The Vapors ~ Turning Japanese 1980 Extended Meow Mix

The Vapours (sic) were already a pretty tight band with members David Fenton, Howard Smith, Edward Bazalgette and Steve Smith playing a few clubs and had smoothed out their sound by the time Bruce Foxton, the bassist for the popular UK band The Jam began to help manage them. The Vapours then dropped the "u" giving the band an American vibe then toured with The Jam in 1979. Signing to United Artists that same year, their first single the non album "Prisoners" went nowhere. However the first single from their second LP entitled "New Clear Days" (say that one fast a few times and you will get the play on words) became their defining moment. "Turning Japanese" was written by Fenton when his relationship tanked. Using his angst, he wrote the song about the feelings he had now that he was on his own again and the sense of disorientation he felt due to the loss, and "turning into something he did not expect to". Rumor had it that the song referenced the supposed facial expression of an individual at the moment of climax. Fenton now discounts it, but notes that this interpretation probably helped make the song more memorable to the record buying public. While it peaked at #36 in the US, it peaked at #1 in Australia for two weeks, #3 in the UK, #4 in Ireland and #6 in Canada during the summer of 1980. The band broke up after their second LP "Machines" which they turned away from the new wave pop they were doing into darker territory, which did not appeal to a wider audience. The members then went their separate ways until April of 2016, thirty four years later when Dave Fenton, Ed Bazelgette and Steve Smith performed their signature hit live in concert with a guest drummer, then dropped the mike and walked off the stage. The next thing I know, they have a Facebook page and are on a successful four city tour of the UK and Ireland. Apparently they are working on a new album to be released in 2017. "Turning Japanese" has become a touchstone and has been included in the soundtracks for movies of "Romy & Michele's High School Reunion" and "Charlie's Angels", an episode of "Bill Nye: The Science Guy" turned it into a song about electricity, and commercials for Dr Pepper and a karaoke version of it for KFC. I too am a victim of misheard lyrics and the one line that sounded like "everyone avoids me like a cyclone ranger" that is actually "psyched lone ranger" according to Fenton. All that time I spent thinking it was something else....like a storm chaser.