The band was formed in 2008 by the brothers Ozaki from Wakkanai, Hokkaido in northern Japan. The group officially started its activities right after bass player Hitoshi Sako and another one of Ozaki's friends joined them. They eventually gained popularity in August, having scored first place in competition for young artists,Senkou Riot. At the competition, the four musicians performed in front of 5,000 spectators.
In January 2009, the band’s first mini-album Ame nochi Galileo came out. It had success in the indies charts, which drew attention to Galileo Galilei in the music world. In March, the band toured around Japan for the first time and they soon embarked on their second tour, Galileo Galilei The 2nd Tour “SATELLITE” during the summer. In November, a new guitarist spot was filled by Fumito Iwai from Sapporo. The band closed the year by participating in the event COUNTDOWN JAPAN 09/10.
In 2010 the band's song Hamanasu no hana, one of the first after their major debut, was used in the AU cellphone company's television advertisement for "LISMO." This song has since been downloaded more than one million times. In that year, two more singles were released, Natsuzora and Yotsuba sagashi no tabibito.
Four years after their start, the band finally recorded their first full-length album. Parade made its debut in February 2011 and almost instantly took the fifth place of the Oricon charts. Galileo Galilei toured again to promote this album, performing around Japan through Tokyo, Sapporo, Osaka and Nagoya. In April, the band saw the release of a movie which was based on their song Kanseitou. This film was directed by Takahiro Miki and included many scenes recorded in the members’ hometown, Wakkanai. The film was shown at international film festivals in New York and London. Around the same time, Parade was also released internationally through iTunes UK and US.
After the release of several succesful singles in 2011, the band released their second full album, PORTAL, in January 2012.
Currently, Galileo Galilei is promoting their new album with media appearances and a short tour this spring. We look forward to their future plans.
