Speed, Glue & Shinki (スピード・グルー&シンキ) was a Japanese psychedelic rock power trio formed in 1970 by guitarist Shinki Chen, and Ikuzo Orita, the president of Polydor Records.[1]
Orita had previously produced an LP featuring Shinki Chen; who was considered the Japanese equivalent of Jimi Hendrix. The self-titled album Shinki Chen featured other notable musicians, including George Yanagi and Masayoshi Kabe. To many in Japan, it is now considered a classic, and is a part of Universal Music's "Naked Line" series of legitimate digitally-remastered reissues.[2] After the release of Shinki Chen's debut solo LP, Orita took over the Japanese division of Atlantic Records and brought Shinki over to the label. Orita formed the trio "Speed, Glue & Shinki" with former Golden Cups bassist Masayoshi Kabe, and Filipino singer-drummer Joey Smith, whom Shinki had discovered performing at a shopping centre in Yokohama. The band took their name from Smith's use of amphetamines, and Kabe's interest of sniffing Pro-Bond glue during the 1960s. Speed, Glue and Shinki released their debut album Eve in 1971, but immediately split up due to mixed reviews, low sales [3] and as Shinki and Kabe couldn't tolerate Smith's personal life. After they disbanded, a large double-LP was independently released by Smith, titled Speed, Glue & Shinki, which was mostly the work of Joey Smith; sampling guitar recordings of Shinki from previous studio work. However, it also featured two unreleased songs titled Sniffin & Snortin, and Run & Hide which had been recorded for Eve but cut from the final release, as they did not fit the album's overall sound. Thereafter, Shinki took a disliking to recording music, and decided to become a live musician only; which he continues to present day. Kabe continued his own successful music career, while Smith reinvented his stage persona as "Pepe Smith" and returned to the Philippines, where he has become something of a phenomenon with his Pinoy Rock group, Juan Dela Cruz Band. [4]