César et les Romains

The group started making dance music in hotels under the name Les Questions. In spring 1965, the band changed its name to César et les Romains, with its members now wearing togas, skirts and sandals like Roman centurions. They were managed by Dominique Mandanice.^[1]: 72

César et les Romains had their first public appearance at the Café de l'Est, then published the successful songs "Splish splash" and "Toi et moi". They performed at cabarets; mostly anglophone songs, often in a rhythm'n blues style. They also performed classics of the French and international repertoire.^[1]: 72

The group was known across Quebec, appearing on television, touring in the province and participating in the 1966 tour Musicorama. It was named the "most spectacular band" at the Gala des artistes in 1966. In 1966, Maurice Bélanger was replaced by Pierre Sidor.^[1]: 72

The group members abandonned their Roman clothing in spring 1967, burning them in front of journalists.^[1]: 72 They turned to more serious material.^[2] They attempted to have a breakthrough in the United States, participating in the Expo 67 promotional show at Central Park, New York and in early 1968 performing at hotels in Puerto Rico, Florida and the Bahamas.^[1]: 72

The group had its last successes with "Money", "Dalila" and "Je veux vivre", and then dissolved in late 1968.^[1]: 72

Dino L'Espérance continued with his band César et compagnie for a short period, while the rest of the band continued for a few months under the name 4 Romains.^[1]: 72

The members reunited in 1976 for Le retour des groupes. They group made a comeback in 2015, composed of Donald Seward (keyboardist) and Jacques Moisan (drums), joined by Ric Lozier (guitarist, formerly in Les Checkmates), Rémi Perron (bassist, from the band Abbittibbi) and Guy Lamarche (vocalist). They performed their songs at the Festival Rétro de Joly and other venues in 2015.^[2] They wore their costume. They are still active as of 2024.^[3]