Caligula are a band from

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, who produced electro rock music in the early 1990s. They're best known for their 1994 album, ''Rubenesque'', which peaked at number 13 on the ARIA charts and became a household name with their hit version of Smokey Robinson’s Tears Of A Clown . They spent a big chunk of the 90’s touring with acts like Depeche Mode,Pop Will Eat Itself,Neds Atomic Dustbin,Ride,Headless Chickens and many more . The band reformed in 2017 and started recording and releasing new material in 2021. 3 new singles have been released to critical acclaim and the band has fast become a popular touring act again,sharing festival stages with the cream of the crop of success 90’s Aussie bands .

History

Caligula was composed of five members: vocalist Ashley Rothschild,

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

James McKinnon,

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

Dave Macken, Jamie Fonti (

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

s and

backing singer A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

), and

bass guitarist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low bra ...

Sean Fonti. The band also included Dave Ross and Mitchell Foley as founding members. In 1990 and 1991, the band released two EPs, before a compilation album including both EPs, titled ''Got One''. In 1994, they released the album ''Rubenesque'' and received national airplay on

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

and

Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 40 radio stations broadcasting a mainstream rock music format and 5 digital radio stations. The network dates back to th ...

with the songs " Tears of a Clown" (a remake of the

Smokey Robinson & the Miracles The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential groups ...

song). Ashley Rothschild left Caligula, leading to their demise. The Fonti Brothers then created the band

Primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

with singer

Connie Mitchell Connie Thembi Mitchell (born ), also known as Miss Connie, is a South African-born Australian singer-songwriter. In 1995 she was a founding member of Primary. Briefly, in 2004, she was vocalist for Machine Gun Fellatio under the pseudonym Feyo ...

. Rothschild currently fronts the bands Panic Syndrome and Graveyard Rock Stars and teaches at Big Music Studios in Crows Nest. In 2018 the band reunited to support Pop Will Eat Itself on the East Coast dates of their Australian tour.

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

Awards

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...

. Caligula were nominated for one awards. , - ,

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, ''Caligula'' ,

ARIA Award for Best New Talent The ARIA Music Award for Best New Talent was an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards. It was presented from 1987 through to 1998. The award for Best New Talent was first presented in 1987. Crowded House won the award with their single "D ...

, , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caligula Australian rock music groups New South Wales musical groups Timberyard Records artists Mercury Records artists