The FLARE was founded in 2004 when an avid fan of LUNA SEA and a guitarist, YUNA somehow managed to meet SUGIZO in the autumn of 1997. When the two met they had similar viewpoints and began a friendship that would last until this day. Years later YUNA and SUGIZO went on to create a band with a purpose both of them found to be very important.
Before the band was officially announced to the public SUGIZO decided to hold a mystery concert, in which SUGIZO hid behind a mask to avoid recognition, as a test run. The audience got their first taste of the new group and afterwards wanted more, understanding that The FLARE had arrived with an important cause for change.
Fast forward a few weeks later to their first official concert: Organized by Sweet Child and held at Zepp Tokyo, it drew in a monster crowd. The support band consisted of Charlie (ex-Spanks) on guitar, Soto (Red Rum) on bass, and Joe (Ziggy) on drums. They performed with great energy and their setlist included their first single, INNER CHILD, which would be released in August 2004, as well as other songs taken from later singles. The FLARE was very well received and the fans wanted more, which they got a few months later as The FLARE embarked on a national tour from November to December. They also released their second single, Uetico, on December 1st.
Spring 2005 soon arrived and with it came Earth Day, a celebration designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment. The FLARE performed at Earth Day Tokyo 2005 to show their support to save mother earth and for a better future. As summer rolled around, The FLARE released their third single in June Positivity, which encouraged people to stay positive even when times were tough, and embarked on yet another tour in August.
In February 2006, sad news came a few weeks prior to the release of The FLARE's self-titled album, when SUGIZO and YUNA announced their disbandment on their official website. But their disbandment would not come without one last tour, the LIVING ON THE GUIDING LIGHT tour, which spanned four cities in nine days in March 2006. All shows were sold out as fans were given one last opportunity to see The FLARE live. Then it was time to say goodbye as SUGIZO and YUNA went off in their own directions.
Since then, SUGIZO has returned to working on his solo career, releasing a best-of album titled COSMOSCAPE and holding his first one-man concert in a while at Shibuya AX, RISE TO COSMIC DANCE, on December 19, 2008. THE FLARE's other half, YUNA, has gone on to sing and play guitar in a band called CANDELARS along with Rui Song (Ex-CORE OF SOUL) on guitar and bass.
