Ulfuls

Ulfuls is an Osaka band whose soul-infused rock music has been a staple on the Japanese charts for more than 25 years. ∙ Formed in 1988 by a group of coworkers at an Osaka café, the band selected their unusual name after misreading the word soulful on one of their favorite album covers. ∙ Ulfuls’ found fame in 1995 with the single “Guts za de!!,” which propelled their album Banzai to No. 1 on the Japanese charts. ∙ After two hit LPs—1997’s Let’s Go and 1998’s Thank You for the Music—bassist John B. Chopper left the band, though he returned in 2002 after playing their 10th anniversary concert. ∙ The group took a five-year hiatus, then released the 2014 LP ONE MIND and 2015’s Born to Be Wai Wai—both albums hit the Japanese Top 10.