The Support Behind 6 Years Of History: "Because It's LONDON BLUE" - An Interview with Kiyoshi Hayashi (Manager of LONDON BLUE) (19/08/2019)

I would like to begin this post with my gratitude towards Kiyoshi Hayashi for agreeing to do this interview with me via e-mail, and for patiently awaiting its translation. I would like to further my thanks towards him for continuing to work alongside me with these kinds of interviews, and also for his continued hard work as the groups producer, manager and also one of their lyricists.

Beginning their activities on September 11th, 2013, LONDON BLUE have been singing cool & cute songs together for 6 years. Now, with KANA graduated and ending  5 year history within the group, LONDON BLUE has transformed and stands with one member who will continue the groups history on her own shoulders until another member joins.

But behind this history there is Kiyoshi Hayashi, the brain behind the group that brings J-pop and British music together. Whether he is acting as their manager, teaching them how to play an instrument or penning lyrics for one of their songs, Kiyoshi is always doing something, and today he has allowed us to have a talk with him.

But first, let's learn a little more about him before we talk.

(Photo courtesy of @londonblue2013)

CEO, manager, producer, guitarist and the occasional lyricist, Kiyoshi Hayashi seems like he has a lot going on, and you are probably right in thinking that. As the creator of LONDON BLUE - the cool & cute girls unit who focus on music that fuses British pop, rock and R&R with Japanese bubblegum pop - Kiyoshi focuses a lot of his time on his project that has spanned 6 years, and can only see them going further now that they have completed their 6th Anniversary One-Man Live.

But with a new member continuing the future of LONDON BLUE, Kiyoshi continues to envision all he can do with LONDON BLUE. Though he may be a busy man, - what with being the CEO of Birdland Music Entertainment and Fine Promotion, Inc. - the passion he holds for LONDON BLUE is burning brightly, and with a new era beginning, I thought that it would be as good a time as any to ask him a few of the questions on my mind regarding LONDON BLUE, their future and whether or not he will teach the new era how to play a few instruments...

Walking Down The Graduation Crosswalk - An Interview with LONDON BLUE (19/08/2019)

I would like to start this post with my gratitude towards LONDON BLUE's manager, Kiyoshi Hayashi - also known as Rin Say - for allowing me this opportunity once again, as well as for allowing me to use images from LONDON BLUE's live shows via their Twitter page. I also want to thank both KANA and KYOKA for their hard work and for answering these questions despite being busy with practice, performances and more.

I would also like to thank ジュンペイさん, ヤウユ and ふしあな for allowing me to use their images in this post. Full credit will be given via each photo used.

Inspired by British music, UK fashion, Japanese pop and a cool n' cute vibe, LONDON BLUE are a J-pop Idol duo filled with energy and packaged in a cute burberry or plaid design. Styling themselves around UK fashion prints, the groups love for Britain - London in particular - is undeniable in both their look and sound, and with each performance the girls will wave a towel of white and blue above their heads with pride.

Created 6 years ago, LONDON BLUE has faced their fair share of hurdles as an indies idol group before finally making their major debut under King Records in 2017. Now that their 6th Anniversary is on the horizon, the group faces their biggest hurdle yet - the graduation of their current lineup, KANA and KYOKA. With this, LONDON BLUE will restart with the introduction of new members, girls who are ready continue the groups legacy whilst finding their own path to walk down.

(Photo courtesy of ジュンペイさん via Twitter)

With their graduations announced back in early August, KANA and KYOKA have since been preparing for their last few performances together before LONDON BLUE's September 18th One Man Live, which will see former members MISAKI, KAORU, RIYO, KAYANO and 3510 return to the stage with KANA one last time before she graduates. This special One Man Live will also act as the penultimate performance for KYOKA, who will go on hiatus from the group until her final Birthday Live on September 30th. She will not be participating in any live shows or events with the new members.

Their future's seemingly set in stone - KYOKA potentially walking down the acting path whilst KANA aims to stay behind the scenes as the groups choreographer - both members have an exciting time ahead of them. With the hurdles of the idol world soon behind them, the excitement and the memories that this path has brought them down, it's time to have one final chat with the girls before they go their separate ways and create a new road for themselves.

Before they both take the crosswalk towards a new career, let's talk a little about graduations and instruments, memories and new era's with KANA and KYOKA, the energetic idol duo behind LONDON BLUE...