Atsushi Sakurai

Atsushi Sakurai
Sakurai performing in 2017
Background information
Birth name	桜井 敦司
Born	(1966-03-07)March 7, 1966 Fujioka, Gunma, Japan
Died	October 19, 2023(2023-10-19) (aged 57) Yokohama, Japan
Genres	Alternative rock post-punk gothic rock industrial rock
Occupations	Musician singer-songwriter actor
Instruments	Vocals drums saxophone
Years active	1983–2023
Labels	Victor Cutting Edge
Formerly of	Buck-Tick Schwein The Mortal

Atsushi Sakurai (櫻井 敦司, Sakurai Atsushi, March 7, 1966 – October 19, 2023) was a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter. He was the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band Buck-Tick from 1985 until his death in 2023. Initially joining as their drummer in 1983, Sakurai fronted the band for 38 years and 23 studio albums, nearly all of which reached the top ten on Japan's Oricon chart. They are commonly credited as one of the founders of the visual kei movement.^[1]

Sakurai released the solo album Ai no Wakusei in 2004, and was a member of Schwein alongside his Buck-Tick bandmate Hisashi Imai, Sascha Konietzko and Raymond Watts. In 2015, he formed a solo project called the Mortal. After falling ill during a Buck-Tick concert, Sakurai died from a brainstem hemorrhage in a Yokohama hospital on October 19, 2023.