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Louder
Entertainment
Jo Kendall

“I’d get thrown out then brought back in. I just couldn’t play in a conventional way”: Japan’s Richard Barbieri on coloured hair, lipstick, a fingerless glove and the unusual reason he joined the band

Japan – Richard Barbieri, Mick Karn, David Sylvian, Rob Dean and Steve Jansen - posed, studio, group shot (Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns).

Nine years before Richard Barbieri became part of Porcupine Tree, he’d joined Japan alongside David Sylvian, Mick Karn and Steve Jansen. He tells Prog his reason for being in a band was very different from that of his colleagues – and explains how he developed his unique approach to making music.

What was the spur to form Japan?

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