Urusei Yatsura were a Scottish lo-fi indie band from Glasgow founded in 1993 by Fergus Lawrie and Graham Kemp, who with brother and sister, Ian and Elaine Graham formed the band. They took their band name from the manga Urusei Yatsura, written by Rumiko Takahashi, and contributed their first recording, Guitars Are Boring, to a compilation album released by the Kazoo Club. This was based in Glasgow, and run at one point by the future Franz Ferdinand singer Alex Kapranos. Over the years they released three albums: We Are Urusei Yatsura (1996), Slain By Urusei Yatsura (1998) and Everybody Loves Urusei Yatsura (2000). Albums in America and Japan were released under the name of Yatsura for legal reasons. The band had one Top 40 hit single, 1997's "Hello Tiger", which reached #40 in the UK Singles Chart. Urusei Yatsura split in June 2001, leaving Kemp to work on solo material and the other band members to form Projekt A-Ko. In 2011, Lawrie formed the three piece band Angel of Everyone Murder with Sarah Glass and Lea Cummings on bass, and released a self-titled double album on Kovorox Sound. The release featured six drone compositions of 15-20 minutes each, made with self modified guitars he called HALO guitars. In 2012, Angel of Everyone Murder 2 was released.
Links To Peel[]
Peel interviewed Graham Kemp along with Jennifer from Kitten Frenzy fanzine on his show from 08 October 1994. Before playing an Urusei Yatsura track from the publication’s Kazoo Collection compilation on the show, he invited Kemp and the rest of the band to record a session (they eventually did many sessions). Peel had seen them live at Glasgow’s 13th Note venue two days earlier with Ken Garner and others.
Festive Fifty Entries[]
- 1996 Festive Fifty: Kewpies Like Watermelon #45
Sessions[]
Four sessions. Tracks marked ^ are available on You Are My Urusei Yatsura (Rocket Girl, CD/LP, 2016).
1. Recorded: 1994-11-01. Broadcast: 21 January 1995. Repeated: None
- Teenage Dream (Proved Cursed & Wrong) / Thread / Road Song / Taster / It Is
2. Recorded: 1995-10-17. Broadcast: 20 October 1995. Repeated: None
- Lo Fi / Teenage Dream / Kernal / Siamese / Road Song
3. Recorded: 1996-04-02. Broadcast: 20 April 1996. Repeated: None
- Skull In Action / First Day On A New Planet^ / The Power Of Negative Thinking / Velvey Blood
4. Recorded: 1997-07-29. Broadcast: 14 August 1997. Repeated: None. Tracks marked * available on Hello Tiger (Ché Trading, 7"/CDS, 1997)
- Hello Tiger*^ / Dice Nae Dice*^ / Exidor^ / Flaming Skull^
Live[]
1. Recorded live during the 10 day weekend in Glasgow. Broadcast: 20 October 1995
- Lo Fi
- Teen Dream
- Kernel
- Siamese
- Road Song
2. Recorded live At The Phoenix Festival. Broadcast: 21 July 1996
- Phasers On Stun
- Kernel
- Plastic Ashtray
- Siamese
Other Shows Played[]
Urusei Yatsura - Kewpies Like Watermelon
Kewpies Like Watermelon, #45 in the 1996 Festive Fifty
(The list below was compiled only from the database of this site and Lorcan's Tracklistings Archive and is incomplete. Please add further information if known.)
