Embed and breakfast man: Pizzicato Five

Inspired, totally, by Marc Riley replaying an old Radcliffe-evening-slot session on 6Music this week (you can catch up on iPlayer for the next few days), let's dip into the video back catalogue of the Pizzicato Five.

There weren't five of them, and they weren't played by plucking. Actually, briefly, they were a five-piece, but not for very long. In the US and the UK, they were pretty much pegged as a quirky, indiesque offering - a Shonen Knife that took breaths - but their Japanese origins had seen as much interference by the record label as you'd expect to find Olly Murs enduring.

By the time of their split in 2001, they were a two-piece. Singer Maki Nomiya returned to the solo work she'd abandoned in 1981 and Yasuharu Konishi, the founding member who clung on to the end, produces, remixes and composes. He also runs his own label, 524 Records, which is apparently a hilarious pun if you speak Japanese.

Let's get to what they sounded like, eh?

Twiggy Twiggy is probably the closest thing to a big hit:




Buy
Happy End Of The World
Made In USA
The Quickie EP

More P5 online
Pizzicato Five on Last FM
Makino Miya official site
Pizzicato Five on Spotify

More to come across the weekend
Baby Love Child
Happy Sad
Maki does a medley