L'arc~en~ciel (or Laruku), in case you didn't know, was formed in 1992 when Tetsu recruited Hyde and 2 others (Pero and Hiro) to form a band, which he named after a movie he saw. (The name is translated into English as "The rainbow in the sky")
A year later, when the band was starting to gain recognition playing in their hometown, Osaka, Hiro and Pero sequentially withdrew, obliging Tetsu to convince his long-time friend, Ken, to drop his studies in architectural design and to convert Sakura to L'Arc-en-Cielism, after seeing him drum in a Live House. In April 1993, the newly reformed band ruled the underground charts with their debut album, Dune.
This was, of course, merely the beginning as they steadily enlarged their fan base until Sakura, their erstwhile drummer, was arrested for heroin possession in 1997 and left. Too close to their dream to quit, the remaining members organized a new tour introducing Yukihiro, previously of Die in Cries, on the drums. The first of such concerts had a possible attendance of 56,000 and sold out in four minutes. Another record was set when they released two full albums, Ark and Ray, at once and saw them share the first two spots on Japanese charts. Their next record, Real, even though excellent, will unfortunately be know as Laruku's last album in a long, long time. Compilations, remixes, more compilations... Everyone seemed to be heading in different directions with their solo projects and the foul stench of disbandment was in the air.
However, the band members seem to have renewed their vows. One can almost call their Shibuya Seven days 2003 concerts in June a reunion tour and a new album from the band has been announced. (Source: Project J)
Now, Laruku is more popular than ever and their popularity show no signs of waning. In fact, Laruku has been holding concert tours as far as the United States (always sold-out, mind). Recent albums and singles have been monster hits and it looks like Laruku will be around for a long, long time. 
Official Site: http://www.larc-en-ciel.com
Hyde's Official Site: http://www.hyde-net.com
SOAP (featuring Ken)'s Official Site: http://www.bubble-star.com
Tetsu69 (featuring Tetsu)'s Official Site: http://www.tetsu69.com
Acid Android (featuring Yukihiro)'s Official Site: http://www.acidandroid.com
L'arc~en~ciel is:
- Hyde: vocals
- Tetsu: bass
- Ken: guitar
- Yukihiro: drums
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yihaa!! die-hard l'arc~en~ciel fan here!
i first got into laruku because of rurouni kenshin. i found hyde's voice to be really goooood. i didn't know he was so short! hekhekhek.
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