L'arc~en~ciel

L'Arc-en-Ciel ( Raruku An Shieru?, "The rainbow" in French) is a popular Japanese rock band, formed in 1991. The group has sold over 15 million albums, 30 million singles, and millions of other units, such as videos.and has been voted #58 in HMV Japan's "Top 100 Japanese Pop Artists" of all time.
Formation
In February of 1991, bassist Tetsuya Ogawa (Tetsu), later band leader, recruited vocalist Hyde along with guitarist Hiro and drummer Pero, and formed a band under the name of L'Arc-en-Ciel. After a year of gaining notoriety in their hometown of Osaka, Hiro left the band on June 12, 1992. Pero soon followed on December 30 of the same year, supposedly to join up with his friend Hiro again. To replace the two, tetsu convinced his friend Ken Kitamura (Ken) to quit his university studies in architectural design and join the band as the guitarist. Later, a new drummer, Yasunori Sakurazawa, was recruited after Tetsu saw him perform in a few shows.

Break and comeback

Self-copy band "The Zombies"The next few months were an extremely uncertain time, with doubts as to whether the band would recover. They continued to be featured in magazines, but only as a trio. They created their own cover band, "The Zombies", and poked fun at their own songs. They also covered artists such as Marilyn Manson and Nirvana. The return from the break was marked by the appropriately named Reincarnation 97 Live in Tokyo Dome, with their new drummer, Yukihiro (former drummer with ZI:KILL and DIE IN CRIES). The first concert had an attendance of 56,000, which sold out in a still-standing Tokyo Dome record of four minutes. They released HEART, in 1998, which, like their second major album "heavenly" is seen as transitional: moving away from memories of the past, but also maintaining their originality and success.

In 1997, (Niji — Rainbow), the first single after Sakura's departure, was released with Yukihiro listed as a supporting member. Not long after the release of the single, Yukihiro was signed on as the official drummer for L'Arc-en-Ciel.

[edit] Lineup
Hyde – vocals, guitar (some songs)
Tetsu – bass, backing vocals
Ken – guitar, backing vocals
Yukihiro – drums
Former members

Sakura – drums (1992-1997)
Hiro – guitar (1991–1992)
Pero – drums (1991-1992)
P'unk-en-Ciel

Tetsu P'unk – vocals, guitar
Hyde P'unk – guitar
Yuki P'unk – bass
Ken P'unk – drums