Guitarist-vocalist Kim Moon-chul and drummer Kim Soo-yoon have come a long way since standing on the stage as the members of Royal Pirates. They used to play as a band called “Fading From Dawn” with Moon-chul’s older brother, Richard Kim.
However, Richard died from a car accident in April 2008 and the band rarely played live anymore. In April 2009, they formed a new band called Royal Pirates with their new bassist, James Lee. They formally introduced James in October 2009 through KOME channel in California.
Prior to the formation of Royal Pirates, Moon-chul and Soo-yoon already became Internet sensation for uploading covers on their YouTube account. After receiving much praises for their first cover on Muse’s “Time is Running Out“, they kept uploading rock versions of the hit songs such as “Nobody” by Wonder Girls and “Mirotic” by DBSK.
Their cover on Britney Spears’ “Circus” was featured on Britney’s homepage and it reached 18,000 viewers in just 2 weeks.
They then appeared on Korean News Channel YTN and were presented as an independent rock band which became a new YouTube sensation through their powerful instrumentals and brilliant videos.
After releasing the music video for their original song “Disappear” in March 2010, Royal Pirates made their official Korean debut on 25th August 2013 on Inkigayo with their digital single “Shout Out”. They then released their first EP “Drawing The Line” in Korea on 15th January 2014.
2 months later, they released their first album titled “Shout Out” in Japan and the album included English versions of the songs “Shout Out”, “Drawing The Line”, and “Fly To You”. They appeared on several music programmes as guests of Kim Kyung Rok of “VOS” and collaborated with Lee Minho for the actor’s “Reboot: Minho Tour”.
On 27th August 2014, Royal Pirates released their 2nd EP “Love Toxic”, which included the English versions of the songs “Betting Everything” and “You”.
Having recently wrapped up their showcase in Japan, Malaysian telecommunications company Hotlink announced that the boys are coming to their first-ever showcase in Malaysia this coming May.
The details of the event are as follows:
Royal Pirates First Showcase in Malaysia (Sabah)
- Date: 1st May 2015
- Time: 7PM
- Venue: 1Borneo Mall, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
Royal Pirates First Showcase in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur)
- Date: 3rd May 2015
- Time: 6PM
- Venue: Bentley Music Auditorium, Kuala Lumpur
No further details have been announced yet, but stay tuned for more updates.
Meanwhile, check out one of the songs that you can expect from their first showcase in Malaysia here:
For more information about Royal Pirates, visit the band’s official website or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.