Biography of the group (Russian version). Merry American Wanderers: Extreme Extreme Group Wiki

"Extreme"- an American rock band that reached the pinnacle of its popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The sound of Extreme was influenced by such bands as Queen, Van Halen, The Beatles, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin". The band members characterize their style as "Funky metal". Their most successful album was "Pornograffitti", and the most famous song was the acoustic ballad "More Than Words", which reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. more than 10 million albums "Extreme" Formed in Malden (Massachusetts, USA) in 1985 and still exists.

In order to start a story about the history of this, albeit not so popular, but very original and talented team, let's imagine the time of the late 70s and early 80s. All the youth of that time were simply heard by such groups as: "The Beatles", "Queen", "Led Zeppelin", "Van Halen", "Metallica", "Aerosmith" and others. Four young guys from Boston - Gary Cheron (born 26.07 .1961), Nuno Bettencourt (born 09/20/1966), Pat Badger (born 07/22/1967) and Paul Geary (born 07/24/1961) were no exception and, under the influence of this music, began to shape each their individual style in order to meet one day and, united under the name "Extreme", go together along a long and thorny path to the world rock scene.

The formation of the final line-up of the group began in 1981, when Gary Cheron and Paul Geary performed in a local Boston band with a more romantic than rock and roll name - "The Dream" ("Dream"). The "dreamers" didn't succeed much - they managed to leave behind a single, unknown six-track record.

In 1985, The Dream changed its name to Extreme, after which the guys took part in the MTV project, for which they specially wrote the song "Mutha (Don't Wanna Go To School Today)". From that moment on, the gradual rise of the "extremists" began, as this single was broadcast throughout the United States on the MTV satellite television channel. Inspired by success, the guys continued to form their own unique musical style.

Nuno Bettencourt joined Extreme in 1985, replacing Hal Lebeaux, and a little later, Pat Badger took the place of Paul Mangone. And with this line-up (Gary Cheron, Nuno Bettencourt, Pat Badger and Paul Geary), "Extreme" began their ascent to the top of the Musical Olympus!

Gary Cheron and Nuno Bettencourt began writing songs together and the band played numerous shows throughout Boston. They gradually developed a strong local following and were named "Outstanding Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Band" at the Boston Music Awards in 1986 and 1987.

In 1988, Extreme signed to A&M Records and made their debut with the single "Play With Me", which appeared on the soundtrack to the 1989 film Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Also in 1989, "Extreme" released their first album with the unpretentious name "Extreme". Despite the fact that this was their first album, Gary's professional vocals are already clearly audible here, Nuno's technically and musically perfected playing, the skill of which many guitarists in the world dream of possessing.

The potential of the group, laid down in the first album, was revealed in the second - "Extreme II: Pornograffitti" (1990), which took 10th place on the Billboard 200 hit parade and went gold in May 1991, and double platinum in October 1992. The acoustic ballad "More Than Words" topped the US "Billboard's Hot 100" chart, and peaked at number two in the UK. Also for the song "More Than Words", "Extreme" was nominated for a Grammy Award.

“Nuno and I sat in my Porsche,” recalls Gary Cheron. - "The engine of the car continued to work, and Nuno, as if accompanying him, rattled some melody on the guitar. And so "More Than Words" was born. Fans and critics appreciated this album, and the group began active live performances, which rightfully considered the strength of the team.

Let's not forget that "Extreme" has always very highly honored the traditions of classic rock, and especially the work of the group "Queen", therefore it is not surprising that their performance at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert on April 20, 1992 at Wembley Stadium in London, made a huge impression on the fans and glorified the band outside the "metal world". In addition to this success, Gary Cheron's absolutely "flying" and "freaky" in terms of artistry and vocals, along with "Queen" of the hit "Hammer to Fall", which captivated everyone!

In 1992, another "conceptual" album "Extreme" was released - "III Sides to Every Story", which gave fans three hits at once: "Rest in Peace", "Tragic Comic" and "Am I Ever Gonna Change". The "Tragic Comic" video turned out to be very funny, where Gary Cheron opened up as a great actor.

It is interesting to note that in addition to the instruments traditional for rock music, a symphony orchestra was involved in the recording of the "Three Sides" album, as a result of which it turned out to be very unusual and very different from the rock and metal styles of the group. Many tracks are very lyrical and melodic, and in general, the album itself makes you think about many things in life.

