AUSSIE rockers Adam Thompson and Zoran Romic thought Sir Les Patterson’s description of the bum as a “chocolate starfish” was so funny they wanted to use it as the name of their band.
This was 1990, heading into 1991, and they probably could have just nicked the sobriquet as members of melodic rockers Roxus moved into a more playful and cerebral project.
But instead, they decided to ask the permission of Sir Les’ creator, comedian Barry Humphries, and his manager John Reid – in person.
“He was impressed that his colloquialism would become a band’s name,” singer Thompson wrote on Facebook in the wake of Humphries’ death at the age of 89.
“To set the record straight … Sir Les Patterson’s use of the term Chocolate Starfish (for the back passage), delighted our ‘boyish’ funny-bones as we looked for a band name in the early 1990s.
“After some beers and a healthy debate, we thought we had the persona to pull it off as a band name , even though many people at the time had no idea of its origin or suggested meaning!
“We discussed this band naming with Barry at a meeting in London in the early 90s that year over a cuppa in the offices of his manager John Reid (yes Queen’s manager if you watched Bohemian Rhapsody).”
Chocolate Starfish’s debut album went on to reach number 2 on the Australian charts, going platinum. They had three hit singles from it – “You’re So Vain”, “All Over Me” and “Mountain”.
Romic died of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in 2012. The band had reformed the year before and continues to this day.
Main image: Chocolate Starfish Facebook
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