About Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies are a Canadian rock band formed in 1988 in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a following in Canada, with their self-titled 1991 cassette becoming the first independent release to be certified gold in Canada. They reached mainstream success in Canada when their debut with Reprise Records, Gordon, featuring the singles "If I Had $1000000" and "Brian Wilson", was released in 1992. The band's popularity subsequently spread into the US, beginning with versions of "Brian Wilson" and "The Old Apartment" off their 1996 live album Rock Spectacle, followed by their fourth studio album Stunt, their breakout success in 1998. The album featured their highest-charting hit, "One Week", as well as "It's All Been Done" and "Call and Answer". Their fifth album, Maroon, featuring the lead single "Pinch Me", also charted highly. The band is also recognized for creating and performing the theme song to the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory.
Initially a duo of Ed Robertson and Steven Page, the band quickly grew to a quintet, adding brothers Jim and Andy Creeggan and Tyler Stewart by 1990. Andy Creeggan left the band in 1995 and was replaced by Kevin Hearn. Page left in 2009, reducing the group to a quartet.
The band's style has evolved throughout their career, and their music, which began as exclusively acoustic, quickly grew to encompass a mixture of pop, rock and folk. The band's live performances feature comedic banter and freestyle rapping between songs. They have won multiple Juno Awards and have been nominated for two Grammy Awards. The group has sold over 15 million albums and singles and were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in March 2018.
Barenaked Ladies began as the duo of Ed Robertson and Steven Page. Both attended Churchill Heights Public School and connected after a Peter Gabriel concert and were both counsellors at Interprovincial Music Camp located in McKellar, Ontario. Page was impressed by Robertson's ability to harmonize when they began playing songs together. While attending a Bob Dylan concert at Exhibition Stadium they decided upon the name "Barenaked Ladies."
They first performed a largely improvised set during a battle of the bands at Nathan Phillips Square for the Second Harvest food bank on 1 October 1988. They continued with opening for The Razorbacks and others, while developing their improvised set to include comedy, songs, and audeince interactions.
Page and Robertson continued performing and began writing songs together. The band's first tape, Buck Naked , was made using a four-track recorder in basements and bedrooms. The pair became followers of comedy group Corky and the Juice Pigs, to whom they give credit for exposing them to the idea of comedic stage presence. Page and Robertson presented the group with their tape and were invited to open for the Juice Pigs on their cross-Canada tour. One night in Toronto, Page and Robertson invited friends from music camp, brothers Andy Creeggan and Jim Creeggan , to play with them at a Christmastime club show. Featuring the two new band members, Barenaked Lunch was released in 1990 despite being mastered incorrectly and playing too fast.
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