25 celebrities you didn’t know had music careers

Russell Crowe

You may already know that Russell Crowe can sing — especially if you’ve seen Les Miserables — but did you know just how far back his passion for music goes?

He first dipped his toes in the music pond in 1982 when he recorded the song “I Want To Be Like Marlon Brando” under the stage name Russ Le Roq. Also in the 1980s, he formed the band Roman Antix, which later became the band 30 Odd Foot of Grunts (or TOFOG). The band was together for more than 20 years and had several releases: The Photograph Kills EP in 1995, and the studio albums Gaslight (1998), Bastard Life or Clarity (2001), and Other Ways of Speaking (2003).

The band dissolved in 2005, but Russell wasn’t done with music yet. Instead, he teamed up with Alan Doyle (of the band Great Big Sea) to form his newest musical endeavor, the band Russell Crowe & The Ordinary Fear of God. They released their album My Hand, My Heart in 2005, as well as the single “Raewyn”.

Russell Crowe & The Ordinary Fear of God sold out tours across Australia and the U.S. and had a huge press tour along the way. The pair continued to collaborate and even released The Crowe/Doyle Songbook Vol III, an album featuring nine original songs and all of their demos, in 2011.

Russell’s musical career has actually been quite successful over the years, but it doesn’t seem to be as common knowledge as you would think. Either way, he’s done what many couldn’t, and that’s having both a successful acting and music career, so kudos to him.