Roxus were an Australian

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest ha ...

band which existed between 1987 and 1993. Members included

Juno Roxas Juno Roxas (born 4 May 1967) is an Australian musician and actor. Life and career Roxas was one of the founding members of glam metal band, Roxus (1987–1993). The group released an album in 1991, titled ''Nightstreet'' which peaked at number ...

- lead vocals, Dragan Stanić - guitar, Darren Danielson - drums, John 'Stones' Nixon - bass guitar and Andy Shanahan - keyboards. Their debut album, ''

Nightstreet ''Nightstreet'' is the debut studio album by Australian rock band, Roxus. It was released in August 1991 and peaked at number five on the ARIA Albums chart. Background ''Nighstreet'' was issued on 18 August 1991 by Australian hard rock ...

'' was released in August 1991 and peaked at No. 5 on the

ARIA Albums Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. Their most successful single, " Where Are You Now?", reached No. 13 on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified gold.

History

Roxus formed as ''Bah Ragah'' in 1987 in the Melbourne south-eastern suburb of Springvale with Joseph La Ferlita (Joe Cool) on guitar; Darren Danielson (ex-Windsor Jamm) on drums; John 'Stones' Nixon (Windsor Jamm) on bass guitar;

on lead vocals (Party Pies); and Andy Shanahan on keyboards. Roxus gained a considerable live following.McFarlane
'Roxus'
entry. Archived fro
the original
on 30 September 2004. Retrieved 2 March 2013. Australian rock music historian,

Ian McFarlane Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the '' Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017. As a journalis ...

, found the group played a "blend of tuneful,

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

esque hard rock and

Living Colour Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. The band currently consists of guitarist Vernon Reid, lead vocalist Corey Glover, drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish (who replaced Muzz Skillings in 1992). St ...

-inspired funk around the Melbourne pub circuit ... ith theircarefully cultivated image of black leather, ripped jeans, cowboy boots, bandannas and big hair". In 1989 Roxus supported international bands,

Poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

and

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald. Original bassist Alec John such qu ...

, on their respective Australian tours. Also that year Dragan Stanić replaced Joe Cool on guitar. The band came to the attention of music commentator and promoter, Ian (Molly) Meldrum, who signed them to his

Melodian Melodian Records was an Australian independent record label founded in 1988 by record producer and music journalist Ian Meldrum with Michael Gudinski and Amanda Pelman. The name ''Melodian'' is a combination of 'melody' and Meldrum and Ian. Bac ...

label via

Mushroom Records Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival M ...

. The group issued two singles in 1989, "

Stand Back "Stand Back" is a song by American singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks from her second solo studio album '' The Wild Heart'' (1983). The song was released as the lead single from the album in May 1983 and reached number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot ...

" in July and "Body Heat" in November. In 1990, they released a live EP, including live versions of the tracks "Stand Back" and "Body Heat". In April 1991 Roxus supported US band, Warrant, on their Australian tour. In September that year their debut album, ''

'', was released, which reached No. 5 on the

. In July they issued their most successful single, " Where Are You Now?", which is a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. ...

that received considerable radio airplay and peaked at No. 13 on the ARIA Singles Chart and No. 11 on the AMR Singles Chart. In August, they followed up with " Bad Boys", which reached No. 39 on the ARIA chart, "Jimi G" was released in September. In 1992, American AOR veteran Jeff Paris was hired to produce what was to be Roxus' second album. Recorded at Platinum recorders in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

, the sessions yielded four tracks; "Invisible Man", "What You Don't Know", "Stop Playin' With My Heart" and "All The Way". Roxas and Stanic returned to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

with Paris, to mix the four completed songs. The album however, was never completed and on New Year's Eve, 1992, Roxus played their last show before disbanding early in 1993.

Afterwards

After Roxus had disbanded,

went solo and recorded the album, ''Far From Here'', on

in 1994. He has worked as a musician and producer in both Los Angeles and Melbourne. Stanić continued playing locally in a range of projects including De-Arrow, Among Thieves and Kream. By March 1993 Danielson and Nixon had joined Melbourne rockers,

Chocolate Starfish Chocolate Starfish is an Australian rock band formed in 1992 and disbanded in 1998. Their self-titled debut album, issued in April 1994, peaked at No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart. It was followed in October 1995 by their second album, ''Bo ...

. Shanahan became a lecturer at

RMIT University RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public research university in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1887 by Francis Ormond, RMIT began as a night school offering classes in art, scien ...

in Sound Production.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

References

External links

Pyromusic review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roxus Australian hard rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1987 Musical groups disestablished in 1993 Victoria (Australia) musical groups