For artists in the late 1970s and early 1980s, New York was definitely where it was at and Japanese band the Plastics were among those who found themselves right at the heart of that heady scene.
Instrumental in shaping the distinctive New Wave sound of that era, they influenced bands such as Devo and The B-52's with their spiky, cartoonish sound and cutting-edge visual style. Thirty-five years since the band debuted, The Japan Times met up with guitarist and vocalist Hajime Tachibana in a fashionable Marunouchi coffee shop, prior to a string of live dates to celebrate that landmark.
"Our contemporaries on the scene were people like Basquiat, Blondie, James White and The Lounge Lizards. There were so many kinds of artists and Plastics was a part of that. We got to meet so many interesting people," says Tachibana, pausing to take a sip of lemonade while pondering his next phrase. In his 50s, Tachibana is still rake thin and dangerously hip, though he has shed the jangly nervous energy of his youth.