In 1997 a new television show debuted in Japan titled "Godzilla Island". The theme song was by a musical performer by the name of "The Edge" - the question is whether or not it was The Edge from U2. I've been looking around the internet for information, and so far I am still drawing a blank. Does anyone know anything about this release?
The theme can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie9J43rVWZM - the vocals are definitely not by the Edge, and it is likely if it is U2's The Edge, he was only involved in the instrumental.
The credits listed on Youtube for the song are as follows:
Original Release: Welcome to Godzilla Island (Single)
Composed & Written by: Akira Ifukube
Arranged by: Yoshinobu Hiraiwa
Performed by: THE EDGE
Published & Distributed by: Toho Music (PolyGram)
(These were taken from a Godzilla soundtrack box set released in 2008 I believe.)
There was a CD and a CD single issued in late 1997. The CD was a collection of 37 older Godzilla pieces from the 50s - 80s, along with this new one credited to the Edge. It was called "Welcome to Godzilla Island". The CD single had three songs, all credited to "The Edge", including two mixes of The Godzilla Theme and a song called "Tiny Pride". You can see the single here:
http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=3700964On that single the front top corner says "Godzilla Island", in the middle it says "TV Tokyo "Godzilla Island" theme song". And it was
stickered to say "Now a popular broadcast, TV Tokyo "Godzilla Island" theme song". On the back side it says "TV Tokyo "Godzilla Island" Theme Song, Godzilla's Theme", "Tiny Pride", and "Godzilla's Theme (Original Karaoke)". And of course it's credited as being performed by "The Edge" on both front and back. It was released in December 1997 with the single coming out on December 3, and the album following two weeks later.
Researching it on the web, and through the alt.fan.u2 and alt.music.u2 groups, I found a string of rumours from early 1998 about U2
participating in a Godzilla soundtrack. These were about a year after "Pop" so I don't think they were from the album / tour almost being named "Godzilla" and I don't recall that being revealed until the four5one book in 2003. Eventually the 1998 movie "Godzilla" came out and no U2 on the soundtrack or in the movie and the rumour just kind of stopped. One person theorized that it was just confusion over the City of Angels soundtrack at the time but how does one go from "Godzilla" to "City of Angels"? Could that rumour have been poorly translated news from Japan about this single? It does make me wonder...
Finally I've spent the week looking around various "Godzilla" sites in English. And the consensus seems to be that it's "The Edge" from U2. One Godzilla site lists:
http://godzilla.wikia.com/wiki/Story_1_%28Godzilla_and_Spacegodzilla_Saga%29"Aside from the special effects and characters, Godzilla Island's most iconic and recognizable trait is undoubtedly its theme song. Performed by U2 guitarist, the Edge, the theme song was actually the main theme for Godzilla, composed by Akira Ifukube in 1954 and used in numerous Godzilla films. However, lyrics were put to the recognizable "Godzilla Theme", creating a catchy rock song that became as memorable to viewers as any other aspect of the show. The first verse of the song was mainly about the events of the show, while the second verse basically listed the names of many of Toho's monsters in tune to the Godzilla theme. The middle of the song (which was never heard in the show it's self) was an electric version of the Faro Island dance theme written by Akira Ifukube
for the 1962 film King Kong vs. Godzilla. This is followed by another verse about the show, and the song finally concluded after another verse consisting of monster names. The beginning of the song played during the begining credits of each episode (although this was changed slightly halfway through the series' run) and another portion of the song was played during the end credits. Since each episode is only about three minutes long, this means that the song is heared twice in three minutes, meaning that fans of the show hear quite a lot of it."
Several other English sites refer to this being the Edge from U2:
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Edge/_/The+Theme+of+Godzilla+%28Godzilla+Island%29+%28Instrumental%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godzilla_Islandhttp://www.tohokingdom.com/tv/godzilla_island.htmThe site:
http://tarstarkas.net/2008/04/godzilla-island-story-arc-1/ lists the confusion about who does the music:
"According to the credits, the series was directed by Shun Mizutani and written by Takahiko Masuda. With music by The Edge. I guess U2′s The Edge, unless there is another The Edge running around, in which case I must bang my head on the desk."
Could it have been the Edge?The Yes Side:
In 1996, leading up to the release of Pop, U2 was looking at calling the album "Godzilla". I'm sure at the time there would have been an investigation into the legality of using a fictional character's name for the name of the album, and that would have brought U2's camp to the Toho corporation. Perhaps that's where the initial ties would have been made. We also know that the Edge has also tinkered with other outside projects over the years, including the theme to the cartoon network show "The Batman". In fact elements of that theme feel familiar when you listen to the Godzilla theme as well. And no where that I've been able to find is it stated that the performer "The Edge" is not U2's guitarist. And it seems odd that on a sleeve mostly in Japanese, that "The Edge" would be credited in English. Finally although listed as a J-Pop performer, "The Edge" appears to have not released anything else that I've been able to find - however I do have to state I'm only looking through English pages, or through others with the help of translation software. Finally the single was released on Polygram, which would make sense if it was The Edge.
The No Side:
I've had some help from a user, Hiro on twitter at @U2jp (
http://www.twitter.com/U2jp) has been helping answer some questions and points out that in Japan on wikipedia, the credits say lyrics by The Edge, music by Japanese artist, sung by The Edge. There's a picture of the wikipedia capture on the twitter account if anyone would like to see. It's evident on listening that this isn't the Edge singing but is a female vocalist singing in Japanese. The lyrics, as has been pointed out, are pretty weak as well and not what would be expected from The Edge. And Hiro points out that the Tower Records entry for the single places it under J-Pop, or Japanese Pop, which would be odd for an English artists such as The Edge. Also although there's no place that states it wasn't the Edge from U2, there is also no where that states that it is The Edge from U2 which seems like an odd omission.
Any suggestions where to go next? I do have a copy of the single on it's way to me. I found a copy on eBay for a reasonable price so I purchased it, and it should arrive next week. Does anyone else out there know anything about this release? As you can see I'm rather reluctant to just accept wikipedia as a source.
