Minako Honda's bio

Minako Honda, born Minako Kudo was a Japanese "idol" pop-star and musical singer. She became famous and popular as "Japan's Madonna" because of her sexy fashion and live performances in the mid to late 1980s.

As with most teenaged "idol" singers, her J-Pop career was spectacular but short. In 1989, at the advanced age of 22, she made an attempt to revive her flagging career and attain "street cred" by forming the edgy all-girl band "Minako with Wild Cats". This effort was unsuccessful, and it seemed that she would fade into obscurity.

By 1992, however, she had reinvented herself. She took formal acting and singing lessons, and became a notable theatrical singer and actress. In auditions for the Tokyo production of Miss Saigon, she won out over 12,000 other candidates for the part of Kim, earning the nickname "Tokyo's Miss Saigon". She also appeared in numerous other theatrical performances.

Towards the end of her life, she released several classical albums demonstrating her soprano singing voice, including religious works such as Amazing Grace and Ave Maria. She also sang the theme songs for several anime programs.

She did not abandon pop music in her adult career; indeed, she became recognized for her vocal improvement in the adult pop genre. Her song "Tsubasa" (Wings) is famous for the "long note" that she holds for 30 seconds.

Her career was cut short by leukemia. After she became ill, she served as a celebrity spokesperson for the Live for Life Project, a campaign for the treatment of leukemia.

Since her death, numerous posthumous albums and videos have been released, including some previously-unreleased songs.

Minako Kudo was born in Shibamata, Katsushika, Tokyo (a district made famous by the Otoko Wa Tsurai Yo movie series), and was raised in Asaka, Saitama Prefecture. She had one sister, Ritsuko (律子).

Kudo changed her name as she pursued a professional career in singing. Supposedly, she chose Honda because she liked Honda cars and in imitation of another popular singer, Seiko Matsuda (Matsuda is how Mazda is known in Japan).

In 1985, Honda appeared on the music scene with her debut EP Satsui No Vacance. She was known for appearing in revealing outfits and for exposing her belly (hesodashi in Japanese).

Her career discography included:

M' Syndrome 1985
M' / Temptation <New Mix Version> / Sanbika Wa Utaenai (I Can't Sing Hymns) / November Snow / Aperitif / Doubt / Charlie / Hard To Say "I Love You" / Mahattan No Hotaru (= The Light Of Manhattan)

Minako The Virgin Concert In Budokan Live 1986
Lips 1986
Sold Out / Ribbon Ga Hodokenai (I Can't Untie The Ribbon) / 1986Nen No Marilyn (Marilyn Of 1986) / Schedule / Joe / Bathroom Angel / Marionette No Yuutsu (Marionette Blue) / Dramatic Escape / Yokosuka Rule / Ai Ga Sugiyukumamani (= As Love Goes By)

Cancel 1986
Cancel / Tomaranai Railway (Non-Stop Railway) / Lovesong For Somebody / Shikashi (However) / Bond Street / 24Jikan No Hankou (=The 24-Hour Rebellion) / Roulette / Feel Like I'm Running / No Problem / Namida Wo F.O. Shite (=Fade Out The Tears)

Oversea 1987 <English album>
Sneak Away / Playboy / Plaything / That's The Way I Want / Let's Start Again / Heart Break / You Can Do It / Take It Or Leave It / Girl Talk

Passenger Original Soundtrack 1987
One Shot / Passenger / Kodoku Na Hurricane (The Solitary Hurricane) and 9 other music tracks

Midnight Swing 1987
One Shot / Do You Remember? / Yumemigokochi (Dreams Come True) / About - Adult / Hajimeteiukedo (Although It Is Said The First Time) / Kanashimi Swing (Sadness Swing) / Konya Wa Beat Ni Noranai (I Can't Follow The Beat Tonight) / Destiny / Kodoku Na Hurricane (The Solitary Hurricane) / Eye Kodoba Wa Lonely (The Message In My Eyes Is Lonely)

DISPA 1987 (the short form of Disco Party) 1988
Wildcats 1988 (Released under the band name Minako With Wild Cats)
We Are Wild Cats / Let It Burn / Virginity / Bang Bang / Kiri No Viel (The Misty Veil) / Because You're Mine / Full Metal Armor /School Girl Blues / Kasis No Kajitsu (The Fruit Of Kasis) / Anata To Nettai (The Tropic And You)

The Target Of Leopard 1989
Katte Ni Sasete (=Let Me Follow My Way) / Hearts On Fire / Walk Away / Helter Skelter / Slow Walk / Ai Ga Kikoeru (The Call For Love) / Heat Me Up / Asamade (Until Dawn) / Surrender / Kill me

After her J-pop career, Honda briefly recorded anime songs, including:

Lullaby ~Yasashiku Dakasete~ (Lullaby - Embrace Me Gently), the ending of the Magic Knight Rayearth second series (1995).
Kaze No Uta (Song Of The Wind), the first Hunter × Hunter series ending theme (1999).
Nadja!, the Ashita No Nadja opening theme (2003).
Que será, será, the Ashita No Nadja ending theme (2003).
By the 1990s, Honda became a musical singer, with appearances as Kim in the Japanese production of Miss Saigon, supra. She also starred in Fiddler On The Roof, Les Miserables, and The King and I. According to Shadows and Wind: A View of Modern Vietnam by Robert Templer, Honda was fined and expelled from Vietnam after being photographed in the Cu Chi tunnels draped only in a Vietnamese flag.

Honda has recorded with a number of non-Japanese artists, including:

Brian May of Queen, who wrote, composed, played guitar for, and produced "Crazy Nights"/"Golden Days" for her.
Gary Moore ("The Cross")
[John "Sly" Wilson of Sly Slick & Wicked was in-house producer for Joe Jackson of the Jackson 5 produced the Oversea album. John Wilson wrote and produced("Heart Break" & Sneakaway). Minako recorded this song in two languages: an English recorded in Los Angeles version which was included on her English album "Oversea", and a Japanese mix which was released as a single.
John Deacon, the bassist for Queen, offered a number of songs to Minako which were included in the album "Cancel"

Honda became ill in late 2004, but still performed in December in spite of a fever and fatigue. When her cold-like symptoms failed to improve, she sought medical treatment and was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia in January 2005. Honda recovered after treatment and came home to Asaka.

Honda was able to celebrate her 38th birthday at home feeling relatively well, but had a relapse shortly afterwards. Chromosome aberration was discovered and she received a dose of anticancer medicine from the United States to treat it. It is reported that her blood type changed to type A from type O because of a transfusion of umbilical cord blood after the detection of her illness. She recovered again briefly, but then suffered another relapse.

Honda developed lung complications in late October, and she lapsed into a coma. At 4:38 A.M. on November 6, 2005, Honda died at the Juntendo University Hospital in Bunkyō, Tokyo, officially from acute myelogenous leukemia. She was 38 and unmarried at the time of her death.

"Minako Was A Little Angel," said Brian May on his web page after her death. The message can be seen in May's November 6 and November 8 contributions at WET. close