B'z BRIEF CHRONOLOGY - The infos below are taken from B'z Party Newsletter (HK Edition)
For complete B'z LiveGym places/dates, record on awards/achievements and solo works, please refer to Lady Navigation's B'z Pleasure chronology from 1988-2002.

TIPS : The signs are links to LiveGym reports and exclusive interviews in connection to the listed album/ single/ livegym
1988	For several years, Tak Matsumoto was a session guitarist and touring musician in very high demand. He had released his first solo album but still hunger to form his very own band. He auditioned a few vocalists and by coincidence, Koshi Inaba's demo tape was placed into his hand. They had a session together and hit it off well. B'z was formed. It was a booming period for electronica dance music and forming bands. While many other bands were happily recruiting members, B'z made a decision that there would only be two members in their band, Tak with his guitar and Koshi with his 'human' vocal. Both are things that the popular digital/electronica music cannot imitate. Sep 21 1st album "B'z" was released 1st single "Dakara Sono Te Wo Hanashite" was released
1989	In late 80s, it was a trend for J-pop/rock artists or bands to be touring right after releasing single/album. B'z refused to do this kind of promotional tour, instead they continue to work inside the studio, composing and recording more songs. "We won't hold any kind of live-shows, not until we are able to give our audience 90-minute concerts". May 21 2nd album "Off The Lock" was released 2nd single "Kimi No Naka De Odoritai" was released June 11 B'z began their first tour "LiveGym #00 - Off The Lock", all 3 concerts in 3 cities Although B'z first concerts were only hall-class, all the tickets were sold out Oct 21 1st mini album "Bad Communication" was released The song "Bad Communication" beautifully combines dance-rock style. To present days, the song still sells millions even though it never got in TopTen chart. It is also B'z most essential song that can always be heard during any LiveGym in the years after. Oct 26 B'z began their first nation-wide tour "LiveGym #001 - Off The Lock", all 14 concerts
1990	B'z activity this year was just as suggested by their live-shows' name, LiveGym. They worked very hard all year-round to improve their music and band image. Feb 21 3rd album "Break Through" was released 3rd single "Lady Go-Round" was released Mar 06 B'z began nation-wide tour "Live-Gym '90 - Break Through" May 25 4th single "Be There" was released June 13 5th single "Taiyou No Komachi Angel" was released This is B'z first single that hit No.1 position right in the week of release. From this single onward, every B'z singles, without exception, debut at No.1 in Oricon chart. June 21 2nd mini album "Wicked Beat" was released Oct 03 6th single "Easy Come Easy Go" was released Oct 04 B'z began nation-wide tour "LiveGym '90-91 - RISKY", all 49 concerts Oct 24 7th single "Itoshii Hito Yo, Goodnight" was released Nov 07 4th album "RISKY" was released Jason Kasaro (*?) a producer who also handled Madonna and Power Station, participated in this album. The whole process was done in New York and it fufilled B'z wish to combine perfectly dance and rock. It was the first high peak of their sound. This is also B'z first album that hit at No.1 position right in the week of release. All albums and mini albums after "RISKY", without exception, debut at No.1 in Oricon chart. Dec 16 B'z released their 1st video "Film Risky" which was shot in New York and London   B'z had the most releases of albums and singles this year
1991	Mar 27 8th single "Lady Navigation" was released May 03 B'z began their first Arena-class tour "LiveGym Pleasure '91", all 41 concerts. "Pleasure" is the title of 2nd beat song from "Lady Navigation". From then on, all B'z nation-wide tour that are not specifically named according to albums are called "Pleasure" series. May 29 3rd mini album "MARS" was released Jason Kasaro (*?) participate for the second time in the making of this album Oct 30 9th single "ALONE" was released Nov 27 5th album "In The Life" was released The singles and album released this year started to indicate an obvious new direction of their music from electronic dance beat to rock-ish. Dec 11 B'z released their first live-show video "Just Another Life"   Late 1991, B'z applied to perform in some Live-house as Z'b. When the audience heard the name announced, they assumed that Z'b was only a copy band of B'z, so it was a complete surprise when they saw real Tak and Koshi on stage. Z'b performed solely Western songs by their favorite bands such as Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, White Lion, The Beatles and etc. The live-shows spanned four cities. Dec 04 B'z began nation-wide tour "LiveGym '91-92 - In The Life", all 66 concerts   This year, B'z has done more than 100 concerts altogether with the Pleasure series that began earlier and In The Life that last from December 1991 to April 1992.
