A JAPANESE rock band has been invited to perform at the school it took its name from.

Heavy rock act Abingdon Boys School chose its name after hearing how the members of Oxford’s most famous group, Radiohead, met at the school in Park Road in the 1980s.

The band was formed in 2005, and its first single Innocent Sorrow, released in 2006, reached number five in the Japanese charts.

Other Abingdon Boys School songs have featured on Sony Playstation games.

Michael Stinton, head of music at Abingdon School, who taught Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead, said: “This Japanese band has taken the name of the school because of the young men in Radiohead, who were all pupils here in the mid- to late-’80s.

“It would be lovely if the Japanese band did visit the school one day — some of the boys are aware of the group and are interested in them.

“It’s certainly quirky that the group has chosen the school’s name and it’s lovely to think that the school is getting publicity on the other side of the world.”

Abingdon Boys School, also known as a.b.s., are on Epic Records’ Japan label.

The band members are Takanori Nishikawa on vocals, Sunao and Hiroshi Shibasaka on guitars, and Toshiyuki Kishi on keyboards and programming.

Takanori told the BBC: “I happened to know that a school called Abingdon School actually exists in the UK.

“We designed clothes, wallets and other things in the style of a school uniform and it helps us feel like we’re back at school together.”

If the group did decide to visit the school, it would strengthen links with Japanese musicians already established by the music department earlier this year.

Mr Stinton said pupils aged 12-18 from Tokai Gakuen High School in Nagoya, Japan, visited the school in March and joined pupils to form an orchestra which played at the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford.

“Nagoya is probably about the size of Birmingham. They got in touch with us after hearing that our orchestra had performed in China and Hong Kong,” added Mr Stinton.

“We rehearsed Wagner’s Overture to Die Meistersinger and performed together in the Sheldonian — it was a wonderful collaboration.”