Johnny's history part (3): Super Idol Go Hiromi
I wouldn't hesitate to say that Go Hiromi is the most accomplished of all the talents produced by Johnny. He speaks (more or less) fluent English, starred in an American released movie, was basically the face of male idols in the 70s, and is still active at 51 years old.
Last segment, we talked about the Four Leaves and their role in making a name for Johnny. Let's take a look at Go Hiromi's amazing career:
Note: All files are hosted on a personal server so please download with a reasonable amount of connections and don't hotlink etc etc.
Note2: This entire post is dedicated to Go Hiromi because of his unparalleled importance in the history of Johnnys, therefore the chronological timeline that I've thus adopted shall be continued in the next chapter, which will cover events after Go's debut onward.
---Hiromi Go---
Hiromi Go (center) with the Four Leaves on their joint tour.
Hiromi Go circa his debut in 1972 at 17 years old
Just for lolz
Real name: Haratake Hiromi
Born: 10/8/1955 in Fukuoka.
Known in the 70s as one of the "Shin-Go-Sanke" (the three top idols of the time), ironically Hiromi has only managed to have one of his many many singles achieve a number one ranking on the oricon (Yoroshiku Aishuu).
His first media appearance was in the January NHK historical Drama "Shin-Heike Monogatari" where he played Taira no Tsunemori. Shortly after on August, 1st that same year, he signed with Johnny's and was deemed to be the successor of the Four Leaves, then at the height of their popularity, and released his debut single, "Otoko no ko Onna no ko" (Boys and Girls) which allowed him to take home the title of Best New Artist at Japan Records (The Japanese Grammies).
Download Song
君達女の子 僕達男の子
You are girls, we are boys
ヘイヘイヘイ ヘイヘイヘイ
Hey hey hey, hey hey hey
おいで遊ぼう 僕らの世界へ 走って行こう
Come over and play, let's go running to our (own) world
幸福探すのは まかせてほしいのさ
Leave finding happiness (for us) to me
ヘイヘイヘイ ヘイヘイヘイ
Hey hey hey, hey hey hey
夢があふれる 一度の人生 大事な時間
This life that only happens once, filled with dreams, is an important time
アア アア 青空に
Ah, ah, in the blue sky
アア アア 陽が光る
Ah, ah, the sun is shining
明るい風の中 髪をなびかせて GO GO GO GO
(Your) hair waves In the bright breeze
It is said that his stage name "Go" is derived from the idea that he was the "go nin me no four leaves" or The fifth (go) Four Leaf. He garnered great popularity amongst young girls because of his cute and feminine look and his peculiar voice.
Life After Johnnys
In 1976, he changed agencies from Johnny's to Burning Production Co., Ltd. Apparently, this move was so great of a shock to Johnny Kitagawa that it damaged his health. He chronicled this period of his life in his 1980 book "Tatta Hitori" (All Alone):
They threatened me with, "If you leave the jimusho, you'll be shut out of (the entertainment) world and you won't be able to get any jobs." I thought about washing my hands of the entertainment world and I even thought about death. I bought a map of Hokkaido (Japan's northernmost island, quite rural) and began to plan a trip there. Well I wouldn't exactly go so far as to call it a "plan" but in any case I went to Hokkaido alone. It was then that I began to think about death. -- Go Hiromi, Tatta Hitori
Needless to say, he didn't jump off of the tumultuous seaside cliffs of Hokkaido.
In the early 80s, he shed his idol image for a more 'adult' image and went to America to undergo intensive voice training.
In 1982 he refused to appear on the popular show "The Best Ten" (Think of it as Music Station, except all top 10 performers habitually performed unless in concert or some other extenuating circumstance) saying that, "Songs should not be ranked," although this move had a negative effect on his popularity.
Romance
Go has said that he has loved a few women in his lifetime, but that he will not get married again. His first major romance was his "Dream Couple" relationship with Matsuda Seiko, the "eternal idol" of the 70s and 80s. Idols have been traditionally barred from making public their relationships, but Go and Matsuda made cute little hints at it all throughout their courtship. Rumor has it that Go proposed to Matsuda but that she turned him down because she wanted to continue with her career.
