Japan Calling # 19 - Mikabomb! With Lucy and the Rats and Seven Days and Doesn’t Die

Japan Calling proudly presents MIKA BOMB for their only UK show this year!! With special guests Lucy and the Rats, and Seven Days and Doesn’t Die.

Lead singer Mika arrived London in 1998, with only one thing on her mind – playing in a cool punk band. Recruitment for the now legendary line-up, began with the arrival in London of a teenage brat from Beijing who had everything you could want in a guitarist – Agi joined the band. Another Mika (bass) introduced an element of musicality to the bass department while a North London boy, Ergi, provided the unique hard hitting rhythms – the MIKABOMB sound was born.

Things started to pick up in 1999 when the band played what seemed like thousands of gigs at various venues around the country. The band were championed by Radio One DJ Steve Lamacq and received rave reviews across UK.

“The best band to ever come out of Japan” – Steve Lamacq.

“Four impossibly pretty Japanese girls playing spiky Tommy-gun punk like an on-form Elastica covering Shampoo”- NME.

In 2000, they signed as the hard-hitting new stars of Beastie Boys’ label Grand Royal, MIKA BOMB stormed into the West Country plugging their singles “Super sexy razor happy girls” and “Heart Attack”. Fusing Motown, New York punk, 50’ Garage and Japanese pop to form their distinctive, helter-skelter, distortion-heavy pop sound, The four Japanese girls are physically tiny, but once plugged into outrageously overdriven guitars, they are more than a match for any number of sweaty punters in the audience twice their size.

With the tragic (Lucky – Ed) demise of Grand Royal the album, ‘The Fake Fake sound of MIKA BOMB” was released through Damaged Goods in 2001

Finally in 2005 their second album ‘HellCats’ has been released alongside the single ‘Osaka’. Recorded at Gizzard studios in London this is more of the same Punk-Pop-Garage stuff the band are known for, it also includes a guest appearance from Holly Golightly on their cover of Holly’s ‘Won’t Go Out’.

The band split in late 2006 and went their separate ways leaving two great albums and a lot of great memories behind them.

“Mikabomb’s appeal is unintentional, but that’s exactly why it’s so appealing! Bonkers lyrics, Mental Oriental!!”
KKKK- Kerrang.

Lucy and the Rats:

The Rats are Aussie punk rock legend Lucy Spazzy's new London backing outfit. According to a (sadly now deceased) witness, their sound comes across like a lab experiment gone wrong, the most delicate of hamsters being ravaged by the filthiest sewer rat whilst humming the sweetest of sweet melodies... Science gone, indeed, too far!! With Manu (Thee Tumbitas, Johnny Throttle) on drums, and Mike Cannibal (Animal Cannibal) and Joe (Johnny Throttle, Los Perros) on the twin guitar assault, you know these rodents are here to bite you!! Here Come the Rats!!!

Seven Days and Doesn’t Die a.k.a. The Glory Of The Gutter

Dragged up from the gutters and back alleys of London’s ripe underbelly, they are here to offer sleaze-infested riffs splattered atop guttural beats, fists of bass, and hungry vocals.

Seven Days converged to spit naked, armed truths from their black smoke backdrop, in an effusive assault to remind you, we’ve all made it this far, and survived.

The worst is yet to come!  Be there before they're square!

People playing records between and after the bands: 

Javi Ad (Garageland)
Boston Paul (Dirty Water Records)
Thee Suave (Dirty Water Records)

Doors at 7pm
Saturday 12th October 2019

£10 ADV / £13 OTD

The Finsbury Pub
336 Green Lanes
N4 1BYLondon

United Kingdom