BUCK-TICK's last show with Atsushi Sakurai: KT Zepp Yokohama, October 19, 2023

About the artist

BUCK-TICK is a rock band whose members all come from Gunma Prefecture, north of Tokyo^[1]. It grew out of a band started by high school classmates including Hisashi Imai and Hidehiko Hoshino^[2]; it began in 1984 as a cover band of the punk group The Stalin and took the name BUCK-TICK that summer^[3]. Atsushi Sakurai was originally the drummer. When the previous singer left in November 1985, Sakurai moved to vocals and Toll Yagami, the older brother of bassist Yutaka Higuchi, took over the drums^[3][2]. The five first played together that December^[3], and the lineup never changed after that^[4].

After an independent single in October 1986 and the album HURRY UP MODE on April 1, 1987, the band drew about 800 people to a show called "Bakuchiku Gensho" at Toshima Kokaido in Tokyo the same day. It made its major-label debut with Victor on September 21, 1987, with a live video, Bakuchiku Gensho at THE LIVE INN^[3]. "JUST ONE MORE KISS," used in a 1988 TV commercial for a CD boombox, won the band the newcomer award at the 30th Japan Record Awards. TABOO, released on January 18, 1989, was its first No. 1 album on the Oricon chart, followed by two nights at the Nippon Budokan. On December 29 of that year the band played the Tokyo Dome for the first time, to about 43,000 people, and in 1990 the single "Aku no Hana" ("flowers of evil"), the album of the same name and a video collection all went to No. 1^[3].

The band kept absorbing contemporary sounds, from breakbeats and drum and bass to electronica^[4]. A tribute album supervised by the members, PARADE ~RESPECTIVE TRACKS OF BUCK-TICK~, came out in December 2005, and its first self-organized festival, BUCK-TICK FEST 2007 "ON PARADE," drew about 13,000 people to a Yokohama pier on September 8, 2007^[4]. In 2017 it received the Inspiration Award Japan at MTV VMAJ^[1].

Sakurai wrote most of the band's lyrics, which his label describes as dealing with life and death, malice and inner conflict, and friction with society^[5]. In 2015 he also formed a separate band, THE MORTAL^[5].

Why this was thought to be the end

BUCK-TICK spent the year from September 2022 to September 2023 marking the 35th anniversary of its major-label debut^[6]. Two nights at Yokohama Arena on September 23 and 24, 2022, drew about 12,000 people in total, and all 42 songs from those nights were released on September 13, 2023, as THE PARADE ~35th anniversary~^[7][1]. A five-disc best-of, CATALOGUE THE BEST 35th anniv., had come out in 2022^[1].

In March 2023 the band released two singles, "Taiyo to Ikarosu" ("the sun and Icarus") on the 8th and "Mugen LOOP" ("infinite loop") on the 22nd, then its 23rd album, Izora, on April 12^[1][8]. It was the band's first album in about two years and seven months^[8], and it entered the Oricon chart at No. 2^[1].

The hall tour for the album ended on September 17 and 18 at Gunma Music Center, in the members' home prefecture^[6][9]. The venue opened in 1961, and the band had played there many times since its SEVENTH HEAVEN tour of 1988^[6]. According to the official live report, Sakurai brushed off the crowd's hopes of a hometown surprise on the first night, saying there was "nothing" special, while adding that being able to see his bandmates in Gunma was meaning enough. That night also brought the tour's first second encore, "New World"^[6]. Victor's band profile describes the Gunma shows as the close of the anniversary year^[1].

The autumn was already full. On July 5 the band announced an eight-date live house tour, "BUCK-TICK TOUR 2023 Izora ALTERNATIVE SUN," running from KT Zepp Yokohama on October 20 to Zepp Haneda in December. Alongside it came four shows for members of the fan club, FISH TANK, under the title "FISH TANKer's ONLY 2023": KT Zepp Yokohama on October 19, Zepp Osaka Bayside on November 3, Toyosu PIT on November 18 and Zepp Haneda on December 8^[7]. A year-end show, "THE DAY IN QUESTION 2023," was set for the Nippon Budokan on December 29^[10].

The fan club show on October 19 was the first of these dates^[7]. It was stopped partway through (see below). According to a statement issued on October 24 by the band and its management company, Sakurai died on October 19, at the age of 57, of a brainstem hemorrhage^[11][12]. The announcement came after a private funeral held by his family^[11].

Every scheduled concert, starting with the tour opener the next night, was canceled^[13][14]. That evening became the last time Atsushi Sakurai performed in front of an audience.

It was not, however, BUCK-TICK's last concert. The four surviving members played the Nippon Budokan on December 29, 2023, and told the audience they would carry on^[15][1]. In 2024 they released a new single and album as a four-piece and returned to the stage^[16][17]. Because the band continued under the same name, Shuenroku files this show as "Not the end after all," with the death of a member as the reason. Since 2025 the band has also used the styling "BUCK∞TICK" in tour titles and elsewhere^[18][19], but the logo on its official site still reads BUCK-TICK^[19], and we treat it as the same band.

What is known about the day

KT Zepp Yokohama is a live house in the Minato Mirai 21 waterfront district of Yokohama. It opened on March 7, 2020; it is owned by the game company Koei Tecmo Games and run by Zepp Hall Network. It holds 2,146 standing or 1,251 seated, and has the largest floor area of any Zepp venue in Japan. It sits a two-minute walk from Shin-Takashima Station on the Minatomirai Line^[20].

