History
Formed by friends at Tokai University in Tokyo, Japan on February 14, 1992.[1] Penicillin began with Chisato on vocals, Gisho on bass, O-Jiro on drums and both Yuuji and Shaisuke on guitar.[2] Before anything was recorded however the band's line-up changed to Hakuei on vocals, Gisho on bass, O-Jiro on drums and both Shaisuke and Chisato on guitar. Their name was taken from the punk rock group "Penicillin Shock" in the manga series To-y and they titled their first album, which was released in 1994 and produced by Kiyoshi of Media Youth,[3] after the fictional band.[4] Hakuei later stated that when the band started, he wanted to play hardcore punk in a violent and flashy style like Gastunk.[1] To his recollection, the term "visual kei" did not exist when they formed, but Penicillin were quickly labeled as such.[5] After their first album, Shaisuke left the band to join Deshabillz.
Penicillin made their major label debut in March 1996 with "Blue Moon" on Pioneer LDC.[1] On July 25 and 26, they performed at the Nippon Budokan while still a new band.[1] In 1997 they released Limelight, which was named one of the top albums from 1989-1998 in a 2004 issue of the music magazine Band Yarouze.[6] Penicillin stayed on Pioneer until 1998 when they changed to East West Japan. Their sixth single "Romance" was released on January 15, 1998, and ranked within the top 10 on the Oricon chart for six consecutive weeks, selling over 900,000 copies.[7] It was the opening theme of the Sexy Commando Gaiden: Sugoi yo!! Masaru-san anime adaptation. After they were dropped by East West Japan they changed to Omega A.T. Music (an indie label) in 2001. Omega happens to be under Omega Project Holdings which Yoshiaki Kondou (Gisho) is the CEO of.[8] However they were only on Omega for a year before being picked up by Hiboom, which was an indie subsidiary of Avex Trax. In 2005 when Hiboom was closed, they were picked up directly by Avex Trax and were once again on a major label.
On December 12, 2005, Penicillin celebrated its 15th anniversary as a band. On March 9, 2007, Gisho announced that he would leave the band.[9] His last live was his birthday on May 20, 2007, at Shibuya O-East. Since then the band has continued on as a three piece unit. During the February 11, 2008, live, it was announced the Penicillin would once again change labels, this time to Nippon Crown.[10]
In 2010, Penicillin established the independent record label That Records. The first release by the new label was their single "Rosetta" on August 4.[11]
Penicillin's song "Romance" was covered by And on the compilation Crush! -90's V-Rock Best Hit Cover Songs-. The album was released on January 26, 2011, and features current visual kei bands covering songs from bands that were important to the '90s visual kei movement.[12] It was also covered by Jui for the similar album Counteraction - V-Rock covered Visual Anime songs Compilation-, which was released on May 23, 2012, and features covers of songs by visual kei bands that were used in anime.[13]
They covered "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride", from Lilo & Stitch, for the cover album V-Rock Disney, which was released on September 7, 2011, and features visual kei artists covering Disney songs.[14]
Penicillin released their first cover album, Memories ~Japanese Masterpieces~ which is composed of songs by female singers, on March 18, 2015. The artwork for the album was drawn by Atsushi Kamijo, author of the manga from which the group took their name.[15]
