, Suzuki’s invitation, the early songs, and Ogura’s offer. Matsumoto’s recollection of when he wrote “12月の雨の日” conflicts with the October concert chronology, so the draft leaves that rehearsal undated. (Mikiki)
Kenji Endo, interview. Firsthand account of his request to record with the group at Aoi Studio in March 1970. (Kisseidō)
Happy End discography. Debut album credits confirm the composers of “12月の雨の日” and “春よ来い.” (Kioku no Kiroku)