After that in 1987, he married the actress Nitani Yurie and had two children. Their marriage, however, ended up in a nasty divorce in 1998 and just two years ago Go took his ex-wife to court, suing her for 20 million yen because she supposedly denied him visitation rights to his two daughters. Naturally, the thing to do when your career and your love life is in ruins is to publish a tell-all, and oh boy did Go Hiromi do just that.
The day after his divorce saw a new beginning for Go. The release of a tell-tale book called Daddy had the media in a frenzy. The Hiromi-Seiko dream couple still lived in many people's minds and fans bought the book in droves and combed it looking for the gory details on why it had never materialized. It was all there and more and the book was a huge bestseller. It was also the perfect publicity for a relaunch of his music career. -- From Japanzone
Making it in the USA
Go has been operating chiefly in the USA since 1987. Apparently, he has an apartment somewhere in Manhattan in New York City. He now speaks relatively fluent English and starred in the 1993 film "Samurai Cowboy," which I have yet to watch but I really want to get my hands on. He finished the Honolulu Marathon in only 3 hours and 38 minutes.
Comeback
In 1999, Hiromi Go released a Japanese version of Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca" as "Goldfinger '99." Not only did it spend many weeks on the charts but he also had a 'guerilla live' in the middle of Shibuya and caused a massive traffic jam that stopped public transportation which resulted in legal actions.
He remarried in 2000 but divorced again in April of 2005.
Last year, he had his 35th anniversary live.
Misc Facts
He enrolled in Nihon University's Law Department but had to withdraw because he couldn't pay the school fees.
In Egi Toshio's (Four Leaves) tell all, he wrote, "Johnnys has profited the most from SMAP but Hiromi Go is the to this day the 'ideal idol' to Johnny Kitagawa."
At the time of his debut he caused a sensation by telling a weekly magazine that he was a "mazakon" (Mommy's boy but also has connotations of being fixated on your mother in less platonic terms) and that he was a virgin.
It's said that in his 20s he fell for Yamaguchi Momoe but was spurned.
Go Hiromi has a pachinko game
Media and Pictures
Picture posts: [1] [2]
TV appearances: On Domoto Kyodai
The Infamous Hard Gay Episode
Recommended Listening:
Yoroshiku Aishuu
Hana to Mitsubachi
How Many Ii Kao
Epherma
Yes, he even has his own manga.
Official Site...go add him to yr myspace!
I'm at home for the holidays so if you like what you hear and you want someone to upload his BEST 38 album please don't ask me as it was painful enough for me to upload 4 songs.
Next time: Tanokin Trio and Shibugakitai: The Early 80s
Last segment, we talked about the Four Leaves and their role in making a name for Johnny. Let's take a look at Go Hiromi's amazing career:
Note: All files are hosted on a personal server so please download with a reasonable amount of connections and don't hotlink etc etc.
Note2: This entire post is dedicated to Go Hiromi because of his unparalleled importance in the history of Johnnys, therefore the chronological timeline that I've thus adopted shall be continued in the next chapter, which will cover events after Go's debut onward.
---Hiromi Go---
Hiromi Go (center) with the Four Leaves on their joint tour.
Hiromi Go circa his debut in 1972 at 17 years old
Just for lolz
Real name: Haratake Hiromi
Born: 10/8/1955 in Fukuoka.
Known in the 70s as one of the "Shin-Go-Sanke" (the three top idols of the time), ironically Hiromi has only managed to have one of his many many singles achieve a number one ranking on the oricon (Yoroshiku Aishuu).
His first media appearance was in the January NHK historical Drama "Shin-Heike Monogatari" where he played Taira no Tsunemori. Shortly after on August, 1st that same year, he signed with Johnny's and was deemed to be the successor of the Four Leaves, then at the height of their popularity, and released his debut single, "Otoko no ko Onna no ko" (Boys and Girls) which allowed him to take home the title of Best New Artist at Japan Records (The Japanese Grammies).