1992	After completing LiveGyms, B'z once again returned to the studio May 27 10th single "Blowin' / TIME" was released This is B'z first double-titled single. "Blowin' / TIME" is considered as one of B'z greatest works and "TIME" is a song that is performed often in LiveGyms, even years after its release. July 18 B'z began their first Arena-class tour "LiveGym Pleasure '92 - TIME", all 12 concerts. In these concerts, B'z applied a special "Star-Fish" effect which means mobile lighting effects and a stage that can rotate 360% even though it is not a circle in shape. The innovative stage effect made headlines in many Japan's newspapers. Oct 07 11th single "ZERO" was released The single's creative and high-skilled arrangements again is the proof of B'z profound music-crafting ability Nov 21 6th album "RUN" was released More complicated sounding than the albums before, "RUN" is B'z first album that shows more complete rock-style Dec 09 4th mini album "Friends" was released Completely different in style from "RUN", the songs in "Friends" were written with a concept to imitate a movie's soundtrack album. All songs are connected in a story line, describing how a love relationship gone ashtray. It includes the most popular B'z Christmas song, last featured scene : "Itsuka No Merry Christmas".
1993	Jan Late January, B'z began nation-wide tour "LiveGym - RUN", all 49 concerts Mar 17 12th single "Ai No Mama Ni, Wagamama Ni, Boku Wa Kimi Dake Wo Kizutsukenai" was released June 06 13th single "Hadashi No Megami" was released July 31 Aug 01 On these two days, B'z held their first out-door lives : "LiveGym Pleasure '93 - Jap The Ripper" which gathered 100,000 fans. The events were filmed and released as B'z 3rd record-breaking video "Live Ripper" After the successful live-shows, during the rest of the year B'z concentrated fully on making the next album. They completed the two-disc volume album in these months. "The Seventh Blues" title means : the #7 and blues oriented album. And the name is also inspired from the 7th Blues Chord.
1994	Feb 09 B'z began the longest and biggest scale nation-wide tour in their music history "LiveGym '94 - The 9th Blues", all 87 concerts 14th single "Don't Leave Me" was released Mar 02 7th album "The Seventh Blues" was released Nov 21 15th single "MOTEL" was released   This year's two singles and album are considered the most blues-oriented of all B'z songs
1995	Few earlier months of this year was spent in recording studio, trying out many new and different way of writing, arranging and recording music. May 31 16th single "NEGAI" was released July 07 17th single "Love Me, I Love You" was released B'z began the annual stadium-class tour "LiveGym Pleasure '95 - BUZZ", all 12 concerts. On the concerts, B'z added live performance of their not-yet-released new single "Love Phantom". The single that caused a lot of controversy. Next album's production which started in February was finished the same time as the tour finished. Oct 11 18th single "Love Phantom" was released Nov 22 8th album "Loose" was released Spending 1 year and 8 months to produce this album, B'z went back to their first starting concept : "B'z is a band that consists of two persons". The variations applied to each song are extremely different one to another, ranging from pop to hard rock. "Loose" was also the first B'z album that sold more than 3 million.
1996	Jan 01 4th video "BUZZ - The Movie" was released Mar 06 19th single "Mienai Chikara- Invisible One / MOVE " was released It is another double-titled single Mar 15 B'z began nation-wide tour "LiveGym '96 - Spirit Loose", all 44 concerts May 15 20th single "Real Thing Shakes" was released It is B'z first challenge to do full English single (without Japanese vers.). From demo tape right to finished song, all process were done in LA. This single was produced by Andy Jones.   After finishing the live-tour, B'z again locked themselves in the studio, concentrated fully into making the next album Nov 25 5th mini album "Friends II" was released It was the most-awaited mini album series by fans. The songs are jazz oriented, once again showing a new side of the complexity of B'z music.
