Japanese Band The Pillows Disbands After 35 Years
After 35 years, The Pillows (the pillows) have announced their disbandment. The announcement came after the band’s show at KT Zepp Yokohama on January 31, 2025. An English announcement on their X (formerly Twitter) page thanked their fans for all the support over the past three and a half decades. Read the full English press release below:
Founded in Hokkaido in 1989, the pillows have been one of the Japanese alt-rock scene's most influential bands. The band had their breakthrough in Japan following the release of the 1997 Please Mr. Lostman album. Their widespread global recognition came in the early 2000s due to their involvement in the Gainax-animated FLCL OVA. The show included several of their songs, such as "Little Busters," "Crazy Sunshine," and "Last Dinosaur," and two songs recorded for the series: "Ride on Shooting Star" and "I Think I Can."
"I Think I Can" by the pillowsTtT
The band has since worked on several other FLCL incarnations, such as FLCL Progressive, FLCL Alternative, FLCL: Grunge, and FLCL: Shoegaze. Their music has also been featured in shows such as Ahiru no Sora, BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad, Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer, Moonlight Mile, and Sket Dance.
The band's lineup consists of:
- Sawao Yamada (founding member) on lead vocals and rhythm guitar
- Yoshiaki Manabe (founding member) on lead guitar
- Shinichiro Sato (founding member) on drums
Kenji Ueda was one of the band's founding members and served as the original bassist between 1989 and 1992. Following his departure in 1992, several musicians such as Tatsuya Kashima (1993 – 1998), Jun Suzuki (1998 – 2015), Yoshinori Arie (2015 – 2024), and Tomoyuki Miyakawa (2024–disbandment) served as session bassists. After Jun's dismissal from the band, Kenji and Tatsuya appeared several times with the band during their 2015 shows. Over their career, the pillows released 22 studio albums and eight compilation albums.
Source: the pillows Official X