1994
- 08 October 1994: Guitars Are Boring (LP: The Kazoo Collection) Glass
- 17 December 1994: ‘It Is (LP - All Hail Urusei Yatsura)’ Hipster Records
1995
- 06 January 1995: 'It Is (CD Mini Album-All Hail Urusei Yatsura)' (Tiny Superhero)
- 17 March 1995: 'Pampered Adolescent (split 7 inch with Blister )' (Modern Independent)
- 08 April 1995: 'Pampered Adolescent (split 7 inch with Blister )' (Modern Independent)
- 21 July 1995: 'Lo-Fi Scary Balloons' (Che)
- 12 August 1995: Lo-Fi (7 inch – Siamese) Ché Trading
- 08 September 1995: 'Powerball (Compilation CD-Does The Word Duh Mean Anything To You?)' (Che)
- 16 September 1995 (BFBS): 'Powerball (Compilation CD-Does The Word Duh Mean Anything To You? Another Che Compilation CD)' (Ché Trading)
- 21 October 1995: Lo-Fi (7 inch – Siamese) Ché Trading
- 27 October 1995: Kernal (7") Love Train
- 24 November 1995: Teen Dream (7" - Kernal) Love Train
- Peel Late 1995: Powerball (v/a album - Does The Word Duh Mean Anything To You? - Another Che Compilation CD) Che Trading
1996
- 27 January 1996: ‘Plastic Ashtray (CD Single )’ Che Trading
- 15 March 1996: ‘Kewpipes Like Watermelon (7 inch )’ Che Trading
- 20 March 1996: Kewpies Like Watermelon (single) Che
- 23 March 1996 (BFBS): 'Kewpies Like Watermelon (7")' (Ché Trading) (JP: 'Not quite sure what the meaning of that is, but I suspect that kewpies, probably to people who live in Glasgow, as Urusei Yatsura do, are like cockroaches or something, I don't know.)
- 30 March 1996 (BFBS): 'First Day On A New Planet (LP-We Are Urusei Yatsura)' (Ché Trading)
- 30 March 1996: Phasers On Stun (LP - We Are Urusei Yatsura) Che Trading
- 01 April 1996: Kewpies Like Watermelon (7") Che Trading (Peel sitting in for Mark Radcliffe)
- 03 April 1996: Kewpies Like Watermelon
- 04 April 1996: First Day On A New Planet (LP - We Are Urusei Yatsura) Che Trading (Peel sitting in for Mark Radcliffe)
- 06 April 1996 (BFBS): 'Phasers On Stun / Sola Kola (CD-We Are Urusei Yatsura)' (Ché Trading)
- Peel 1996: Phasers On Stun
- 30 November 1996: ‘Kozee Hearts (Various Artists LP - Noises From The Sound Cupboard )’ Boa Records
- 02 December 1996: Plastic Ashtray (Non-Peel session from May 1996) (John Peel's Classic Sessions)
- 21 December 1996: 'Strategic Hamlets (7 inch' (Ché Trading)
- 21 December 1996: 'Kewpies Like Watermelon (LP-We Are Urusei Yatsura)' (Ché Trading) FF #45
1997
- 12 January 1997: Strategic Hamlets (7 inch )’ Ché Trading
- 26 January 1997: Strategic Hamlets (Single )’ Ché Trading
- 16 February 1997: Plastic Ashtray (v/a CD - Phoenix The Album) NMC Music
- 04 March 1997: (Interview with Graham out of Urusei Yatsura)
- 20 May 1997: ‘Fake Fur (7 inch )' Ché Trading
- 28 May 1997: Fake Fur (7") Che Trading
- 21 July 1997: Lo Fi Scary Balloons (Che)
- 04 November 1997: Exidor [Live] (CD - Abuse Your Friends )’ Abuse
1998
- 14 January 1998: Hello Tiger (7") Che Trading
- 21 January 1998: Hello Tiger (single) CHE 75CD2
- 28 January 1998: Velvy Bood (album - We Are Urusei Yatsura) Che 54CD
- 29 January 1998 (BFBS): 'Hello Tiger (CDS)' (Ché Trading)
- 03 March 1998: No 1 Cheesecake (LP - Slain By Urusei Yatsura ) Ché Trading
- 04 March 1998: Superfi (CD - Slain By Urusei Yatsura ) Ché Trading
- 05 March 1998: King Of Lazy (LP - Slain By Urusei Yatusra) Che Trading
- 11 March 1998 (BBC World Service): No 1 Cheesecake (LP - Slain By Urusei Yatsura ) Ché Trading
- 18 March 1998: Skull In Action (LP - Slain By Urusei Yatsura) Che Trading