Masato-
04/01/2024
Mick, I almost forgot today was the anniversary of your death.
A long time ago, when I saw you coming out of the back door of the HMV building in Niigata City, I regretted not being able to say hello to you.
Anne
04/01/2024
Special memories of the early 80s listening and then - finally - getting to see Japan at Lancaster Uni on their farewell tour. Down at the front I was determined to stretch out when Mick was close and I just and so managed to touch his knee... and get a big grin from him as I jubilantly jumped up and down, waving at him, yelling his name! RIP Mick and hope that today especially, and every day, your family, friends and fans remember you with a smile xx
Darren
03/01/2024
Still remembering - love xx
Robert Lester
25/12/2023
I put a message on this page on Christmas Day last year and I'm doing it again today. I was lucky enough to see Japan play live 20 times between 1980 and 1982. I went to see them play in Sheffield, Leicester, Birmingham as well as all over London. My favourite Japan gig was at the Rock City Nottingham in May 1981. We were right at the front, up against the stage, the music and the show was great and I managed to take some lovely photos of Mick, some of which I still have today. Watching David, Richard and Steve was always great, but my attention was often focussed just on Mick as he was so unique in every way. His style, his clothes and of course his amazing bass playing, it was hard to take your eyes off him. Like all of you, I will never forget seeing Mick glide across the stage as he was playing and I will also never forget his small clap towards the end of The Art Of Parties, something I always used to look forward to at all their gigs. Another thing I will never forget is how Mick almost missed his cue at their last song at their last ever gig at the Hammersmith Odeon in November 1982. He only just about got there in time as the music started. Ten years later in 1992, I was lucky enough to meet Mick after a gig at The Grand Theatre in Clapham. Mick, Steve and Richard had played with a band called No Man and Mick was going to walk right past me and of course I had to say Hello. We must have talked for about ten minutes, mainly about his time in Japan and it was, and still is, one of the most amazing experiences in my whole life. He was a very kind man and he is sadly missed by all of us.
Rony
29/11/2023
You were amazing bass player which added magic to music.
Jon White
16/11/2023
GOD Bless you Mick, Thank you for being a shining Star in my life, from,Our younger years I was a fan of Roxy Music.So Japan was a breath of fresh air,and it was your Bass playing and your quiet intensity that I loved coupled with that sliding bass note,reminded me of my violin playing days and bow sliding .But Dear Mick be at Peace now,and to your Wife and Family my profound condolences,to you all .I am old now 70yrs but still fell the 21 yr old boy I lost.
Be At Peace, Shalom.Jonathan White
Little Totham Maldon ESSEX.
Paris
25/10/2023
About three weeks ago a friend of mine was browsing an archive of Japan and I happened to be a fan of Sakamoto Ryuichi. It was so fun to see them musicians collaborate. I was so blown away by Mick's talent and his kind soul as I dug into the old archives and recordings of Mick. The bass lines, decades ago, still sound amazing and has a timelessness within them. I felt so lucky that I discovered this true legend, and so unfortunate that I would never have the chance to meet him, to listen to those vibrant sounds in his performance in person.
Brad paine
07/09/2023
Sitting here listening to “sensitive” on a summer’s evening remembering how much I loved Mick karns gift of music.
Scott
29/08/2023
It's that time of year, as Autumn approaches I find myself in a melancholic mood, and listening to Japan and the solo work of Mick Karn. It just feels right somehow. I wish I supported Mick more whilst he was still with us, and I wish I could have let him know how important he was to me growing up and how much his music means to me - and so many others.
Den
21/08/2023
I was lucky to see Mick play live. An indelible musician/performer. His book ‘Japan and Self Existence, I still read parts of it occasionally just to connect. I feel his life deserved so much more. I sense it was a difficult one in many ways, and that I find sad because of his unique style and talents. I still cannot compare him to anyone because of his enigmatic demeanour and the manner on which he approached and produced his work. I miss him. He was a multi-faceted artist. I hope his family are well.
Maximo Anguiano
25/07/2023
Happy birthday to what would’ve been mick karns 65th birthday, he was an amazing bassist and inspired me and a lot of others to pick up an instrument and learn
Liam
04/07/2023
I'm gonna keep things short and sweet, Mick ROCKED. I believe it is clear that he had a pivotal role in shaping the sound of bass guitar in the early 80s. He was truly the first as far I as I know to bring fretless into pop music in any amount. Great, just great.
bladespinner
08/06/2023
although i had been a roxy music fan since the second album onwards, i didnt connect with Japan until a friend said "youve got to hear this, its quiet life by a new band. I was hooked, bought GTP then Tin Drum and was lucky enough to see Japan on their final tour in 1982 at the Edinburgh Playhouse. As others have commented , i still remember watching Mick glide across that stage, playing those fantastic bass lines. Time goes by and i dont remember much about the night (apart from remembering sandii and the sunsets played!!), but i have the treasured programme from that night and a feeling that i watched something very special.
Watching Mick play art of parties on OGWT was another great night - someone who played bass in a way i hadnt heard before, looking so "alien" in an absorbing way but holding your attention right throughout the song.
Its ironic that i have long stopped listening to Roxy but still listen to Japan and Sylvians earlier solo output so go figure!! When i first some kind of fool recently that bassline but also, and lest it be forgotten, his oboe and woodwind inputs were so important to that Japan sound.
While they broke up just on the cusp of major success, Mick and Japan gave us some great music and as Tyrell says to his creation Roy Batty in Blade Runner " the light that burns twice as bright lasts half as long and you have burned so very very brightly" Cheers Mick for that bright light......
Jane
06/06/2023
I was recalling my memories of being at a Japan concert at Colsten Hall in Bristol in 1981 (I believe ) to my husband just this Sunday, and in particular, Mick Karn’s stage presence. I will always remember that. I was just looking up information about him and gasped when I read that he has sadly passed - far to young. That is sad. Reading other people’s messages, his memory lives on.
Eden Noelle S.
01/06/2023
I'm only 13, but let me tell you how much I love this man. Mick Karn is absolutely brilliant, his biography is so impressive, it's amazing all the things he accomplished in his life. His work with Japan, Dalis Car, other artists, and even individually is fantastic. His bass playing skills are unmatched, especially considering fretless. I believe he's the best bassist of all time, but you don't have to listen to my opinion when it should be quite obvious just how talented he is. I've just bought a bass guitar, it's all from Mick's beautiful and melodic playing that got me interested. Don't get me started on his sculptures. If I ever became rich one day, the first thing I would do is buy all and display them in a dedicated museum-like room of my house. He also seemed like such a sweet guy, I wish I could have met him. I've never heard anything problematic about him either, he was just a genuine and cool person.
Nobody compares to you, Mick. You will be missed. x
Love you