1997	Mar 05 21st single "Fireball" was released Mar 10 B'z began Dome-class tour "LiveGym Pleasure '97 - Fireball", all 9 concerts. Even as the Dome shows can accomodate more than 40,000 people, all tickets were sold out within a few weeks. The concerts were hard-rock oriented. Apr 08 22nd single "Calling" was released This song was performed as one of encore songs in previous LiveGyms. It was an immediate favorite that the fans requested for the song to be released as single.   B'z completed the year's LiveGyms and went back to studio Oct 08 23rd single "Liar! Liar!" was released This is a single that stretches the so-called B'z style to the fullest, more than any other singles Nov 19 9th album "Survive" was released Since the last album "Loose", B'z took two years to complete this album
1998	Late January, B'z began a preview-live of "LiveGym '98 - Survive", all 5 concerts that were minus flashy stage effects and lightings. Jan 24 B'z began nation-wide tour "LiveGym '98 - Survive", all 44 concerts. In the live-tour that was based on album "Survive", this year, besides applying all effects and tricks used in the past LiveGyms, B'z also had big screens which showed clip and cartoon images, once again improving the visual aspect of their live-shows. Apr 08 24th single "Samayoeru Aoi Dangan" was released May 20 1st best album "B'z The Best Pleasure" was released Collecting 14 no.1 singles, this album's selling record became Japan's #1 of all-time. Once again, B'z made headlines all over newspaper and magazines. June 06 B'z completed "LiveGym '98 - Survive" and went back to studio to complete next single July 08 25th single "HOME / The Wild Wind" was released It is a double-titled single. Before its release, in late June the single's 2nd beat song "The Wild Wind" was chosen to be the main theme song of movie "Sleepless Town". Sep 20 2nd best album "B'z The Best Treasure" was released Collecting not only No.1 singles but also fans' favorite B-side songs chosen by fans themselves : "TIME", "Koi Gokoro", "Mou Ichido Kiss Shitakatta" and "RUN 1998 Style" Sep 21 B'z celebrated their 10th year anniversary, going well into their 11th year
1999	Late February to early March, B'z started recording new album in Osaka, Tokyo and Los Angeles. The album's main song was recorded in Osaka, and later was named "Brotherhood", the same name with the album. June 08 Tokyo City's Live House held a press conference to announce that Tak Matsumoto was selected as Gibson signature artist. There are only 5 persons in the history to own a Gibson signature guitar, and Tak is the first Asian guitarist in the five. This made headlines in newspaper and music magazines. The special guitar also 'performed' a great deal of role in the album "Brotherhood". June 09 27th single "Giri Giri Chop" was released July 09 B'z began Dome-class tour "LiveGym '99 - Brotherhood" that started from Sapporo Dome. This time they concentrated fully in the music aspect, leaving out stunning effects in the past LiveGyms, so they were be able to present the highest quality of music performance of album "Brotherhood" to the audience. July 14 10th album "Brotherhood" was released Aug 28 Aug 29 The last two days of LiveGym in Yokohama attracting more than 140,000 people to see the concerts. Although it rained on the last day, but the audience and B'z coped so well that it did not reduce the exciment at all. The concert was filmed and then released as B'z 6th record-breaking video "Once Upon A Time In Yokohama". (* <-- See image clip ^^)
2000	Feb 09 27th single "Konya Tsuki No Mieru Oka Ni" was released Feb 23 The must album "The Mixture" was released Consisting remixed versions of 2nd beat songs that range from super hard-rock to dance and mellow, this compilation album is like a garden-variety of B'z music. May 24 28th single "MAY" was released June 20 B'z began 2 months long of nation-wide tour "LiveGym 2000 - JUICE", all 18 concerts July 12 29th single "JUICE" was released Oct 04 30th single "RING" was released Dec 06 11th album "Eleven" was released
2001	Feb 26 B'z began 6 months long of nation-wide tour "LiveGym 2001 - Eleven", all 46 concerts which were viewed by 600,000 people Mar 14 31st single "Ultra Soul" was released It was chosen as Fukuoka 2001 International Swimming Championship's official theme song June 28 B'z held their first press-conference ever in Hongkong to promote LiveGym Taiwan/Hongkong Aug 08 32nd single "GOLD" was released Following Ultra Soul, it was also immediately chosen as official theme song for above sport event Aug 25 B'z held their first out-of-Japan concerts "LiveGym Taiwan" for two nights Aug 29 Continuing to "LiveGym Hongkong" for two nights
