Pizzicato Five, R.I.P.

March 23 -- After more than 15 years of recording and performing, Japanese glam-pop outfit Pizzicato Five is calling it quits.

Last week, Japanese newspapers reported that Konishi Yasuharu and Nomiya Maki were dissolving their partnership and retiring the name of Pizzicato Five, effective March 31. A farewell concert is planned for that night in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, and a "best of" compilation is also slated to be released to coincide with their swan song.

Rumor and speculation about the band's breakup began circulating early in the month, when German Web site Popkomm.de reported news of the farewell show, billed as "Don't Cry. No Tears, No Fears/ Comin' Your Way: Pizzicato Five 1985-2001." The site also said that on that same day P5 would release a greatest-hits package, titled Pizzicato Five R.I.P. Big Hits & Jet Lags, a reworking of the title of its 1995 hits collection, Big Hits & Jet Lags 1991-1995.

The band released no official statement, leading some to speculate the rumors were another one of Konishi's gags: He has said on more than one occasion that "pop music is a joke," therefore the next joke in his career would be "the next P5 performance." But confirmation from sources at management company Pizzicato Five International corroborated the news this week: This was no joke. P5 is finished.

Both Konishi and Nomiya will embark on solo careers in music. Konishi had told Genre Magazine in 1997 that directing a film had been a lifelong dream, and last year there were reports that he had indeed begun pursuing that goal. Nomiya, who had taken time off to have a baby in the mid-'90s, had said in interviews at the time of the band's Happy End of the World release that what she liked most about that CD was that there were "less songs" for her to sing.

Pizzicato Five made its American debut in 1994 with the Matadorrelease of the EP Five by Five and the full-length Made in USA. Both CDs contained "Twiggy Twiggy/ Twiggy vs. James Bond," the song that introduced Americans to the dizzying cocktail of pop culture references — including a mix of Hawaii Five-O samples, surf sounds, disco, and even Burt Bacharach — that was the P5 trademark. K-Taro Takanami, who was also part of the lineup at this time, left the group shortly after to pursue his own solo career.