Wild Colonials

Wild Colonials was an alternative rock / folk band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1992. The roots of the band go back to London, England a few years earlier when Glaswegian singer-songwriter Angela McCluskey met and married songwriter / pianist Paul Cantelon, whom she had met while he was playing piano in a restaurant. The duo moved to Los Angeles, California, where they hooked up with Canadian-born singer-songwriter Shark (formerly of pop duo Big Bam Boo). Initially, the band was formed to back Shark, who had recently relocated from New York. This project was not intended to be a long-term project, but the reaction was so positive that they named the band Wild Colonials and began to take it more seriously. Alongside the three founding members, the first line-up of the band included bassist / multi-instrumentalist Scott Roewe and drummer Ian Bernard. The group began performing regularly at an Irish pub called Molly Malone’s and began building up a dedicated following. They moved their residency to Café Largo in West Hollywood before signing a deal with DGC / Geffen Records. Their critically acclaimed debut album, Fruit of Life, was released in 1994 and brought Wild Colonials to the attention of a wider audience. Their music was used in many television series and films, which helped to pave the way for the band’s second album, This Can’t Be Life (1996). By the time of the second album, Wild Colonials’ drum stool was occupied by Thaddeus Corea, son of iconic jazz keyboardist Chick Corea. The group’s third album, Reel Life, Vol. 1, was released in 2000 and contained previously unreleased tracks that had been recorded for films. Wild Colonials didn’t achieve the commercial success that was expected of them, and the members went off to work on other projects. Shark continued to focus on soundtrack work while Angela McCluskey recorded a series of solo albums and worked with Télépopmusikd, Deep Forest, Kendrick Lamar, Robbie Robertson, Paul Oakenfold, Morgan Page, Delerium, and many others. Angela McCluskey died of an arterial tear on March 14, 2024, at the age of 64.

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