In the summer of 1994 "Extreme" performed at the "Monsters of Rock" festival in Donington (England). By that time, the place of the drummer in the group was taken by Mike Mangini (born 04/18/1963) (ex. "Annihilator") and everything would be fine, but after the release of the album "Waiting for the Punchline" in 1995, Nuno announced that he was starting a solo career and, to the great regret of all fans, in 1996 it was announced the breakup of the group.

Nuno Bettencourt's solo albums once again confirm his great musical talent not only as a guitarist and composer, but also as a vocalist.

The funny fact is that this man, despite the fact that he is from a musical family, did not at all intend to become a musician, but was very fond of sports, especially football. And who knows, the Portugal national football team may have lost a great footballer, however, thanks to his brother Luis, who forced Nuno to learn to play the guitar, the rock scene acquired a multi-talented musician.

In early 1997, Nuno released his solo album "Schizophonic". A little later, he became a member of the "Mourning Widows" project, which has 2 albums "Mourning Widows" (1998) and "Furnished Souls for Rent" (2000).

In the fall of 1996, Gary Cheron received an offer to become the vocalist of the Van Hallen group, in which he stayed until 1998. Later, Gary created his own group "Tribe of Judah", which in 2002 released their only album "Exit Elvis".

In the "non-extreme" period, another side of Gary's talent appeared - rock opera. Many fans are impressed by his roles in Webber's rock operas The Phantom of the Opera and Jesus Christ Superstar.

In 2007, together with their brother Greg, they attempted to record their own rock musical based on Shakespeare, Lady Macbeth. This project did not see a release, but the track "The Dangerous Thing" is very interesting and could become popular.

In the period 2002-2005. ex-"extremists" are also actively pursuing a solo career. Nuno Bettencourt organized his own band "Population 1" (later renamed "DramaGods") and recorded 3 albums: "Population 1" (2002), which is distinguished by lyricism and beautiful rock ballads such as: "Flow", "Spaceman" , "Iron Jaw" and others; 2004 EP "Session From Room 4" and "Love" (December 2005), which was released in Japan. When recording some of the compositions, Nuno himself played all the musical instruments and it is believed that he recorded the album "Population 1" alone, and the group appeared for concert performances.

On October 15, 2005, Gary Cheron's EP "Need I Say More" was released. As Gary himself says, this is a "new direction" in his work, which combines jazz and blues. And in parallel with this, Gary works in a family project with his brother Mark - "Hurtsmile". Together they released three singles: "Stillborn", "Set Me Free" and "Just War Theory". All these tracks were included in the new album "Hurtsmile", which was released in early 2011.

Tireless and loving experiments, Nuno does not stop in his creative achievements. He tries himself as a composer for films. It is his music that sounds in the film "Smart People" (Smart People, 2008), where Dennis Quaid and Sarah Jessica Parker play. Nuno also collaborates with other musicians: with the band "Satellite Party", with Rihanna. Nuno helped Satellite Party record and release their debut album, Ultra Payloaded, which was released on May 29, 2007. A little later, at the end of July 2007, Nuno left the group. Nuno began his collaboration with Rihanna in the fall of 2009, and then, as a lead guitarist, went with her on her world tours under the names: "Last Girl On Earth" (April 2010 - March 2011), "Loud" (June 2011 - December 2011), "777" (November 2012) and "Diamonds World Tour" (March 2013 - November 2013).

June 30, 2006 "Extreme" put on a show in Boston at the "Bank of America Pavilion" in the "original" lineup, which was the beginning of their reunion.

In December 2007, Nuno Bettencourt and Gary Cheron officially announced the preparation of a new musical material for the group, and in August 2008, for the first time after a 13-year break, the group's new album, "Saudades de Rock", was released, which was written in the best traditions of the good old classic rock. Actually, with what "Extreme" began, so it continued: with the same thoughts, the same songs, the same traditions - relevant in our days.

The group has a new drummer - Kevin Figurido (born 01/12/1977). Following the album's release, the band embarked on a world tour that ended with a grand show in Boston at the House of Blues on August 8, 2009. The show was filmed and became the basis for the band's live DVD, "Take Us Alive", which was released in May 2010.

