LUNA SEA is a Japanese rock band. It was formed in 1989 by Ryuichi Kawamura, Yasuhiro "Sugizo" Sugihara, Shinobu "Inoran" Inoue, Jun "J." Onose and Shinya Yamada, a lineup that remained consistent until the band's breakup in 2000. They released seven studio albums and several singles and VHS/DVD releases throughout the 90s.
The band was formed in August 1989 by J and Inoran
when they were in high school, using the name "Lunacy." Together with
some senior members, they played at occasional live houses and radio
music contests. When the senior members were graduated from school in
1989, Lunacy recruited Sugizo and Shinya
from the band Pinoccio to be guitarist and drummer, respectively. After
searching for a few months, the band recruited Ryuichi from the band
Slaughter to be the lead vocalist.
That year, Lunacy debuted on stage at the 100-seat capacity Machida
Playhouse on May 29. They released their first demo including "Time Is
Dead" and "Nightmare" for the sold out 100 copies. The band's second
demo would be released three months later including "Suspicious,"
"Shade," and "Search for reason," which again sold out for 1,000
copies. On December 17, the band played their first official live
concert at Machida Playhouse with all 150 tickets being sold out.
In 1990, Lunacy played a handful concerts with other popular bands
such as Wood Pecker, Dools, Billy & the Sluts, Jooly Pickels, and Tokyo Yankees. They released their third demo, "Lastly," and played an additional live at Machida Playhouse.
- Ryuichi Kawamura (河村隆一, Kawamura Ryuichi?) – Vocals
- Yasuhiro "Sugizo" Sugihara (杉原有音 Sugihara Yuune) – Lead guitar and violin
- Shinobu "Inoran" Inoue (井上清信 Inoue Shinobu) – Rhythm guitar
- Jun "J" Onose (小野瀬潤 Onose Jun) – Bass
- Shinya Yamada (山田真矢 Yamada Shinya) – Drums