Chocolate Starfish
| Company type | Band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Defunct | 1998 (initial breakup) |
| Fate | Reunited in 2010 |
| Headquarters | Melbourne , Australia |
| Products | Music albums, singles, tours |
Chocolate Starfish is a rock band originating from Australia, established in 1992 and initially active until their breakup in 1998. Their debut album, titled Chocolate Starfish and released in April 1994, climbed to No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart. This was succeeded by their sophomore effort, Box, which came out in October 1995 and attained a peak position of No. 6. Their most successful single, a rendition of Carly Simon's 1972 track "You're So Vain", reached No. 11 on the ARIA Singles Chart in September 1993. Another notable single, "Mountain", peaked at No. 12 in March 1994.
The band reunited in 2010 and, after the passing of guitarist Zoran Romic in 2012, has released three more studio albums. They have gained recognition for tribute tours celebrating iconic records such as Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell (2017), INXS's Kick (2018), and a Bohemian Rhapsody-themed tour in 2021.
1992–1998: Formation, Chocolate Starfish & Box
Formed in Melbourne at the start of 1992, Chocolate Starfish originally consisted of Norman Falvo on keyboards and vocals, Craig Harnath handling bass guitar, Bruce Pawsey on drums, Zoran Romic playing guitar and providing vocals, along with lead vocalist Adam Thompson. Their initial gigs included performances with a humorous country style under the name The Hodads. According to Australian rock historian Ian McFarlane, Thompson was an "entertaining frontman" who added a theatrical flair to their music. Early line-ups also featured guitarist Brett Kingman and John Justin.
In January 1993, the band released their first EP titled Seafood. By this time, former members of Roxus, John "Stone" Nixon and Darren Danielson, had taken over bass and drum duties from Harnath and Pawsey respectively. Their debut single, a cover version of "You're So Vain", achieved No. 11 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Following singles "All Over Me" and "Mountain" also secured positions within the top 40.
Their self-titled debut album Chocolate Starfish, produced by Brian Canham of Pseudo Echo for EMI Music Australia, earned platinum certification and peaked at No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The record showcased confident, energetic rock infused with theatrical components. At the end of 1994, Falvo departed and was succeeded by Tim Rosewarne for their second album Box, which Virgin Records released in October 1995. Mixed by Thom Panunzio (known for work with U2, Soundgarden) and produced again by Canham, it reached No. 6 and continued their signature sound featuring powerful vocals, gritty guitar riffs, anthemic choruses, and refined production.
Danielson left the band in 1997, after which they spent six months based in Paris before ultimately disbanding by 1998.
1997–2009: Post-breakup activities
Following the split in 1997, Danielson and Canham formed a new group named Brill, independently releasing a self-titled album. Romic joined Brill in 1998. When Canham revived Pseudo Echo that same year, Danielson became their drummer. Later on, Romic and Danielson established The Fur Group along with Fur Records in Melbourne, managing successful acts including Skybombers.
2010-present: Reunion, Born Again Versions, Spider & Beautiful Addiction
In 2010, Chocolate Starfish regrouped with original members Danielson, Falvo, Nixon, Romic, and Thompson.[1][2] They initiated new studio recordings; however, a scheduled tour was cancelled following Romic's diagnosis with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in March 2011.[1] A benefit concert took place in October 2011 where Romic performed, before his passing on 31 March 2012.[1][3]
Continuing without Romic, the band toured from January to March 2013 as part of the Red Hot Summer Tour alongside artists such as Jimmy Barnes, Ian Moss, and Dragon.[4][5] Guitarist Tim Henwood (The Androids, The Superjesus) joined them for this tour.[5]
In 2014, they issued an acoustic collection titled Born Again Versions (BAV), focusing on demonstrating the songs' longevity through reinterpretation.[6] That same year, after creating a track for a Northern Territory television advertisement, they self-released the EP Primitive. Drummer Danielson remarked that it preserved the spirited essence of their 1990s material,[7] while Thompson emphasized its significance in reinvigorating the group amid members’ other engagements.[6]
On 31 October 2014, they performed Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell album live in its entirety.[8]
March 2015 saw the release of "Cinderella," their first new single in almost twenty years; proceeds were donated to the Jaime Wild Foundation supporting motor neurone disease research.[9]
On 31 December 2017, they unveiled Spider, their first album featuring new songs in two decades, dedicated to Zoran "Spider" Romic who co-authored "Heavyweight".[10] The lead single "Farmer Loretta" was released early the following year.[11]
In December 2020, the band introduced the EP Scaled Back, which includes intimate jam session recordings from their debut album sessions in 1993.[12]
By March 2021, Chocolate Starfish announced that their album Beautiful Addiction would be released in May, featuring a lead cover of 4 Non Blondes' hit "What's Up".[13]
Studio albums
| Album Title | Release Information | Highest Chart Positions | Certifications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | ||||
| Chocolate Starfish |
|
2 |
| |
| Box |
|
6 | ||
| Born Again Versions |
|
— | ||
| Spider |
|
— | ||
| Beautiful Addiction |
|
— | ||
| "—" indicates the album did not chart or was not issued in that region. | ||||
Live albums
| Album Title | Release Details |
|---|---|
| Live at Red Hot Summer Tour 2018 |
|
Extended plays
| Title | Release Information | Highest Chart Positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS | ||
| Seafood |
|
114 |
| Primitive |
|
— |
| Scaled Back |
|
— |
Singles
| Year of Release | Track Title | Highest Chart Positions Achieved | Certifications Earned | Associated Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | NZ | ||||||
| 1993 | "You're So Vain" | 11 | 29 |
|
Chocolate Starfish | ||
| "All Over Me" | 33 | — | |||||
| 1994 | "Mountain" | 12 | — |
| |||
| "Four Letter Word" | 41 | — | |||||
| "Sign of Victory" | 119 | — | |||||
| 1995 | "Accidentally Cool" | 39 | — | Box | |||
| "April the Fool" | 45 | — | |||||
| "Motherless" | 67 | — | |||||
| 1996 | "Holy Water" | 77 | — | ||||
| 2015 | "Cinderella" | — | — | Template:N/A | |||
| 2018 | "Farmer Loretta" | — | — | Spider | |||
| "Mountain 2.0" (featuring Karnage n Darknis) |
— | — | Template:N/A | ||||
| 2021 | "What's Up" | — | — | 'Beautiful Addiction' | |||
| "3 Words" | — | — | |||||
| 2024 | "The Candyman Blues" | — | — | Template:N/A | |||
| The symbol "—" signifies singles that did not enter the charts. | |||||||
ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards are held annually to honor outstanding achievements and creativity within the Australian music industry. Chocolate Starfish earned three nominations during their career.
|- | rowspan="2"| 1994 || rowspan="2"| "You're So Vain" || Breakthrough Artist – Single || |- | Highest Selling Single || |- | 1995 || "Mountain" || Highest Selling Single || |-
External links
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