In April 2012, Extreme belatedly (due to Nuno being busy on tour with Rihanna) celebrated the 20th anniversary of the release of Pornograffitti by arranging a mini-tour of the same name in Japan. The show included absolutely all the songs from this album. Also in April 2012, "Extreme" finally made it to Moscow and after spending a few days in the Russian capital, April 25, 2012 gave a special exclusive show for their Russian fans who have been patiently waiting for the band for over 20 years.

The group plans to release a new album in the future. In the meantime, fans are patiently waiting for the release of the new, sixth, studio album of the group, "Extreme" staged a grandiose tour of the cities and towns of our vast planet, dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the release of the album "Pornograffitti". The concert, which took place on May 30, 2015 in Las Vegas at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino as part of the "Pornograffitti Live - 25th Anniversary" tour, was recorded and released on DVD, CD and Blu-ray.

The solo work of the group members also does not stop. So, on October 7, 2014, the second studio album of the group "Hurtsmile" - "Retrogrenade" was released. On November 1, 2014, Pat Badger's first solo album, Time Will Tell, was released.

Extreme (Extreme) - American hard rock band, popular in the late 80s and early 90s.

Their musical passions were: Queen and Van Halen (Extreme vocalist Gary Cherone subsequently joined the latter).
The band is known for their polyphonic vocal harmonies and virtuosic guitar playing that combined a glam and shred metal sonic palette. Extreme themselves described their style as funky-metal (the same name was given to their own publishing "label").
The band's debut eponymous album (1989) is mostly remembered for its unconventional look at the then-dominated hair metal and action films "Two Little Girls", "Play With Me", "Kid Ego" and "Mutha (Don" t Wanna Go To School Today). )".
But already the second program "Pornographitty" (1990) showed the group in all its glory of diversity. Within the framework of the program, a variety of matters organically coexisted: the biting hard-funk of the songs "Get The Funk Out" and "Decadance Dance", the acoustic guitar ballad "More That Words" and the jazz number "When A First Kissed You", where there were no guitars at all , far from "false metal" competent and appropriate treatment of classical harmonies in the numbers "Song For Love" and "He Man Woman Hater", as well as the whimsical country funk "Hole Hearted".
On the next disc "III Sides Of Every Story" (1992), symbolically divided into three parts: "Your", "Mine" & "Truth", the group continued a series of risky experiments: the brass-arranged funk "Politicalamity", the symphonic rock "Stop The World", metal rock'n'roll "Warhead"... The already traditional semi-acoustics of "Tragic Comic" was replaced by the politically incorrect electricity of "Peacemaker Die" and "Rest In Peace". The disc was completed by the trilogy "The Truth", recorded with an orchestra of forty people, and discovering in the final "Who Cares?" the influence of the young Genesis, while the guitar solo a la Strauss waltzes sounded like Bettencourt's tribute to his "old man Derzhavin" in the guitar class - Brian May.
The next disc "Waiting For The Punchiline" (1995), where the new drummer Mike Mangini (Mike Mangini, ex-Steve Vai) was already working, dumbfounded old fans and unexpectedly attracted "alternatives" to the group. The meager melodicism, the broken rhythms and the harsh guitar cutting in the numbers "Cinical Fuck", "No Respect", "Evilangelist" and "Hip Today" were a clear step forward. Overall, however, the album was disappointing in its unevenness, and the band's activity came on an extended break.
Going to sing in Van Halen, Gary Cheron, almost repeating Ian Gillan at the time of his collaboration with Black Sabbath, literally crushed the Van Halen brothers under him. In any case, the group's last major hit "Without You" was trampled into the trademark funk metal a la Extreme to the very top. This alliance had no chance.
In 2008, the group suddenly became more active. With the third drummer Kevin Figuredo, Extreme recorded a new album, Saudades De Rock. The album turned out not particularly bright, but in any case, not as gloomy as the previous one. At any rate, the quirky Queen twist on "Star" and signature funk metal on songs like "King Of The Ladies" can still evoke the band's former glory days.
Compound:

Gary Cheron - vocals.
Nuno Bettencourt - guitar, keyboards, vocals.
Patrick Badger - bass, vocals
Paul Geary - drums (89-95)

Mike Mangini - drums (95)
Kevin Figuredo (08).

