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Subject: Barenaked Ladies

Written By: whistledog on 08/16/06 at 3:19 am

The Barenaked Ladies are a popular pop-rock band from Canada

http://www.udel.edu/PR/UpDate/02/3/BNL.GIF


-- BIOGRAPHY --

Scarborough, Ontario's The Barenaked Ladies started in 1988 as the duo of Page and Robertson who had previously played together in a Rush clone band. They released a cheap cassette called Buck Naked' in 1989 followed by 1990's 'Barenaked Lunch' which was the Creeggan brothers debut.

By 1991 Tyler Stewart had joined the band and the group was stirring up publicity both with their savage wit and impromptu acoustic concerts (especially on live radio) but in the media by being banned by Toronto mayor June Rowlands who wouldn't allow them to play in Nathan Phillips Square due to their 'offensive' name.

The press that this incident generated put the 5 piece band under the microscope as they headed to New York for the annual New Music Seminar to try and sell themselves. While there, they met Sean Lennon, son of John & Yoko, and got positive encouragement that his mother wasn't the least bit offended by their now popular song "Be My Yoko Ono".

They were still unsigned and selling out concert halls, doing full radio concerts and effectively selling thousands of copies of their 3rd cassette - 'The Yellow Tape' based on such commercially catchy songs as "Be My Yoko Ono", "If I Had A Million Dollars" and "Brian Wilson". Due to the changes in record marketing and tracking through the newly developed Soundscan system, BNL's indie tape was now being distributed by Steven Page's father's own business (Page Publishing) and being monitored and counted, statistically, like any major label released product. Before the band knew it, the cassette had gone gold - which had never happened in Canadian music history.

The band managed to slip in a cover version of Bruce Cockburn's "Lovers In A Dangerous Times" onto Intrepid Records' 'Kick At The Darkness' tribute album before a bidding war by major labels ensued and Sire Records out of the US won the coveted label honours. President Seymour Stein himself came to Toronto to oversee the public signing of the deal - held at the city hall of their suburban hometown of Scarborough as not only a publicity stunt, but as a huge public snubbing of Toronto mayor June Rowlands.

The band finished up their independent commitments of gigs and cassettes in retail and retired to record their 1992 debut called 'Gordon'. The album, riding the crest of the ensuing media frenzy, went on to sell 500,000 copies and BNL were unanimously hailed as geniuses.

Since then, they've tread cautiously with their biting sarcasm and novelty tunes to build a steady cult following that got an unexpected boost from the video for the band's "The Old Apartment", directed by "Beverley Hills 90210" actor Jason Priestley, and the Stateside success of the 1997 live "Rock Spectacle" album. BNL finally exploded in the U.S. in 1998 with the release of the album "Stunt" and the single "One Week". The pay-off for years of gruelling touring, "Stunt" was certified double-platinum (2 million copies) in America in November 1998. The album's second single and video, "It's All Been Done", pushed sales even higher.

They returned in August 2000 with the upbeat single "Pinch Me", which featured some of the same rapid-fire singing that made "One Week" so memorable. A full album, "Maroon", produced by rock vet Don Was (Bonnie Raitt, Rolling Stones), followed on Sept. 12, 2000.  Their next album "Everything to Everyone" followed, and though it saw minor success in the states, it was a smash success in Canada on the strength of the lead single "Another Postcard".  Following the Christmas album "Barenaked For the Holidays", their latest album "Barenaked Ladies Are Me" is due for release in August 2006



-- ALBUMS --

Year 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2001 2003 2004 2006

Album Title Gordon Maybe You Should Drive Born on A Pirate Ship Stunt Maroon Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits 1991-2001 Everything to Everyone Barenaked For the Holidays Barenaked Ladies Are Me



-- HIT SINGLES --

* Indicates song is still in the charts

Year 1992 1992 1992 1992 1993 1993 1993 1994 1995 1995 199619961997199819981999199919992000200120012001 2003 2004 2004 2004 2006

Song Title Lovers in A Dangerous Time Be My Yoko Ono Enid Grade Nine If I Had $1,000,000 What A Good Boy Brian Wilson Jane Alternative Girlfriend Life in a Nutshell Shoe Box The Old Apartment Brian Wilson <us release> One Week It's All Been Done Call and Answer Get in Line Brian Wilson <uk release> Pinch Me Falling For the First Time Too Little Too Late Thanks That Was Fun Another Postcard Testing 1, 2, 3 For You Celebrity Easy

Canada #16 #77 #2 #53 #13 #34 #18 #3 #22 #29 #10#14--#6#1#18#21--#4?????? #28 ?? ?? ?? #24*

United States -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- #88#68 #1#44------#15--#86--#82---- -- --

United Kingdom -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ------#5#28#52--#73-------- -- -- -- -- --



-- MUSIC VIDEOS --

Be My Yoko Ono | Brian Wilson | Easy | Falling For the First Time | Get in Line | It's All Been Done | One Week | Pinch Me

Subject: Re: Barenaked Ladies

Written By: ktelqueen on 08/16/06 at 3:21 am

nice work on this one,J..cool pic as well..i just watched a bit of the brian wilson video,one of my fave bnl songs  :)

Subject: Re: Barenaked Ladies

Written By: whistledog on 08/16/06 at 3:28 am


nice work on this one,J..cool pic as well..i just watched a bit of the brian wilson video,one of my fave bnl songs  :)


Thanks :)

Brian Wilson is an awesome song.  I love "Jane" the best.  There was a time when that was once my all-time favourite song ever 8)

Subject: Re: Barenaked Ladies

Written By: Dominic L. on 08/16/06 at 10:23 am

I love BNL.

I have all their albums, 'cept for their Xmas one.

Subject: Re: Barenaked Ladies

Written By: Brian06 on 08/16/06 at 7:08 pm

I love them too, great band.  8)

Subject: Re: Barenaked Ladies

Written By: conker on 10/20/06 at 12:13 pm

Saw them live this past summer, good show and great musicians.
Wish I had a singing voice like Ed.

Subject: Re: Barenaked Ladies

Written By: Philip Eno on 10/20/06 at 12:19 pm

The Barenaked Ladies are on a resurgence in the UK. A new record is being played on the radio, but I have yet to catch the title.

Subject: Re: Barenaked Ladies

Written By: whistledog on 10/20/06 at 12:29 pm


The Barenaked Ladies are on a resurgence in the UK. A new record is being played on the radio, but I have yet to catch the title.


That would probably be "Easy", the first single from their new album

Subject: Re: Barenaked Ladies

Written By: Dominic L. on 10/20/06 at 6:00 pm


The Barenaked Ladies are on a resurgence in the UK. A new record is being played on the radio, but I have yet to catch the title.


The album is "Barenaked Ladies Are Me"

I'm seeing them on November 28th, in San Francisco, in case anybody wants to kidnap me!!

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