Rats & Star, originally formed as Chanels in 1975 by Masayuki Suzuki, Masashi Tashiro, Yoshio Sato and Hiroyuki Kuboki, with Nobuyoshi Kuwano joining the following year, was a Japanese male pop group that specialized in doo-wop-influenced music. The band's debut single "Runaway" in 1980 sold over a million copies and reached Number 1 on the Oricon Singles Chart. Signed to Epic Records Japan, they went on to release popular singles such as "Megumi no Hito"(1983), which also topped the Oricon chart, and "Lonely Chaplain" (1987), a duet with Masayuki's sister Kiyomi Suzuki that became a big hit. Their albums Mr Black (1980) and Live at Whiskey A Go Go (1981) both reached Number 1 on the Oricon chart. In 1983 the group changed its name to Rats & Star, a change often linked to a naming dispute with the French fashion house Chanel, though other reasons have also been cited. Sales remained strong, with their first single as Rats & Star, "Me-Gumi no Hito," selling over 800,000 copies. In 1985, five members of the group were married together at Tokyo's Hie Shrine, generating considerable publicity. Leader Masayuki Suzuki then departed to pursue a solo career, and the group's activities effectively stopped until a brief reunion in 1996, when they released "Yume de Aetara" and made their first appearance on Kōhaku Uta Gassen performing that song. The group's palindromic name reflects the idea of "rats" from less affluent parts of town rising, through doo-wop, to become a collective "star." Their legacy also includes Andy Warhol's design for the Soul Vacation album cover, prints of which have since sold for upwards of $25,000, and a 2006 musical collaboration with members of the Gospellers, released as an album under the name Gosperats.
