nterview by Kris Peters
What do you get when you cross a pro wrestler, a metal head and a penchant for cross-dressing? If you answered Ladybeard then you are 1000% correct. For there is only one.
Because one walking ray of sunshine is all the world needs.
Since blowing up the Japanese internet in 2014 and then taking on the world with his first single Nippon Manju the following year, Adelaide-born Ladybeard has quickly become - and, most importantly, remained - an exuberant spark of life in an otherwise bleak musical landscape. His vision first of creating and then of embracing the persona that is Ladybeard has seen him traverse the globe as a solo artist but even the best of us get lonely sometimes and thus Ladybeard sought companionship in the form Japanese idols SUZU and MAHRI to form his current group Babybeard in 2020.
Combining colourful Japanese pop culture and relentlessly cute pigtails with heavy metal, pro-wrestling and choreographed dancing, Babybeard’s uniquely high-energy performances have captured the hearts and ears of all ages no matter what part of the world they have blessed, but now it's Australia's turn when Babybeard arrive in this country in the coming days for their Adorable Assault On Australia Tour, kicking off in Adelaide this Friday.
It promises to be an entertaining, family-suited string of shows and is a fitting homecoming for a man and his band. But don't let us convince you of the above, listen to the words of Ladybeard himself, and you will find it impossible to refute.
"We are here to tell you dear, beautiful Australians that Ladybeard is coming on tour to Australia with his group Babybeard this June and July," he declared. "So we all need to get a bit excited Australia. We need to raise the tempo because we're not here for siesta time. We're here to SCREAM with a man in pigtails and two Japanese females. It's me, with two adorable Japanese ladies next to me, and we're all dancing. The girls are singing, I'm SCREAMING. It's like BabyMetal but with a giant, bearded, cross-dressing Aussie in the middle. That's exactly what it's like. The group is called Babybeard - so it's Ladybeard plus babies equals Babybeard, it's very straightforward - and we're coming for you. We've been trying to make this Australia tour happen for a long time. We put this group together in 2020, and we all know what happened then that made touring somewhat difficult, but we had a plan to tour in 2020. Nope, not happening. Tour 2021? Nah, not happening. 2022? Nah, 2023? Nah. Finally, 2024 is the Year Of The Beard. Actually, they changed it to the Chinese zodiac, so it is officially The Year Of The Beard for Australians only!"
In the full interview, Ladybeard tells us how an assault on our country could possibly be perceived as adorable, starting the tour in his hometown of Adelaide and if he is nervous about kicking things off in front of friends and family he hasn't seen for a while, gives a brief account of how he went from Adelaide wrestler to international superstar, combining J Pop with metal without being overly offensive, what to expect from the shows, the growth of J Pop as a music and culture and more.