Big in Japan began from the same Merseyside scene that would produce Echo & the Bunnymen, the Teardrop Explodes, OMD and Dalek I Love You.
[2] In August, the line-up grew to include Jayne Casey (vocals), Ian Broudie (guitar) and Clive Langer (guitar), who quit in September, but not before the band recorded their first release, "Big in Japan", which appeared on the split single "Brutality, Religion and a Dance Beat", released the same year.
[4][5] Hatred of the band reached such a level that a petition calling on them to split up was launched by a jealous young Julian Cope resulting from a rivalry with the Crucial Three.
The unintentional consequence of the EP was the formation of the Zoo label, which went on to release early material by Echo & the Bunnymen and the Teardrop Explodes, amongst others.
Big in Japan left a recorded legacy of seven songs: one on a single, four on their EP From Y to Z and Never Again, and two released on compilation albums.
[12] Coincidentally, Frankie Goes to Hollywood's single "Relax" was displaced from the top of the German charts by Alphaville's "Big in Japan".
[18]Three unreleased songs were recorded for the band's only John Peel session of 6 March 1979; "Suicide High Life", "Goodbye" and "Don't Bomb China".