Brian Bonhomme hails from Harlow, Essex, UK. He was born September 30, 1962. Brian formed his first band in 1979, along with schoolfriends Martin and Peter Noone. By means of audition/addition, natural attrition, a couple of fist-fights, and various other not-always-entirely-honorable goings-on, this band -- named Explorer -- eventually morphed into Roman Holliday.
Of the original Roman Holliday line-up (i.e., those who made the Cookin' on the Roof record), first in (after Brian) was Simon. Steve joined next, followed by Rob, Jon Durno, John Eacott, and Adrian. Roman Holliday's demise is both a simple and a complicated story, neither of which will be told here! Unhappy with the band's musical direction, Brian left Roman Holliday in the spring of 1985. Over the next two years he worked on a handful of other musical projects -- including co-writing a track for Samantha Fox's "Touch Me" LP (1985) and touring briefly with Kentucky-based band Stealin' Horses. None of Brian's post-Roman Holliday projects enjoyed much success, and the lad got generally bored with it all and moved on.
In 1986, Brian moved permanently to New York, beginning studies in history at the City University of New York in 1989. In 2000 he got a PhD and moved to Arkansas to teach.
At about the same time, Brian got the music bug again and started writing and playing. He self-released three solo CDs between 2000 and 2005 ("World Keeps Turning"; "The River and the Mill"; and "A Manly Hauling of Levers." He performed a number of live shows, mostly solo (with acoustic guitar) in Arkansas and the Netherlands (go figure!) He also got Roman Holliday together again (for what now looks like the very last time) for a reunion gig in London in 2001. Brian is currently Associate Professor of Russian and Soviet History at Youngstown State University in Ohio.
