Rob Dean

Rob Dean was the original guitarist of the new wave band Japan after he joined in 1975.

His guitar work was particularly prominent on the band’s first two albums, Adolescent Sex and Obscure Alternatives, on which his heavy riffing and guitar solos were at the forefront of Japan’s glam-punk sound, but, on their next two albums, Quiet Life and Gentlemen Take Polaroids, his playing became much more atmospheric, being used more as a textural device than as the basis for a song. Because of his decreasing level of importance within the band’s sound, in early 1981, Dean left the group, agreeing to do one more tour with them before he left. This was just before Japan would subsequently blow up in the UK, achieving considerable commercial success with the hit single, “Ghosts”, and for the following tour, he was briefly replaced by Masami Tsuchiya (although the rest of the band split up shortly after).

Since leaving Japan, Rob Dean has done very little musically since, besides occasional collaborations with his former bandmates, as well as forming Illustrated Man with Hugo Burnham. He has, however, gone on to gain a reputation as an illustrator and ornithologist, having written several books about birds.