Dear - Worldwide Love -Ai Koso Subete- (愛こそすべて) (1998)

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• published: 24 Nov 2014
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"Worldwide Love -Ai Koso Subete- (愛こそすべて)", 1998 Platinum. Dear formed in 1993. In July of 1994, the group released its first demo tape "Namida Kieru Made (涙 消えるまで)", which had rough sales. Dear went on, however, and released three more demos throughout 1995. By early 1996, Dear had managed to develop a very small cult following for their bubbly sound, and in January of 1996, the group released its fifth demo "Melody", which caught the attention of visual icon Yoshiki. Yoshiki then signed Dear to his own label, Platinum Records, in the fall of 1996. In June of 1996, the group released its first single "Melody", which managed to be a slight mainstream hit, and reached number 39 on the Oricon charts. In November of 1996, Dear released their second single "Saikou no Yoru wo (最高の夜を)", and later released their third single "Namida Kieru Made (涙 消えるまで)", a rerecording of a track on their first demo, in January of 1997. Both singles reached number 45 and 47 on the Oricon charts respectively, and the group later released their first full length album, "Spoof?", in February of 1997. The album ended up having decent sales and outsold all of their previously released singles by reaching number 24 on the Oricon charts. In May of 1997, the group released their fourth single "Pure ~ Kono Sora no Shita de (この空の下で)", which showed a very sharp decline in Dear's mainstream presence by only reaching number 97 on the charts. Later that July, Dear released their fifth single "After the Rain", which had slightly better sales, as it reached number 88 on the Oricon charts. In January of 1998, Dear released their sixth single "Worldwide Love -Ai Koso Subete- (愛こそすべて)", which reached number 50 on the Oricon charts and symbolized a slight commercial comeback for the group. Dear released two more singles throughout 1998, although neither singles entered the Oricon charts, which was a first for the group, although Dear still had a huge underground following among the indies visual universe. In November of 1999, after over a year of a recording hiatus, Dear returned with the release of their ninth single "Song for...", which slightly brought the group back to the mainstream limelight as it entered the Oricon charts at number 86. Dear went on to tour throughout the majority of 2000, but didn't release any material that year. In late 2000, after several years together together, the group announced its disbandment, and officially split by the spring of 2001. Guitarist Eiri went on to form the obscure indies group Clover, which soon split as well. He then formed Deff Blinker, which folded after about a year of activity as well. Afterwards, Eiri reunited with Dear frontman Mahiro and bassist Yoshiaki, and the three then formed the underground indies group Pied Powder Makers. When Pied Powder Makers disintegrated as well after about only a year of activity, the three then retired from the visual scene. In early 2005, Eiri and Yoshiaki returned to the underground Japanese music scene as members of Milk Fudge, which was their first non-visual group. When Milk Fudge disintegrated after just about a year together, Eiri and Yoshiaki then reunited with Dear drummer Yasu, and the three then formed Tokage. In 2012, Yoshiaki left Tokage, and retired from the Japanese music scene all together. Both Eiri and Yasu remain active in Tokage, however, and the group still appears to be active today.