GLAY is regarded by many as one of the most popular Japanese rock / pop bands in the history of popular music. The group was formed in 1988 by Takuro, the band's leader and guitarist, and Teru, then drummer who soon became the lead vocalist, while they were still in high school at their hometown of Hakodate, on the northern island of Hokkaido. The band's name is the Japanese pronunciation of the word 'grey', and it symbolizes how the music was intended to be neither pop nor rock but rather a 'shade of grey' inbetween the two styles. Hisashi, another high school friend, joined the group as their second guitarist later on. The band became more serious and moved to Tokyo upon the members' graduation. During a return trip to Hakkodate to perform with the band PIERROT (no relation to the more popular jrock band also named pierrot), they convinced bassist Jiro to join them and come to Tokyo to pursue a music career. After catching the attention of X-JAPAN drummer Yoshiki, GLAY was given its first record contract and the opportunity to release their first album, hai to diamond, on Extasy Records. Along with their first album, their major debut single RAIN was released under PLATINUM Records on 25 May, 1994. Ever since, their music has grown in popularity in Japan and around the world.
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(the following musicians are technically apart of the band but are not in the public spotlight like the group's four main members)