Adolescent Sex by Japan

Adolescent Sex, Japan's debut album, slunk out on Hansa in March 1978, and the title alone was enough to spook a few territories: some countries got it simply as Japan. The band had come together in Catford, South London, in 1974 around David Sylvian on vocals, guitar and keyboards, Steve Jansen on drums and Mick Karn on bass, with Richard Barbieri's keyboards and Rob Dean's lead guitar filling it out the following year.

This is the glam-reared Japan, before the art-rock and electronic makeover: pouting, strutting, funk-strung rock with Karn's bass slithering underneath and the androgynous glamour already in place. "Television" and "Suburban Love" join the title track on rock radio's countdowns, and Obscure Alternatives came next.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.