Having been through several drummer changes as well as various activity breaks, HEATWAVE has now consisted of the same four members since 2003. Yamaguchi Hiroshi and Watanabe Keiichi were both the original members of the band. Before joining the band as keyboardist in 1988, Hosomi Sakana was famous throughout Japan and worldwide when he was a member of the band Lustarz. In 2003, Jyunji Ikehata joined the band as the final drummer change; he was previously in the band NO STARS INNOVATION.
At the beginning of their career, Fujiwara Yuoshiko was the original drummer of the band. In 1990, HEATWAVE made their first major debut on the label EPIC Sony with the release of their album Hashira; five more albums were released under the same label. With their meaningful lyrics, and great variety of music elements in their songs, HEATWAVE have always received high acclaims for their original rock’n’roll sound. With a solid and loyal fan base, their lives are often filled with heart-throbbing emotions, and support is shown throughout the venue.
Fujiwara left the band in 1992, but was replaced with Tomodo Shingo before the recording of their next album.
There were two major changes in 1996; HEATWAVE signed with their new label Polydor and their drummer Tomodo was replaced with Ban Yoshimitsu. Under their new label, they released three albums.
In 1999, they released the album Hibinaru Chokkan, which marked the end of the first period in HEATWAVE's career, the band becoming less active. In 2000 they still performed live, but were gradually starting to work more on their solo projects than on HEATWAVE. In 2001, they released their best-of album as well as a 5-disc live album set. Soon after leaving their record label, they stopped all activities.
In 2003, the band reformed and was in action once again. After having taken part in the production of Hamada Akiko’s solo project in 2004, HEATWAVE finally released an original album after three years of no new releases titled LONG WAY FOR NOTHING. Since then, the band has had several tours throughout Japan, which included various festivals and TV programs. The new-born HEATWAVE was beginning to leave a very strong impression on the nation.
To welcome 2006, HEATWAVE worked on two major projects, which are the release of their albums HEATWAVE STRIKES BACK! SERIES and 2006 NEW ALBUM PROJECT. The first aforementioned release is a compilation of their music that is hard to find nowadays. For the following release, they introduced a new system, super-pre-order sale for the public while the album was still in a work-in-progress state to create anticipation.
In 2007, HEATWAVE increased the scale of their music even more, by releasing their work with higher standards as well as performing more lives. However it was during the fall that Yamaguchi began to put HEATWAVE on the back burner, and focused on solo work as well, releasing Made in Aso by October.
The following two years the activity of HEATWAVE lulled, releasing the CD and book land of music "the rising" in February, which included a number of DVDs. By April, Yamaguchi released his second album, Live at Cafe Milton which was an acoustic recording. Following the release, he held a string of concerts throughout Japan.
2010 was an equally quiet year for HEATWAVE, with minimal activity through the spring. By September, the special box set HEATWAVE EPIC YEARS 1990-1995~20th Anniversary Edition~ hit store shelves and the band embarked on a commemoration tour, Hikari.
The start of 2011 however brought a slew of live activity for the group, with SPEECHLESS beginning on January 10th and shows planned throughout February. Their new album which shares the title of their '11 tour will debut February 9th.
