A beaming Hoshika Rumiko with The Beatles on the cover of issue number eight of ‘Music Life,’ 1965.
According to fans the Japanese magazine Music Life (published by Shinko Music Entertainment) is considered the greatest music publication in Japan. The magazine got its real start sometime in 1951 after a failed launch five-years earlier in 1946. When a former member of the magazine’s editorial staff, Hoshika Rumiko, took over as the magazine’s editor in 1964, she also became the first Japanese journalist to interview The Beatles in London and then once again when the band came to Japan in 1966. Rumiko even appeared on the cover of Music Life in 1965 along with John, Paul, George and Ringo dressed in traditional Japanese attire. When her interview with the Fab Four was published the magazine sold 250,000 copies—a far cry from their usual distribution of 50,000-70,000 copies per issue.
Known for its high-quality photographs printed on thick glossy paper Music Life was reportedly one of Japan’s best selling magazines during the 60’s and 70s and featured photos and interviews with EVERYONE that was anyone especially musical acts that were “big in Japan” like David Sylvian (of the band Japan), Queen, The Runaways, David Bowie, Debbie Harry, Frank Zappa, and of course KISS. Most of the images I’ve included here I’ve never laid eyes on myself, like one of an eighteen-year-old Peter Frampton with a brown Beatle-esque haircut from 1968 and another of Iron Maiden posing on the cover of Music Life in 1981 with a heavy metal-looking Kabuki entertainer instead of their faithful mascot Eddie.
The magazine called it a day in 1998 and Rumiko is currently working to complete her biography detailing her life as a pioneering female journalist in Japan (something I will absolutely be reading when it comes out in English) sometime late this year. As I know many of our Dangerous Minds readers enjoy collecting vintage music magazines, copies of Music Life are fairly easy to come by and will run you anywhere from $20 to about $75 bucks an issue on eBay. If you dig what you see in this post, you can also see more of the magazine’s cool covers that date back to 1968 at this archival site.
Marc Bolan of T.Rex on the cover of issue number twelve of ‘Music Life,’ 1972.
Adam Ant, 1981.
Frank Zappa, 1969.
Boy George, 1984.
A 22-year-old Brian Setzer, 1981.
David Bowie, 1973.
David Sylvian, 1979.
An eighteen-year-old Peter Frampton, 1968.
Debbie Harry, 1979.
The Runaways, 1972.
The Clash, 1982.
Cheap Trick, 1976.
Queen, 1974.
Bob Geldof, 1980.
Iron Maiden, 1981 (where’s EDDIE?).
Judas Priest, 1981.
Steven Tyler, 1976.
Lennon, Yoko, Julian Lennon, and a few members of the Rolling Stones and The Who, 1969.
Ritchie Blackmore in 1982 and 1985.
1969.
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention in ‘Music Life,’ 1970.
Hoshika Rumiko showing Ringo and John Lennon the signature pose made famous by a character in the ‘Osomatsu-kun,’ a popular Japanese-based manga and anime in the mid-60s.
Paul McCartney holding a copy of ‘Music Life,’ 1965.
Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Motörhead, The Cure, The Jam (+ a bizarre Adam Ant comic) from the pages of cool 80s mag Flexipop!