A great sense of humour and some even better songs have helped Barenaked Ladies become one of Canada’s biggest acts, selling 15 million records and picking up multiple Grammy nominations on the way.
Coming from humble beginnings in Ontario, Canada, the pairing of Ed Robertson and Steven Page came together in a chance meeting after a Peter Gabriel concert. After constantly missing practices to begin with, the pair learnt to improvise their sets as they went along, a unique live touch that has remained a staple throughout their career.
They began to put together home recordings including their first album, Buck Naked which was put together on a 4 track recorder. After adding a few new members, the band made their first commercial release, 1991’s The Yellow Tape which was sent to and subsequently rejected by every label in Canada. The band began to sell the tape at their shows and as demand increased, record shops were forced to stock the tape to keep customers happy. Eventually, it’s popularity snowballed and the tape became the first indie release to go platinum in Canada.
1992’s Gordon became their first full album and became a huge success spawning singles like ‘If I had $1000000’. The band continued to have no luck breaking in the United States until 1998’s Stunt helped them hit the big time. The single ‘One Week’ became a breakout success and hit number one in the singles charts pretty much cementing their position as a major act for the remainder of their career.
The band has always maintained a connection to the comedy that separates them from so many other acts and in 2007 they wrote and recorded the theme song for hit Sitcom ‘The Big Bang Theory’ meaning that Barenaked ladies are heard in living rooms worldwide every night.
Talib Kweli
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