Discography:

1989 - Extreme
1990 - Extreme 2: Pornograffiti
1992 - 3 sides to every story
1995 - Waiting for the punchline
2008 - Saudades De Rock

Biography:

Formed in the mid-80s, the American band "Extreme" made a name for itself in the early 90s, mainly thanks to the guitar prowess of Nano Bettencourt (b. September 20, 1966, Azores). While lead guitarist Nano's style is derived from Eddie Van Halen's playing style, the music of "Extreme" shows influences from Queen, Beatles and jazz artists. In general, the sound of the group is very difficult to characterize by any particular style. The band's history dates back to the time when Gary Cheron (b. July 26, 1961, Malden, USA; vocals) and Paul Geary (b. July 24, 1961, Medford, USA; drums) performed in the local Boston band "The Dream", released just one EP in 1983. The band then changed their name to "Extreme" and made their first television appearance in 1985 with the music video "Mutha (Don't Wanna Go To School Today)".

In 1986, Nano Bettencourt joined the team, replacing Hal Lebex, and a year later, Pat Badger (b. July 22, 1967, Boston; bass) appeared in place of Paul Mangon.

By that time, another of its founders, guitarist Peter Hunt, had left the band, unable to get along with Bettencourt. Quite quickly, the musicians managed to sign a contract with A&M Records, and soon made their debut with the song "Play With Me", which was the soundtrack to the film "Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure". In 1989, the first longplay of the quartet, "Extreme ", which was a mixture of metal, funk and blues. The material was damp, the first vinyl pancake turned out to be lumpy and was met with indifference by critics and listeners. Only in his native Boston, the disc was a good success. In the same 1989, Extreme" toured North America and Japan.Wide fame for the group brought the second disc, released in 1991, "Pornograffitti" First composition "Get The Funk Out" hit 19th place in the English charts.

But the highlight of the program was an acoustic ballad written in the spirit of "Everly Brothers" - "More Than Words", published as a single. In the US charts, she took first position, and in the British placed on the second line.

It was followed by another hit, "Hole Hearted". True, this single reached "only" the fourth line of the American charts, but until 1995 it did not climb out of the best English twenty. In May 1992, "Extreme" took part in a concert dedicated to Freddie Mercury, and in the summer they went on tour with David Lee Roth and "Cinderella". The band's third album, "Extreme III: Three Sides to Every Story", sold well but was musically weaker than its predecessor. Before the team's appearance at the Donington Festival in the summer of 1994, Paul Geary left the line-up. His place behind the drum kit was taken by Mike Mangini (ex-"Annihilator"). With the renewed line-up, the band took part in the European tour of "Aerosmith". The fourth disc of "Extreme", "Waiting for the Punchline", appeared on the shelves in 1995, but few people paid attention to it.

As a result, the band's dissolution was announced the following year. Bettencourt launched a solo career, releasing several records, and vocalist Gary Cheron threw in his lot with Van Halen.

Biography: The group was formed in 1982 in the USA.

The career of this team began in the 80s under the name Dream - in 1983 the group's debut mini-album was released. As Extreme, the musicians began performing in 1985, at the same time the group took part in the MTV project, for which the musicians wrote the song "Mutha ("Don" t Wanna Go To School Today") - this thing was broadcast throughout the United States on satellite television MTV However, real success came only in 1986, when a contract was signed with A&M, and Extreme made their major debut with the single "Play With Me", which was included in the soundtrack of the film "Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure". The first full-length album Extreme was also a success, on which the musicians managed to masterfully combine pop-rock, metal, funk and blues. The disc "Pornograffitti" turned out to be even more interesting - the acoustic ballad "More Than Words" topped the US hit parade (in the UK - 2nd place). The performance of Extreme at the memorial concert in memory of Freddie Mercury also worked for the overall success and image of the group - this action glorified the group outside the "metal" world. In the summer of 1994, Extreme played at the Monsters of Rock festival in Donington - by that time, Mike Mangini (Ex-Annihilator) had taken the place of the drummer. After the 1995 album, Extereme noticeably passed - guitarist Bettenkor announced that he was starting a solo career, and in the fall of 1996, vocalist Cheron received an offer to join Van Halen.