Barenaked Ladies

Ed Robertson and Steven Page began writing and performing together as a duo while they were students at Churchill Heights Public School in Toronto, Canada. Calling themselves Barenaked Ladies, they debuted with a largely improvised set during a battle of the bands and developed their set to include comedy, songs, and audience interactions.

They recorded their first tape, Buck Naked (1989), with a four-track recorder in basements and bedrooms.

Joined by brothers Andy Creeggan (percussion) and Jim Creeggan (bass), they released Barenaked Lunch (also known as The Pink Tape) in 1990. Drummer Tyler Stewart joined in the summer and the band soon began their first Canadian tour.

The Yellow Tape (1991) was turned down by every Canadian record label, but the band sold copies at their gigs and eventually released it commercially. Steve Page’s father, Victor, founded the independent label Page Publications to manufacture and distribute the cassette.

The tape was the first indie release to go platinum in Canada, selling 100,000 copies. As a result, Barenaked Ladies were signed to Sire Records in April 1992, and their first album, Gordon, was released in July.

The album included the singles Be My Yoko Ono, If I Had $1,000,000, and Brian Wilson.

Subsequent albums were Maybe You Should Drive (1994) and Born on a Pirate Ship (1996)

Kevin Hearn replaced Andy Creeggan on keyboards for Stunt (1998), which became the band’s greatest mainstream success (with the single One Week topping the Billboard Hot 100).

Follow-up singles It’s All Been Done and Call and Answer were modest hits, and the album Maroon (2000) reached number five on the Billboard Top 100 and topped the Canadian charts, spawning the singles Pinch Me, Too Little Too Late and Falling For The First Time.

The band then took a year off before returning to the studio in April 2003, releasing Everything to Everyone in October of that year. The album was their weakest seller in years, but fulfilled their contract with Reprise Records. Barenaked for the Holidays (October 2004) was released on the band’s own Desperation Records label.

In 2007, the band wrote and recorded the theme song to the popular CBS comedy series The Big Bang Theory, at the request of the show’s creators Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady. It was subsequently also released as a non-album single.

Steven Page was arrested for cocaine possession in 2008.  On 24 February 2009, Barenaked Ladies and Page announced separately that he had left the band by “mutual agreement.”

The album All in Good Time (2010) was generally well-received by critics. Subsequent albums included Grinning Streak (2013), Silverball (2015), Fake Nudes (2017), and Detour de Force (2021).

Ed Robertson 
Vocals, guitar
Steven Page
Vocals, guitar
Andy Creegan
Keyboards, vocals, drums, percussion
Jim Creeggan
Bass, vocals
Tyler Stewart
Drums, vocals
Kevin Hearn
Keyboards, guitar, vocals