Download Song
君達女の子 僕達男の子
You are girls, we are boys
ヘイヘイヘイ ヘイヘイヘイ
Hey hey hey, hey hey hey
おいで遊ぼう 僕らの世界へ 走って行こう
Come over and play, let's go running to our (own) world
幸福探すのは まかせてほしいのさ
Leave finding happiness (for us) to me
ヘイヘイヘイ ヘイヘイヘイ
Hey hey hey, hey hey hey
夢があふれる 一度の人生 大事な時間
This life that only happens once, filled with dreams, is an important time
アア アア 青空に
Ah, ah, in the blue sky
アア アア 陽が光る
Ah, ah, the sun is shining
明るい風の中 髪をなびかせて GO GO GO GO
(Your) hair waves In the bright breeze
It is said that his stage name "Go" is derived from the idea that he was the "go nin me no four leaves" or The fifth (go) Four Leaf. He garnered great popularity amongst young girls because of his cute and feminine look and his peculiar voice.
Life After Johnnys
In 1976, he changed agencies from Johnny's to Burning Production Co., Ltd. Apparently, this move was so great of a shock to Johnny Kitagawa that it damaged his health. He chronicled this period of his life in his 1980 book "Tatta Hitori" (All Alone):
They threatened me with, "If you leave the jimusho, you'll be shut out of (the entertainment) world and you won't be able to get any jobs." I thought about washing my hands of the entertainment world and I even thought about death. I bought a map of Hokkaido (Japan's northernmost island, quite rural) and began to plan a trip there. Well I wouldn't exactly go so far as to call it a "plan" but in any case I went to Hokkaido alone. It was then that I began to think about death. -- Go Hiromi, Tatta Hitori
Needless to say, he didn't jump off of the tumultuous seaside cliffs of Hokkaido.
In the early 80s, he shed his idol image for a more 'adult' image and went to America to undergo intensive voice training.
In 1982 he refused to appear on the popular show "The Best Ten" (Think of it as Music Station, except all top 10 performers habitually performed unless in concert or some other extenuating circumstance) saying that, "Songs should not be ranked," although this move had a negative effect on his popularity.
Romance
Go has said that he has loved a few women in his lifetime, but that he will not get married again. His first major romance was his "Dream Couple" relationship with Matsuda Seiko, the "eternal idol" of the 70s and 80s. Idols have been traditionally barred from making public their relationships, but Go and Matsuda made cute little hints at it all throughout their courtship. Rumor has it that Go proposed to Matsuda but that she turned him down because she wanted to continue with her career.
After that in 1987, he married the actress Nitani Yurie and had two children. Their marriage, however, ended up in a nasty divorce in 1998 and just two years ago Go took his ex-wife to court, suing her for 20 million yen because she supposedly denied him visitation rights to his two daughters. Naturally, the thing to do when your career and your love life is in ruins is to publish a tell-all, and oh boy did Go Hiromi do just that.
The day after his divorce saw a new beginning for Go. The release of a tell-tale book called Daddy had the media in a frenzy. The Hiromi-Seiko dream couple still lived in many people's minds and fans bought the book in droves and combed it looking for the gory details on why it had never materialized. It was all there and more and the book was a huge bestseller. It was also the perfect publicity for a relaunch of his music career. -- From Japanzone
Making it in the USA
Go has been operating chiefly in the USA since 1987. Apparently, he has an apartment somewhere in Manhattan in New York City. He now speaks relatively fluent English and starred in the 1993 film "Samurai Cowboy," which I have yet to watch but I really want to get my hands on. He finished the Honolulu Marathon in only 3 hours and 38 minutes.
Comeback
In 1999, Hiromi Go released a Japanese version of Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca" as "Goldfinger '99." Not only did it spend many weeks on the charts but he also had a 'guerilla live' in the middle of Shibuya and caused a massive traffic jam that stopped public transportation which resulted in legal actions.
He remarried in 2000 but divorced again in April of 2005.
Last year, he had his 35th anniversary live.
Misc Facts
Media and Pictures
Picture posts: [1] [2]
TV appearances: On Domoto Kyodai
The Infamous Hard Gay Episode
Recommended Listening:
Yoroshiku Aishuu
Hana to Mitsubachi
How Many Ii Kao
Epherma
Yes, he even has his own manga.
Official Site...go add him to yr myspace!
I'm at home for the holidays so if you like what you hear and you want someone to upload his BEST 38 album please don't ask me as it was painful enough for me to upload 4 songs.
Next time: Tanokin Trio and Shibugakitai: The Early 80s