Group Sounds

Group Sounds, usually shortened to GS, was the wave of Japanese beat bands that followed the Ventures' 1965 tour and the Beatles' 1966 visit, when electric guitar groups multiplied across Japan. Bands like *The Tigers*, *The Spiders* and *The Golden Cups* mixed British beat, psychedelia and kayokyoku pop, managed as television idols while chasing genuine rock credibility. Mostly singing in Japanese over fuzz guitars and Farfisa organs, they built the template for Japanese rock before dissolving into the New Rock era around 1970.