2002	Apr 18 "DEVIL" was released as FIFA World Cup Japan/Korea's original soundtrack album Apr 24 "Everlasting" was released as the 6th installment of animated movie "Meitantei Conan" main theme song June 05 33th single "Atsuki Kodou No Hate" was released and debut at #1 on Oricon chart. This 29th consecutive #1 single of B'z was chosen as main theme song respectively for Asahi TV Sports Program Year 2002 and Yokohama Pan Pacific Int'l Swimming Championship June 21 B'z began nation-wide tour "LiveGym 2002 - GREEN", all 18 concerts. Tour members including: Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big) on bass, Shane Gaalas (Michael Schenker's Group) on drum and Takanobu Matsuda on keyboard. June 27 B'z performed with Aerosmith for the closing day of FIFA World Cup in Yokohama July 03 12th maxi-album "GREEN" was released and debut at #1 on Oricon Chart. Along with mini and best albums, this is B'z 14th consecutive no.1 album. Sept 22 Sept 24 B'z held their first US concerts Livegym "Rock'n California Roll" in San Diego (500 seats) and Los Angeles (2000 seats). All tickets sold out in one day. L.A. live broadcast through the internet was watched by more than 1.5 million people from all over the world. Nov 27 B'z 7th video "A Beautiful Reel" that features clips from LiveGym GREEN~ "Go* Fight* Win" was released Dec 11 B'z The Best Ballad "Love & B'z" was released. Featuring 15 ballad songs from 15 yrs of career, the compilation album debut at #1 on Oricon chart and sold 1,050,125 copies in the first week. Dec 20 "Love & B'z" 100,000 copies of limited edition red-jacket version were released
2003	Feb 12 B'z had a video shoot of "It's Show Time" PV in L.A. Despite the short notice, week night and cold weather, about 400 fans gathered to give support on the concert scene. Feb 24 Feb 25 Tak's solo album "HANA" was released internationally by Steve Vai's label "Favoured Nation". The album includes a special bonus of "Trinity" which was only available in mini-album "Dragon From The West" Mar 26 34th single "It's Show Time" was released and debut at #1 on Oricon chart. This is B'z 30th consecutive #1 single. On the same day, 10 re-mastered old singles from 1991-1993 "Be There" to "Hadashi No Megami" were released in 12cm maxi-cd format. Today sees B'z making another history in Japanese music industry. They occupied position #1 to #11 simultaneously! June 27 TV Asahi aired a special 1-hr documentary on B'z for 15th year anniversary special. For this purpose, B'z performed a surprise live of "It's Showtime!!" in Roppongi Hills on June 9, to the audience of 4000 people and later performed "Yasei No Energy!!" on the tallest building in Tokyo. July 03 B'z began their annual tour, spanning through 28 cities for 6 months from July 3 to Dec 27. First part is the Livegym 2003 "The Final Pleasure ~ It's Showtime!!". This was B'z last Pleasure-series tour, an all-hit-songs concert series that started in 1991. July 16 35th single "Yasei No Energy" was released and debut at #1 on Oricon chart. This is B'z 31st consecutive #1 single. The song will be used as main theme song for International 2003 Swimming Tournament in Barcelona Sept 17 13th maxi-album "Big Machine" was released and debut at #1 on Oricon Chart. Along with mini and best albums, this is B'z 15th consecutive no.1 album. Sept 20 Two-day-outdoor concerts to celebrate 15th year anniversary in Nagisa-en on Sept 20 and 21. Despite heavy rain and icy wind that Typhoon No.15 brought to the venue on both days, the concerts were a smashing hit and was documented for video release. Oct 12 B'z held their 2nd US concerts Livegym "Banzai in North America" in 5 cities; Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver. The plan was to have 6 concert dates but 1 more was added for San Francisco. Oct 15's LA concert was again broadcasted via internet for fanclub's members. Nov 20 Second part of Livegym 2003 "Big Machine" for arena/stadium-scale began, with 12 concerts in 6 cities, ending with three Christmas concerts in Tokyo Dome. Otsukare, Tak and Koshi! Nov 25 After releasing two solo singles "Ihoujin" and "Imitation Gold", Tak took it further and released an entire album of 60's and 70's J-pop massive hits' cover-project titled "The Hit Parade". The album features vocal works by 17 top-vocalists.
