Mika Bomb

Mika Bomb
Origin	London, England
Genres	Pop punk Garage punk Indie rock Pop
Years active	1998–2006
Labels	Grand Royal Damaged Goods Records
Associated acts	Long Kuan Jiu Duan
Website	Mika Bomb's page on Damaged Goods' website
Members
Mika Handa - lead singer Anko (Ann Sung-an Lee) - the tele girl, backing vocals Mel Roxy - the SG girl, backing vocals Wataru Idol - bass Ergi Ahmed - drums
Past members
Nic Tse - bass Haruna Hayashi - guitar
Notable instruments
Fender Telecaster - Gibson SG

Mika Bomb (sometimes spelled Mikabomb) is a London-based, Japanese pop-punk band.

Lead singer Mika Handa arrived in London in 1998, with the goal of playing in a punk band. Recruitment for the band began with the arrival in London of the guitarist Agi (Long Kuan),^[1] who now sings in the electronic duo, Long Kuan Jiu Duan.^[2][3] Agi is also known to have tried to re-use Mika Bomb songs in China for profit due to their shaky copyright laws. Another Mika (Mika Kanayama) on bass introduced an element of musicality to the bass department while a North London boy, Ergi, provided the drums.

In 2000, they signed with the Beastie Boys' label Grand Royal. Mika Bomb performed in the West Country plugging their singles "Super Sexy Razor Happy Girls" and "Heart Attack". They fused Motown, New York punk, 1950s garage rock and Japanese pop to form a distinctive, distortion-heavy pop sound.

2001 saw the release of their debut album The Fake Fake Sound of Mikabomb on the Damaged Goods label after Grand Royal went bust.

Through their career they have played with At the Drive-In, The Donnas, Snuff, Bis, The Datsuns, The D4, Ten Benson and Rosita.

In 2005, they released their second album, Hellcats, which featured a cover of Holly Golightly's "Won't Go Out", with Mika and Holly herself performing a duet on lead vocals.

On 10 December 2005, drummer Ergi fell ill and was rushed to hospital where he was diagnosed as having septicaemia. He survived a week-long, near-fatal coma, but had both his legs amputated below the knee. There were several fundraising events in 2006 to help Ergi cope with the changes in his life, the highlight being a benefit gig at The Garage, Highbury Corner, Islington, London on 15 May 2006.

Band members

The current line-up is:

• Mika Handa - lead singer
• Anko (Ann Sung-an Lee) - the tele girl, backing vocals
• Mel Roxy - the SG girl, backing vocals
• Wataru Idol - bass
• Ergi Ahmed - drums

References

1. ^ "'Chaos' of China's music industry". BBC News. BBC. 2008-02-21. http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7251211.stm. Retrieved 2008-02-21. 
2. ^ "Chinese Duo "Long Kuan Jiu Duan" Releases First Album". Beijing International. http://www.ebeijing.gov.cn/News/ACulture/t165693.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-21. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ Shen Ting (2005-03-12). "Long Kuan Jiu Duan: I like Tricky Music". Cri Online. China Beat. http://english.cri.cn/1375/2005-3-12/[e-mail]. Retrieved 2008-02-21. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• Mika Bomb's page on Damaged Goods' website
• PLAYLOUDER | Yellow, I Love You Feature article on Hellcats by Daniel Robson, including a history of the band and an interview with Mika Handa.