Pink Lady was a Japanese female pop music duo of the late 1970s and early 1980s, featuring Mitsuyo Nemoto ("Mie") and Keiko Masuda ("Kei"). In Japan, they are fondly remembered for the incredible run of pop-chart hits they enjoyed from roughly 1976 to 1979, but in the United States, they are best known for their infamously failed 1980 NBC-TV variety show, Pink Lady and Jeff. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... This article provides extensive lists of events and significant personalities of the 1970s. ... // Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 60s and 70s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ... 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... The National Broadcasting Company or NBC is an American radio and television broadcasting company based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ...

Mie and Kei epitomized the uniquely Japanese concept of the "pop idol," cementing their fame through singing catchy, hook-filled pop songs, often with a disco flavor, and performing almost perfectly-synchronized dances, in unison with each other, to accompany the songs. During the late 1970s, they enjoyed a staggering streak of nine consecutive million-selling singles, including "Peppa Keibu" ("Sergeant Pepper"), "Wanted," "UFO," "Chameleon Army" (a term proudly co-opted by the duo's fan base around the world), and "SOS" (not the ABBA hit of the same name). Mie and Kei became commercial pitchwomen for various products, ranging from shampoo to radios to children's books including step-by-step instructions of how to do their dances. In 1978, Toei Animation collaborated with Pink Lady's managing company, T&C (Trust and Confidence), to produce a television anime series (titled "Angels of Glory: The Pink Lady Story") chronicling Mie and Kei's rise to the top.

Pink Lady performed in the United States for the first time in Las Vegas in 1978, and then set their sights on conquering the American pop charts. Mie and Kei appeared as guest stars on a Leif Garrett TV special in the spring of 1979 performing what was to be their first single, a disco tune called "Kiss In The Dark," recorded phonetically in English. When "Kiss In The Dark" debuted on the Billboard charts that summer, Pink Lady became the first Japanese recording act to chart in America since Kyu Sakamoto (of "Sukiyaki" fame) 16 years earlier. But "Kiss..." petered out after peaking at #37, the duo's follow-up single, "Show Me The Way To Love," was a bomb, and Pink Lady had no U.S. chart success afterward. Kyu Sakamoto (坂本九 Sakamoto Kyū), born Hisashi Oshima (大島九, Ōshima Hisashi, November 10, 1941 - August 12, 1985) was a popular Japanese singer and actor. ...

Then came Pink Lady and Jeff, which teamed Mie and Kei with comedian Jeff Altman for a mixture of musical numbers and sketch comedy. The fact that Mie and Kei knew very little English limited their potential as comediennes, and on top of that, they weren't allowed to perform any of their Japanese hits until late in the show's run, being forced to struggle through English-language disco and pop hits such as "Yesterday" and "Knock On Wood." The show lasted only six weeks in prime time on NBC before being pulled off the air, and to this day is reviled by many as one of the worst television shows in history. Mie and Kei went home to Japan afterwards and never again attempted a run at the U.S. market. Pink Lady and Jeff was a television show that aired for six weeks on NBC in 1980. ...

Mie and Kei's lack of visibility at home in Japan, as well as the decline of disco music, hurt their record sales even in Japan, and in 1981, after making an unsuccessful attempt to update their sound to appeal more to adults, Pink Lady disbanded. Mie and Kei have reunited a few times since for concerts and new recordings, and have also kept busy with successful solo careers as singers and actresses.

External links

• http://www.pinkladyamerica.com - a fan site maintained by an American fan, including a discography, articles, lots of photos, and a good deal of information on Pink Lady's attempts to conquer the U.S. via records and TV.