Thee Michelle Gun Elephant

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j-rock, japanese, rock, garage rock, punk… see all

Thee Michelle Gun Elephant (also known as TMGE or in Japanese: ミッシェル・ガン・エレファント) was a Japanese garage band popular in Japan. 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 500,000 copies, a huge number in the Japanese recording industry. Gear Blues was released in the United States in 2000 by Alive Records, but the band’s success in that country never reached the level that they had in Japan, although they had moderate success in Europe.

The band announced that they would break up on October 11, 2003, after their Last Heaven tour of Japan.

Gear Blues
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TMGE 106
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gaojidongwu wrote:
last month

saw Blue Spring a few days ago. I've already been a big TMGE fan, but now I need a taste of Chiba Yuusuke's voice every day... so addictive!

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ripplemusic wrote:
last month

If you dig rock like this, come check out the From The Garage Group, celebrating all the great music from the worlds garages. We're new and growing. Come join us. http://www.last.fm/group/From+The+Garage

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GrayTenshi wrote:
last month

~Oooooohhhhh! Buuuurabuuuuura to!!! ~Yoooooru niiiii naru!!!! ~Buuuuurabuuuuuura to!!!! ~Yoru wo iiiiku!!!! ~Oooooooooh! Jirijiri to Yoru ni naru!!!! ~Jirijiri to Yoru wo iku!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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rottensid wrote:
August 2008

I don't wanna be your lover, baby.

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SHiRO24 wrote:
August 2008

blue spring

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JDAckers wrote:
July 2008

lol

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hikaru2 wrote:
July 2008

so so so cool!great! best band in Japan!

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anteee wrote:
June 2008

andreasonic: The band announced that they would break up on October 11, 2003, after their Last Heaven tour of Japan.

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Andreasonic wrote:
June 2008

Hey come to italy

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xetal wrote:
June 2008

fuck yeah!

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perspex wrote:
June 2008

i'm heartened to see so many aoi haruers!

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trolllover wrote:
April 2008

lol @ band name, sounds like the subject line from a SPAM email. Four words chosen randomly from a dictionary.

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JDAckers wrote:
April 2008

Well most the members now play for either; ROSSO, The Birthday or Radio Caroline. Another one to check out is the Rodeo Carburettor, they are pretty good. Blankey Jet City/Sherbets/Jude are not quite Garage rock, more like rockabilly, good none the less :D

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JDAckers wrote:
April 2008

Like Japanese Music and live in the UK? please join; http://www.last.fm/group/Japanese+Music+Fans+in+the+UK

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Jezpuh wrote:
March 2008

any more (non japanese even) bands that sound like this? the similar artists only display j-rock

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Phlegm70 wrote:
March 2008

I want the motorcycle.

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brtkrbzhnv wrote:
March 2008

When I hear the song Marion, I always think he's singing RACHMANINOFF. Too bad he isn't.

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JDAckers wrote:
February 2008

XD

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brAIndamaged wrote:
February 2008

They have guitars, and they're not afraid to use them.

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foleykitano wrote:
February 2008

To all Thee Michelle Gun Elephant/ROSSO/The Birthday/Radio Caroline and japanese rock fans, here are my groups for the former members of TMGE! Chiba Yusuke http://www.last.fm/group/Chiba+Yusuke+Fans (!!!!!) Abe Futoshi http://www.last.fm/group/Abe+Futoshi+Fans (!!!!) Kazuyuki Kuhara http://www.last.fm/group/Kazuyuki+Kuhara+Fans (!!!!) Koji Ueno http://www.last.fm/group/Koji+Ueno+Fans (!!!!)

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