Bump of Chicken (バンプ・オブ・チキン, Banpu Obu Chikin, stylized in all caps as BUMP OF CHICKEN) is a Japanese alternative rock group from Sakura, Chiba, Japan. The band members are Motoo Fujiwara (vocals, rhythm), Hiroaki Masukawa (guitar), Yoshifumi Naoi (bass) and Hideo Masu (drums). Since their conception in 1994, they have released 27 singles and 10 albums. They are a popular group in Japan; every release since their third single, "Tentai Kansoku", has charted in the top ten on the Oricon Weekly Charts. Their music has been used in various video games and as theme songs for movies, television shows and anime in Japan.
History
The members first met in kindergarten and were classmates throughout their primary and secondary education. Bump of Chicken's first performance was in 1994, during their ninth grade cultural festival, playing a cover of The Beatles' version of "Twist and Shout". In 1996, their song "Danny" won an award on 96TFM.
In 1999, Bump of Chicken released their first album, Flame Vein, on High Line Records. Later that year, they released their first single, "Lamp". In 2000, they released The Living Dead, their final release on High Line. They also held their first live tour, "Tsuaa Pokiiru (ツアーポキール)", during March and April.
Later in 2000, the group switched to Toy's Factory, releasing their first single on the label, "Diamond", in September. Bump of Chicken's first big success occurred when their single, "Tentai Kansoku", appeared on the Oricon Weekly Charts in 2001. They held two live tours, "Star Porking Tours (スターポーキングツアーズ, Sutaa Pookingu Tsuaazu) 2001" beginning in March and "Surf Porkin'" beginning in July. In October, they released "Harujion". They released their first album on Toy's Factory, Jupiter, in February 2002 and it was their first number one on the Oricon Weekly Charts. In the summer of 2002, their music was featured on the Japanese TV drama Tentai Kansoku, giving them more exposure.
At the end of 2002, the group released the single "Snow Smile". 2003 saw the release of their first double A-side single "Lost Man/Sailing day". "Sailing Day" was used as the ending theme to the animated movie One Piece: Dead End Adventure. The beginning of 2004 saw a slew of re-releases. "Arue", from their album Flame Vein, was released as a single in March. They re-released their first two albums in April. Flame Vein received an extra song and was re-released as Flame Vein +1. The Living Dead received no modifications. In July, the group released "Only Lonely Glory", which became their first single to chart at number one on the Oricon Weekly Charts. A month later, they released their fourth album, Yggdrasil, which was their second album to reach number one on the Oricon Weekly Charts. Shortly after, they released "Sharin no Uta", from Yggdrasil, as a single.
In 2005, Bump of Chicken released two singles, "Planetarium" and second double A-side single "Supernova/Karma". Karma was used as the theme song for Namco's "Tales of the Abyss". The band's next single, "Namida no Furusato" was used in a commercial for Lotte Airs. It became the group's second number one single. In 2007, they released the singles "Hana no Na" and "Mayday" on the same day. The two singles reached number one and two respectively on the Oricon Weekly Charts. Bump of Chicken released their fifth studio album, Orbital Period, on December 19, 2007. They released their first compilation album present from you on June 18, 2008. This album contains b-sides from singles and other non-album tracks.
On November 25, 2009, Bump of Chicken released its third double A-side single "R.I.P./Merry Christmas", their first single in two years. On April 14, 2010, they released "Happy" and then in the following week, another single, "Mahō no Ryōri (Kimi kara Kimi e)". These two singles also reached number one consecutively for two weeks on the Oricon Weekly Charts, the first time a band achieved this since Orange Range's "Love Parade" and "Onegai! Señorita" in 2005. They released a fourth double A-side single "Uchūhikōshi e no Tegami/Motorcycle" on October 13, 2010, and they released a music video for the song on Toy's Factory's YouTube channel on September 14, 2010, which surpassed 200,000 views in two days. On December 15, 2010, they released their sixth studio album, Cosmonaut, but it did not feature the song "Merry Christmas".
In 2011, Bump of Chicken announced that they wrote the song "Tomodachi no Uta" as the theme song for the animated 3D movie Doraemon: Nobita and the New Steel Troops: ~Angel Wings~, and "Tomodachi no Uta" was released as the single on February 23, 2011. They also released two singles, "Smile" on May 11, 2011, and "Zero" on October 19, 2011. "Zero" was used as the theme song for video game by Square Enix, Final Fantasy Type-0. Also in 2012, they released two more singles "Good Luck" and "Firefly", in January and September 2012, respectively. "Good Luck" was featured as the end theme to the Japanese film Always Sanchōme no Yūhi '64.
On March 6, 2013, Bump of Chicken released their first live video and album Bump of Chicken Gold Glider Tour 2012, recorded live at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan, on July 3, 2012.
On September 29, 2020, Bump of Chicken released the single "Acacia", which was featured in a music video named "GOTCHA!" uploaded on the Pokémon YouTube channel to celebrate the release of the Crown Tundra DLC in Pokémon Sword and Shield for the Nintendo Switch.
