Turning Japanese - The Vapors

What this video is

Released 25 January 1980 on United Artists Records, 'Turning Japanese' arrived at a pivotal moment in British pop when new wave acts were converting pub-rock credibility into chart success. The Vapors were managed by John Weller and Bruce Foxton of The Jam, situating them within the mod-revival and post-punk Guildford scene. The song's orientalist aesthetic — which the video amplifies through set, costume, and prop…

Why it matters

A canonical artifact of UK new wave's commercial apex, 'Turning Japanese' bridges the raw energy of post-punk with accessible power pop hooks and early promotional video aesthetics. As one of Russell Mulcahy's early UK commissions, the video anticipates the high-concept, theatrically-staged clip…

The director

Russell Mulcahy (born 23 June 1953, Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian director who pioneered the music video form in the late 1970s–early 1980s. He directed the Buggles' 'Video Killed the Radio Star' (1979), the first video aired on MTV, and became one…