''Circus Maximus'' is the debut album by Scottish musician

Momus Momus (; Ancient Greek: Μῶμος ''Momos'') in Greek mythology was the personification of satire and mockery, two stories about whom figure among Aesop's Fables. During the Renaissance, several literary works used him as a mouthpiece for their ...

, released on 15 January 1986 on

Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...

. It deals primarily with

Biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

and

Ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

themes, making reference to figures such as

Saul Saul (; , ; , ; ) was a monarch of ancient Israel and Judah and, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, the first king of the United Monarchy, a polity of uncertain historicity. His reign, traditionally placed in the late eleventh c ...

, St. Sebastian,

Lucretia According to Roman tradition, Lucretia ( /luːˈkriːʃə/ ''loo-KREE-shə'', Classical Latin: �ʊˈkreːtia died ), anglicized as Lucrece, was a noblewoman in ancient Rome. Sextus Tarquinius (Tarquin) raped her. Her subsequent suicide precipi ...

, and

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

. The title, ''Circus Maximus'', refers to the ancient Roman chariot racing and entertainment venue of the same name.

Background and influences

''The Guardian'' has characterised the lyrical content of ''Circus Maximus'' as a "skewed reading of certain classical and biblical themes," adding that "the urgent, whispering

omus ''Omus'' is a genus of tiger beetles, subfamily Cicindelinae. Its members are dark colored, nocturnal, and flightless. All members occur along the west coast of North America.Jürgen Wiesner (2021) Checklist of the Tiger Beetles of the World 2nd. ...

professes himself a masochistic St. Sebastian ('preferring the ache to the aspirin') and sings of 'The Rape of Lucretia' like a

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...

who had not stopped at an enthusiasm for

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

but mined the whole decadent tradition: Pater,

Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He wrote many plays – all tragedies – and collections of poetry such as '' Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the Eleve ...

, Huysmans."

Track listing

All songs written by Nicholas Currie (Momus). #"Lucky Like St. Sebastian" - 3:19 #"The Lesson Of Sodom (According To Lot)" - 3:43 #"John The Baptist Jones" - 3:12 #"King Solomon's Song And Mine" - 3:17 #"Little Lord Obedience" - 5:13 #"The Day The Circus Came To Town" - 3:25 #"The Rape Of Lucretia" - 4:57 #"Paper Wraps Rock" - 3:58 #"Rules Of The Game Of Quoits" - 4:03 #"Nicky" - 4:16 #"Don't Leave" - 3:35 #"See A Friend In Tears" - 4:12

Personnel

*Backing Vocals – Jane Davies *Engineer – Noël Thomson *Producer – Momus *Synthesizer mulator 2– Neill Martin

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Circus Maximus 1986 debut albums Momus (musician) albums Song cycles Él Records albums Folk albums by Scottish artists