Exactly how big are Ginger/The Wildies in Japan?

[WiredOut]

All this talk of the Wildhearts' financial situation has led me once again to muse exactly how much dosh Ginger might make from his Japanese fanbase.

There was a WH Kerrang! article from about 2002/3 by Ian Winwood that gave the impression that Ginger was not uncommonly stopped on the streets of Tokyo for an autograph. The Wildhearts were 'Toho-sized monsters' or something, he said.

They also seem to play much bigger venues over there than they would over here or (not hard) in the US.

Can anyone shed any light on this in terms of scale/popularity? This has always been a nagging mystery to me.

[WiredOut]

Just to check: is it interest or knowledge we're lacking here?

[fluffygrue]

Knowledge, I think..

If I wasn't so lazy, I'd investigate the sort of venues they play over there and try to find out the capacities. But instead, I'm going for a pint or three. Sorry. *grin*

[firedup]

I seem to remeber a interview in Kerrang a couple of years back saying how they were as big in Japan as the Beatles or something.

Anyway, mmmm. Beer.

[Cwej]

they do very well there , but i recall them saying they were gonna get dropped by their label around the time they stood in the The Darkness @ a festival over there .

[29xthefun]

I know they got paid very well for a gig in around 99. Not sure of the amount of money but it must have been good to get the band back on stage at the time.

[Sarc]

I'd say they where pretty huge over there but I think Japan is one of the easier places to break as i seem to recall something i read ages back that if youre in a band from the western world all you have to do is fart in to a microphone and you'll be playing the Budokan with two years

The way I see it is, and this is in no way at all meant to take away our boys glory over there, I think their "bigness" (not a word but it should be) in Japan is the same as it is over here but the fact that Japan is one of the more heavily overcrowded countries it seems as though there are more people into the band and attending shows therefore they need to book larger venues. I think its a mtter of ratio and currency conversion, say for every one brit that goes to a show over here there are five japanese that go to a show over there, so if the Wolverhampton show the other night was 1134 at maximum capacity the japanese equivlanet would be holding 5670, i know my workings out leave a lot to be desired but i think the majority of you will get what I'm on about.

[Ean]

I think its a mtter of ratio and currency conversion, say for every one brit that goes to a show over here there are five japanese that go to a show over there, so if the Wolverhampton show the other night was 1134 at maximum capacity the japanese equivlanet would be holding 5670, i know my workings out leave a lot to be desired but i think the majority of you will get what I'm on about.

So, not much to keep you busy over there then?

[Sarc]

No

[Ean]

Give me half an hour and I may be able to resolve that.

[Sarc]

Give me half an hour and I may be able to resolve that.

Said the Vicar to the alter boy....

[Cwej]

i think its that the market is more condensed . not smaller as such , but less spread out , in the way US bands break england easily enough , but uk bands have 50 times as much work to break the states .