Song:Turning Japanese
Album:I Want My New Wave
Turning Japanese is one of the most memorable songs of the New Wave era of the early 80s. It was never a big chart hit in the US but the video was very popular during the early days of MTV. Unfortuately The Vapors didn't last long afterwards. The lead singer and songwriter of The Vapors was Dave Fenton. He first formed the group in 1978 but in 1979 he brought in lead guitarist Ed Bazalgette and drummer Howard Smith from The Ellery Bops. Bassist Steve Smith joined soon after. The group was spotted by The Jam bassist Bruce Foxton and he took them under his wing and The Vapors toured with The Jam. The Jam's lead singer Paul Weller's father John Weller became their manager. The Vapors signed with United Artists Records. Their 1980 debut album New Clear Days was produced by The Jam's producer Vic Coppersmith-Heaven. Turning Japanese was the second single. It reached #3 on the UK charts and #36 on the Billboard Hot 100. But the video went into regular rotation on MTV. One of the reasons the song became popular is a lot of kids thought it was about masturbation. At the time, Fenton was ambiguous about that. But in recent years he has admitted that it was about a failed relationship, apparently the subject of a lot of his songs. There are Vapors comps but this various artists comp from Razor & Tie is a good intro to New Wave. EMI bought United Artists in 1980 and the new management chose not to promote The Vapors and their second album Magnets tanked. The Vapors split up soon after. Dave Fenton is now an entertainment lawyer. Ed Bazalgette directs films for the BBC. Here's the video for Turning Japanese by The Vapors.
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