The Golden Cups

Japanese pop/rock band

The Golden Cups (ザ・ゴールデン・カップス) are a Japanese pop and rock band, who were one of the top bands performing in the Group Sounds scene in the late 1960s.

The band formed in November 1966 in Yokohama, and initially comprised locally born singer Tokimune "Dave" Hirao (November 17, 1944 – November 10, 2008), guitarist Eddie Ban (born June 22, 1947), Hawaiian born guitarist Kenneth Ito (January 1, 1946 – March 2, 1997), bassist Masayoshi "Louis" Kabe (November 5, 1948 – September 26, 2020), and drummer Mamoru Manu (June 3, 1949 – September 2020). Hirao had previously sung in local band The Sphinx, and had recently traveled to the US, as had Ban who returned to Japan with one of the first fuzzboxes in the country. The new band initially called themselves Group & I, and were influenced by the rock and roll music broadcast on the Far East Network from the local US Army base at Honmoku, and more generally by contacts made with Americans and others in the port city of Yokohama. They began playing sets consisting of covers of American pop and rock hits such as "Hey Joe", "Got My Mojo Workin'" and "I Feel Good". They became the house band at the Golden Cup discotheque close to the US Army base, and the club's owner persuaded them to change their name to the Golden Cups. The band also soon won a regular place on the NHK TV morning show, Young 720, and a recording deal with the Capitol label owned by Toshiba. In June 1967, they released their first single, "Itoshi No Jizabel" / "Hiwa Mata Noboru". The record label compelled the group to record bland pop songs written by staff songwriters for most of their A sides, only allowing them free rein on the records' B sides and some album tracks. The same approach was imposed on their performances, with the band obliged to play pop ballads at their major concerts, while playing eccentric garage band covers and hard rock when appearing in small clubs. They released their first album, The Golden Cups Album, in March 1968, and had their biggest pop hit, "Nagai Kami No Shoujo" ("Girl With Long Hair") soon afterwards.