The band was formed in 2008 and was composed of Tim "Shogun" Wall (vocals), Lawrence "Law" Hall (guitar), Joseph "Joe" Sukit (bass), Chris "Shortty" Shortt (drums) and Gabrielle de Giorgio (keyboards, organ, percussion, vocals).

[1][2][3][4][5][6] The band released two albums, Royal Headache (2011) and High (2015), both of which earned critical acclaim, and toured the US and Europe.

[7] Royal Headache was born in 2008 in a boat shed in Putney, a suburb of Sydney, on the banks of the Parramatta River.

[8] On a trip to Melbourne's Flip Out festival, they handed out copies of their rough instrumental demo hoping to find a singer, which piqued the interest of Shogun who had known Shortty from the Sydney punk and hardcore scene.

"[10] The group's 2011 self-titled debut album was a big word-of-mouth success for an independent Sydney band not backed by a major label subsidiary.

As one review said, Royal Headache "infus[ed] a vibrant, Motown-indebted charm to raucous punk rock.

An Opera House spokesperson said "Towards the end of the Royal Headache performance, some members of the audience made their way up on stage.

"[8] High was again critically acclaimed, and the band toured the US and Europe during 2015 and 2016, including an appearance at the Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona.

Wall, Law, and de Giorgio continued the band with two session musicians completing the rhythm section.

[7] Sukit played briefly with the Sydney garage punk group Bed Wettin' Bad Boys; Hall, Shortt, and de Giorgio have left the music industry.

After several years of complete inactivity following the breakup, Royal Headache released a live album in June 2024.