Style Resume. Noriaki Onuki #12

2025.9.26

Text： Kenichi Aono

Edit： Suzuki Yusuke

Whether it's fashion, music, or sports, there is a style that only each person can express in any genre. "Style is Everything." That's right, someone once said that style is everything. "Style Resume" is a series of interviews with adults who, as the name suggests, have style. Updated every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the 13th installment features music critic, radio DJ, and organizer of the DJ event "LONDON NITE," which will celebrate its 45th anniversary in 2025.

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12. He thought he was watching the Clash, but it was the band that inspired him to become a DJ.

I heard that the Pistols were playing at The 100 Club in London, so I headed there. The Clash were also performing as a battle band. I didn't know who the Clash were at the time. So I saw the first band and thought, "So this is the Clash," and then a little while later, the next band came on. They were aggressive, had strong eyes, and short, standing hair, and they gave off a punk vibe, but they were very different from the Pistols I'd seen in photos. Actually, this was the very early Clash, and I'd assumed they were the Pistols (laughs). I ended up leaving then, and never saw the Pistols who performed after the Clash.

The Clash were the band that inspired me to start DJing. I had the opportunity to go on tour with them in 1980. Barry Myers was playing reggae as a DJ at the live venue, and I thought it would be great to play the music I like in that way. So when I returned to Japan, I got the chance to play at Tommy's House, a bar in Nishi-Azabu owned by Tommy (Fuku Kei, DJ). "LONDON NITE" actually started at this bar, not Tsubaki House in Shinjuku. It was Tommy who named it.

"LONDON NITE" moved to a new location after "Tsubaki House" closed, and is still running to this day. Unlike music criticism, DJing allows you to see the reaction right in front of you. It's fun to be able to communicate with the audience through music.

The "LONDON NITE X'mas Special" has been held once a year at "CLUB CITTA" during the Christmas season since 1991. The photo shows a scene from the dressing room at the first event in 1991.
Hi-STANDARD performed at the memorable first "LONDON NITE X'mas Special" in 1991. The photo shows vocalist and bassist Namba Akihiro wearing a ribbon on his head.
Also performing was SIDE-ONE, a rockabilly band formed in Sapporo in 1990. Four acts - Hi-STANDARD, SIDE-ONE, STRIKES and GRAPHIC TOMB STONE - appeared at the inaugural "LONDON NITE X'mas Special."

Profile

Noriaki Onuki (music critic and radio DJ)

Born in February 1951, Kenrocks began his career as a music critic while still a university student, and has been active for over half a century. He has a particularly deep knowledge of punk rock, and launched "LONDON NITE" at Tsubaki House in Shinjuku in June 1980, a DJ event that continues to this day and whose influence is immeasurable. In January 2025, he published "HISTORY OF KENSHO ONUKI: A Memoir." "Kenrocks Nite - Ver. 2" is currently broadcast every Friday from midnight on inter FM.

Instagram @kensho_onuki