Yutaka Ozaki, hide, Yuya & Kirin Kiki show their true faces at the guest house of rock

＜The legend of a rock bar loved by rock celebrities in Japan and abroad has been turned into a book. Red Shoes 40: 40 Years of the Guest House of Rock”. We interviewed Hisashi Kadono, the president of Red Shoes and the author of the book. > “Red Shoes 40: 40 Years of Rock’s Guest House

Red Shoes is where Yutaka Ozaki spent an irreplaceable time in his rock life. The day Yutaka and I met, he seduced me at Red Shoes at 6 a.m., where we went for our fourth party. And the day we registered our marriage, we toasted with Jack Daniel’s on the rocks at Red Shoes. Back in the day, when Ayrton Senna (a leading Formula 1 racing driver) came to Red Shoes, Yutaka asked, “Where is he a musician?” I remember he once said, “He’s a musician.” …… Yutaka Ozaki was always an innocent, maverick, and anything-goes rock ‘n’ roller at Red Shoes. At that time, Yutaka wore a vivid aura and shone brightly” (from “Red Shoes 40: 40 Years in the Guest House of Rock ‘n’ Roll”).

Legendary musician Yutaka Ozaki passed away in 1992. His wife, Shigemi, recalls the dazzling memories of “Red Shoes,” a rock bar in Minami Aoyama, Tokyo.

Red Shoes will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2021. I had long been encouraged to write about my life experiences, and when I was closing the restaurant due to the COVID-19 crisis, I had some time to spare, so I took the plunge and started writing. I asked for help from people involved with the store and the musicians with whom I had a relationship (……), and Shigemi Ozaki contributed her memories.

Hisashi Kadono, known as “Mon-chan” to many people, wrote about the shop and the musicians with whom he had worked. Hisashi Kadono, known as “Mon-chan” and loved by many musicians, is the representative of “Red Shoes.

The first time I saw Yutaka Ozaki at Red Shoes, he was in a drunken state. He was drinking happily with a woman and had been a regular customer since I was still a staff member at the restaurant. But when I saw him at the store just a week before he passed away, he was ……. She looked like a shell of her former self.

He was found in the garden of a house in Adachi-ku, Tokyo, in the early morning of April 25, 1992. He was taken by ambulance from the hospital to his home, where his condition suddenly changed and he died. Even now, 30 years after his death, many Ozaki fans still come to the store.

Hide, a rocker who was always in fights

In the bubble economy of Tokyo in the 1980s, the Red Shoes was the place to be for music fans. Mr. Kadono quit his job at a large, stable company in his hometown of Fukui and moved to Tokyo to work at Red Shoes.

I went to an interview at Red Shoes and it was so cool,” he said. I started working there the next day. It was like all the fashionable people in Tokyo had gathered at the store. Yuya Uchida, Ryuichi Sakamoto of YMO, Yukihiro Takahashi, Makoto Ayukawa & Sheena of Sheena & The Rokkets, The Mods, Johnny Okura, Masahiro Kuwana, Ryo Ishibashi…… I was longing for them all. It was a band boom at the time, and band members of my generation, such as X, BUCK-TICK, Lepiche, Unicorn, Jun Sky Walkers, and Red Warriors, were also becoming active. The Red Warriors,” he said.

Among them, Kadono was especially close to Hide of X. “When I first met Hide, he was a very good friend of mine,” he says.

When I first met him, I had the impression that he was always quarreling with me. But when he was jolly, he was very jolly, and we gradually became friends. We would go out in his beloved Jaguar, which he had just bought.

That day, I was having drinks with the members of “hide with Spread Beaver” until late at my restaurant “Rally” in Nishi-Azabu, . There, hide got into a fight with one of the members. He said, “That’s why you’re no good! He said, ‘That’s why you’re no good! One by one, the members left, and at the end it was just the two of us. Hide was sitting on the stairs, sobbing. All I could do was to comfort him.

After Hide left, Kadono cleaned up and was about to leave when the phone rang.

He asked, “Is anyone still here? No, everyone had left. It was 8:30 in the morning. That afternoon, I received a call from an acquaintance saying, ‘hide-chan, you’re dead. It was a beautiful day.

Even now, Kadono says, he cannot help remembering that night.

Yuya Uchida and Kirin Kiki

Another unforgettable memory is that of legendary rocker Yuya Uchida.

I first met him a few months after Ozaki’s death. Until then, not many people in the music industry spoke well of Yuya Uchida. I was nervous. But he was polite even to me, a young guy in his 20s at the time. I thought he was cool.

He used to call me at Red Shoes and tell me to meet him in front of Seishido Bookstore at 12:00. One time, I was called by phone and went straight there. I went into an izakaya (Japanese-style pub) near the Roppongi intersection, where I met Akiko Wada. While we were drinking together, he said, “Yuya-san, there is a place I want to take you. Yuya-san and I got into Wada-san’s big Mercedes-Benz.

We sat together in the backseat and were taken to the Uchida residence.

We sat in the backseat together and were taken to the Uchida Residence, where Ms. Kilin Kiki lived. I was surprised. Yuya was also uncomfortable, so he had a few drinks and returned to Red Shoes early. Later, Mr. Yuya came to the restaurant with Mr. Kilin. Mr. Korin praised Mr. Yuya a lot. I got the sense that they were overflowing with love.

The original “rock couple” is now both deceased.

The most rock ‘n’ roll couple ever!　Sheena and Makoto Ayukawa

Shortly after joining Red Shoes, “Makoto Ayukawa and Sheena joined us.

Makoto Ayukawa and Sheena showed up. They were so cool, I was shaking. They were kind, courteous, and never arrogant, and the more I got to know them, the more I liked them. He treated me well both publicly and privately.

In September 2014, there was a live concert at Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Sheena & The Rokkets, and it was Sheena’s last live concert in the field. It was the best stage. The next year, on February 14, Sheena left for heaven. They are the best rock ‘n’ roll couple.

The band is still active as “Sheena & The Rokkets” even after Sheena’s passing, and will be performing at the “Red Shoes 40th Anniversary Live” on October 28, featuring Makoto Ayukawa & LUCY MIRROR, Tamio Okuda, Anna Tsuchiya, HISASHI of GLAY, and many more. The event will feature a live performance by musicians associated with the “Red Shoes” guest house of rock, including Makoto Ayukawa & LUCY MIRROR, Tamio Okuda, Anna Tsuchiya, HISASHI of GLAY, and more.

The music is not over,” he said. “It’s been two years since Corona closed for both gigs and stores, but little by little, everyday life is starting to return. The music, the rock is not over. Recently again, I’ve felt a new movement, with young music fans coming and longtime music fans using the venue for their return live shows.

In 1990, when the Rolling Stones first came to Japan, Ron Wood visited our store. It was too intense an experience for me, who longed for the Stones and for whom the Stones were everything. I hope that Red Shoes will continue to be such an intense place for many music fans in the future.

Hisashi Kadono wrote ” Red Shoes 40: 40 Years of the Guest House of Rock ‘n’ Roll” (Pia), which includes episodes and messages with rock celebrities, and a rock and roll party titled ” Red Shoes 40″ ( EX THEATER ROPPONGI, Tokyo) will be held on October 28!