2004	B'z officially announced a one year break, all group activities such as tours and others will be suspended. Tak and Koshi will focus on solo activities this year. Feb 25 B'z 8th film or their 6th concert video, "Typhoon No.15" was released, debut no.1 on Oricon chart. The video features 15th year anniversary two days concert in Nagisa-en last year. 171,000 copies sold was the highest 1st week sales for any music-related DVD release in Japan. Mar 31 Tak's solo project, Tak Matsumoto Group (TMG) released their first single "Oh Japan~ Our Time is Now". It's an international collaboration involving Eric Martin (vocal), Jack Blades (bass) and Brian Tischy (drum). May 05 36th single "BANZAI" was released and debut at #1 on Oricon chart. This is B'z 32nd consecutive #1 single. June 23 Tak Matsumoto Group (TMG) released their first album "TMG 1". July 14 Koshi Inaba released his 3rd solo single "Wonderland", debut no.1 on Oricon chart. July 16 Koshi Inaba embarked on his first solo tour called "Inaba Koshi Live 2004 ~en~" with 20 concert dates spanning 11 cities, from July 16 to September 20. July 17 Tak Matsumoto did a three days concert called "HANA", a special collaboration with Tokyo Orchestra in which he performed guitar instrumental of B'z and his own solo songs. July 30 Tak Matsumoto Group (TMG) embarked on their first tour called "Dodge The Bullet", with 16 concert dates spanning 8 cities, from July 30 to September 7. Sept 01 37th single "Arigato" was released and debut at #1 on Oricon chart. This is B'z 33rd consecutive #1 single. Sept 22 Koshi Inaba released his 3rd solo album "Peace of Mind", debut no.1 on Oricon chart. Nov 11 Tak Matsumoto released an instrumental album "House of Strings" including his live performance with Tokyo Orchestra. Dec 15 Tak Matsumoto Group (TMG) released a tour DVD called "Dodge The Bullet". Dec 22 Koshi Inaba released his solo tour DVD called "Inaba Koshi Live 2004 ~en~".
2005	Mar 09 38th single "Ai No Bakudan" was released and debut at #1 on Oricon chart. This is B'z 34th consecutive #1 single. Apr 06 14th album "The Circle" was released and debut at #1 on Oricon chart. Along with mini and best albums, this is B'z 16th consecutive no.1 album. Apr 17 B'z began a nation-wide tour "B'z Livegym 2005 ~ Circle of Rock", starting from April 17 to September 19. The schedule enlisted 41 concert dates in 26 cities, with 11 dome-scale concerts in Fukui, Fukuoka, Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. Aug 10 39th single "OCEAN" was released and debut at #1 on Oricon chart. This is B'z 35th consecutive #1 single. Oct 19 Tak Matsumoto released an instrumental album "Theatre of Strings", an omnibus album featuring collaboration with Michiya Haruhata (TUBE), Takashi Masuzaki (Dimension), Yoshinobu Ohga (Oom). The four guitarists performed enchantingly beautiful renditions of original soundtracks from old movies. Nov 30 5th best album "B'z The Best Pleasure II" was released. Fourteen #1 single hits collection from 1998 to 2005. Needless to say, it debut at #1 on Oricon chart and hit million sales mark.
2006	Jan 25 40th single "Shoudou" was released and debut at #1 on Oricon chart. This is B'z 36th consecutive #1 single. Apr 12 41st single "Yuruginai Mono Hitotsu" was released and debut at #1 on Oricon chart. This is B'z 37th consecutive #1 single. June 07 42nd single "SPLASH" was released and debut at #1 on Oricon chart. This is B'z 38th consecutive #1 single. June 28 15th album "MONSTER" was released and debut at #1 on Oricon chart. Along with mini and best albums, this is B'z 17th consecutive no.1 album. July 02 B'z began a nation-wide tour "B'z Livegym 2006 ~ Monster's Garage", starting from July 2 to August 29. The schedule enlisted 17 concert dates in 11 cities from Hiroshima, ending in Osaka. Sept 01 Network Live broadcasted a B'z concert live from Osaka Namba Hatch. Only 1000 lucky audience who won golden tickets when they bought their "MONSTER" albums get to see B'z in an intimate live-house setting. B'z was the first Japanese band/singer to be broadcasted live by Network Live. Dec 20 B'z 9th film or their 7th concert video, "Monster's Garage" will be released.
2007
2008	Sept 21 B'z celebrates 20th anniversary

August 29, 2001| B'z Party Newsletter (HK Edition) | Translated and completed by Keen for this website ©

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