October 19 was a Thursday. The evening's "BUCK-TICK FISH TANKer's ONLY 2023" show was open only to members of the FISH TANK fan club: tickets were sold by members' reservation, with no general sale^[7]. The next night, Friday, October 20, the same venue was to host the opening date of the ALTERNATIVE SUN tour, with doors at 5:30 p.m. and the show at 6:30^[21]. The day before, on Wednesday the 18th, the band had begun an autumn run of "WEDNESDAY LIVE STREAMING," free weekly screenings of past concerts on its official YouTube channel^[10].

What has been officially said about the night is that Sakurai became unwell during the performance and the show was stopped^[13]. At which point it was stopped, and which songs had been played, has not been reported in any official statement or reliable press account.

Later on the 19th, the band announced on its official site that the Kanagawa shows of that night and the next would not go ahead. It apologized to fans who had been looking forward to them and to everyone involved for the trouble and worry, and said it would give further notice about later dates^[13].

What the show left behind

In the October 24 statement, the band and its management recalled the September concerts in the members' hometown, in the 35th anniversary year, and expressed the grief of the members and staff. They declined condolence visits, gifts and flowers, promised a farewell occasion for fans at a later date, and apologized to the promoters and to the fans who had been looking forward to the coming shows^[11]. On October 30 the band announced refunds for every concert: the four fan club shows including October 19, the eight ALTERNATIVE SUN dates, the December 29 Budokan show and a rescheduled date in Nagoya set for January 9, 2024^[14].

The promised farewell took place on December 8 and 9 at Zepp Haneda in Tokyo, as "THE CEREMONY: To Atsushi Sakurai." Tickets cost 1,500 yen and included a flower offering and a memorial photograph; visitors were admitted in four sessions on the 8th and twelve on the 9th, from 9 a.m. into the evening^[22]. Those were the dates, and the venue, of the last fan club show (December 8) and the tour finale (December 9) as originally scheduled^[7].

On December 29 the Nippon Budokan show went ahead, renamed from "THE DAY IN QUESTION 2023" to "Bakuchiku Gensho -2023-"^[15], the title of the band's 1987 independent-era show, of its debut video and of its first Tokyo Dome concert in 1989^[3]. According to Tomoko Imai's report for Real Sound, the four members played live alongside recordings of Sakurai's voice and footage of him, and a silhouette of him was projected at the back of the stage. There was no set, only the instruments, and the mask and candelabra Sakurai had used on stage stood in their usual places^[15]. The show opened with "Hayate no Blade Runner"^[18], and included "Itoshi no Rock Star," a duet with the singer ISSAY, who had also died^[15]. In the encore Higuchi said that BUCK-TICK would always be five, Hoshino said the parade would go on with these five, and Imai announced that the band would write new songs and make an album the following year^[15].

A year later, in an interview with Pia in December 2024, the four looked back. Imai said that within two or three days of Sakurai's death he felt the band had to continue, and that bringing in a new or guest singer was not realistic. Hoshino said the members agreed to go on after the funeral. Higuchi felt it would be unfair to end without playing for fans who had supported them for more than 30 years, and Yagami admitted that at first he had thought it was over^[16]. The headline quoted Imai: it felt "like starting a new band"^[16].

On September 18, 2024, the second night at Gunma Music Center was released as the streaming live album TOUR 2023 Izora FINALO^[9]. The single "Raijin Fujin - Resonance" ("thunder god, wind god"), the four-piece's first release, followed on November 20, and the 24th album, Subrosa, on December 4^[16][1]. Its 17 tracks are sung by Imai and Hoshino, with instrumentals between^[17]. Fan club shows in Aichi, Osaka, Gunma and Tokyo were set for December, and they sold out^[9][16]. Real Sound reported that the December 29 Budokan show, "Naisho no Bara no Shita," unlike the year before, when Sakurai's image and voice had filled the hall, was the four on their own. Imai opened by saying, "Good evening, we are BUCK-TICK"^[17].

In 2025 the band toured live houses from Sendai GIGS on April 12 to Toyosu PIT on May 25 with "BUCK-TICK TOUR 2025 Subrosa"^[23], adding further dates^[1]. A hall tour, "BUCK∞TICK TOUR 2025 -Naisho no Bara no Shita-," ended at the Budokan on December 29. According to the official report carried by Pia, Imai and Hoshino shared vocals and guitar; Hoshino sang lead on "Pushuke" ("Psyche"), and the two sang "Supido" ("speed") together in the encore. Imai said that with the new lineup, the only way forward was to keep playing shows^[18].

On October 19, 2026, the anniversary of Sakurai's death, the official site invited fans to an online flower offering^[24]. As of November 2026, the band is due to release "Sonzai Riyu Kai" ("reason for being," revised), the opening theme of the anime DARK MACHINE THE ANIMATION, as a single on November 25, and to play a five-date tour, "BUCK∞TICK TOUR 2026 Naisho no Bara no Shita" ("under the secret rose"), from November 28 to the Budokan on December 29^[1][19].

KT Zepp Yokohama on October 19, 2023, was the five-piece BUCK-TICK's last stage, but not the band's. Victor's profile of the band ends with a single line: the parade goes on^[1].