ISBN: 978-0-9561439-0-7 / 180 pgs + cvr / Softback 210 X 210mm
The first illustrated book on this fascinating area of record design, devoted to the hey-day of Japanese single sleeves of the 60s, 70s and early 80s.
Japan was one of the first countries to adorn their vinyl singles in special colour sleeves back in the late fifties, almost as soon as the format had been launched. Teenagers there took a keen interest in the popular music of Britain and America, which Japanese labels quickly began to license. As most British and American singles came in plain sleeves, Japanese labels were free to do their own designs.
The resulting blend of Western music and images, coupled with exotic Japanese typography and design, was visually unique. It was a look which soon adorned thousands of attractive single sleeves as pop music quickly became as big an entertainment form in Japan in the early sixties as it had done in the West.
It was not until the late seventies that these unique Japanese sleeves came to the attention of music fans in Britain, thanks in part to a growing import scene (centred on Flyover Records in London) which valued the pressing and packaging quality of Japanese releases.
This book draws on a number of archives to present a visually stunning selection of 7″ covers from the sixties to the eighties. It is of necessity a selection – there were over 100 Beatles singles releases alone in Japan – but the compilers have carefully chosen those covers which will most interest collectors, music fans and designers, with close on a thousand sleeves featured in full colour. Track titles, label and release date are given for every single, with notes about the acts.
While many big names are here, numerous cult (and downright obscure!) acts are also featured; the emphasis being squarely on the visual look of the sleeve. A comprehensive introduction gives the background to the Japanese singles industry, the way the designs developed, and other details. There is also a full index of all the artists featured.
The sleeves included many photographs of the bands not seen outside Japan, while their exclusivity and the unlikely coupling of tracks often not issued on single anywhere else has made them highly collectable today. Many of the early and rarer releases can fetch three figure sums, some even more.
The dawn of the compact disc quickly saw off the 7″ single format in Japan; in any case labels in America and Britain had begun issuing singles in picture sleeves and the Japanese increasingly began to copy these designs, losing their creativity in the process.
This book, the first of two matching volumes, is the first survey of Japanese sleeves outside the country, and even there the sleeves have never been published at this size and quality. It comes at a time when sales of vinyl overall have begun to grow in Europe as the format enjoys a renaissance amongst indie bands and fans seeking an alternative to the dull experience of the digital download.
NOTE : The lack of the definite article in the title is deliberate, reflecting the way many Japanese / English translations also omit this!
This project had to take a back seat to other titles for a few years but has now been reactivated. The page layout has been redesigned and the older samples removed from the site. Our designer adds: “The original layout was nice but I felt the main sleeves needed to be bigger. So we have adopted a basic grid of four sleeves per pages, with some variations. There will also be some full pages. The publishers have also been able to increase the page count.”
Sample pages from the book. Please note these are subject to change and revision.
Sales sheets will be produced later.
easy on the eye books 