page_title: Barenaked Ladies
section_title: First albums (1992–1997)
hierarchical_section_title: Barenaked Ladies / History / First albums (1992–1997)
caption_attribution_description: Andrew Creeggan, formerly of Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies, performing with The Brothers Creeggan in London, Ontario.
context_page_description: Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian rock band formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a cult 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 subsequently translated this into U.S. success beginning with versions of "Brian Wilson" and "The Old Apartment" off their 1996 live album Rock Spectacle followed by their 1998 fourth studio album Stunt which was ultimately their breakout success. The album featured their highest-charting hit, "One Week" as well as "It's All Been Done". Their followup fifth album, Maroon also charted highly featuring the lead single "Pinch Me". In the 2010s, the band became well-known for creating the theme song for the 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.
context_section_description: The band was signed to Sire Records in April 1992 after a long period of being rejected by every label they approached.
  The band's first full album, Gordon, was released in July 1992 and was a big success in Canada; by the end of August, it had already been certified platinum. It included some of the band's most well-known songs, including "Enid", the first single; "Be My Yoko Ono", the single which helped fund the album; "If I Had $1000000", which spawned a tradition of throwing Kraft Dinner during live shows, which the band has discouraged; and "Brian Wilson", named after Beach Boy Brian Wilson (who later covered the song on a live album). It benefited from the fact that a number of songs on the album (including the latter three) had been live favourites for a while and had been recorded on past releases like The Yellow Tape. While the band was doing remarkably well in Canada, they found that it translated into little success in the United States.
  BNL's second album, Maybe You Should Drive, released in 1994, fared considerably less well with the Canadian public. They tried touring the United States, but the tour was a failure and ended up losing money despite an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Before the next release, Andy Creeggan decided to leave the band. He had become disillusioned with the direction of the band, and was not comfortable with the fame the group had attained. According to Page, he had considered leaving as early as the rehearsals for the Drive album; The rest of the band convinced him to stay to record that album, and for the subsequent touring. Also, Creeggan wanted to attend McGill University to study music further. Tyler Stewart has also suggested that Creeggan had never fully accepted his replacement by Stewart as a percussionist. Andy Creeggan's departure came during a time in which members of the band were starting to become sick of each other, with Page and Robertson rarely speaking to one another. Stewart cites the departure as worsening the situation. Page also began struggling with both alcohol abuse and depression. In an attempt to correct the band's downward slide, they signed with Terry McBride and Nettwerk as their management.
  The band released Born on a Pirate Ship as a quartet in 1996. The album received two large boosts from the inclusion of the song "Shoe Box" on the Friends soundtrack and from the Jason Priestley-directed video for "The Old Apartment", which got notable American airplay and while the album had stronger sales than Maybe You Should Drive, the album still did not match the success of "Gordon". The Ladies appeared as the guest band on an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 ("Spring Breakdown" original airdate: April 2, 1997), immediately preceding their 1997 tour; they performed "The Old Apartment," "Life, In A Nutshell," and "Brian Wilson" at the Peach Pit After Dark night club. Tyler Stewart invited his friend Kevin Hearn to replace Andy Creeggan as a keyboardist for the tour; Hearn ultimately joined the band full-time. The group also had a cameo in the Canadian film The Wrong Guy with Dave Foley in 1997. They performed the song "Gangster Girl" as police officers in an alley on their break.
  From two dates on the Born on a Pirate Ship tour during 1996, BNL recorded and released a live album called Rock Spectacle, which had a modest radio hit in the United States with "Brian Wilson." The album became the band's first gold record in the United States, and the success of "Brian Wilson", coupled with the success of "The Old Apartment", led to a new situation for the band. They knew their next album would be their chance to make it big in the United States.
caption: Andy Creeggan performing with The Brothers Creeggan in London, Ontario, Canada, in 2002
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