Bull

Biography

Formed in Montreal in 1989 through a chance meeting between Drew Ling and guitarists Perry Johnson (who'd go under the pseudonym of Pere Fume) and Sonny Greenwich, Jr., the original group was rounded out with Alan Baculis on bass and drummer Rob Kazenel. After quickly becoming staples on the Ontario/Quebec circuit, they were signed to Polygram/Vertigo Records, releasing their debut album, "The Brown Album," in 1990. The first two singles "Masterstroke" and "Scratching The Whole" paved the way...

Formed in Montreal in 1989 through a chance meeting between Drew Ling and guitarists Perry Johnson (who'd go under the pseudonym of Pere Fume) and Sonny Greenwich, Jr., the original group was rounded out with Alan Baculis on bass and drummer Rob Kazenel. After quickly becoming staples on the Ontario/Quebec circuit, they were signed to Polygram/Vertigo Records, releasing their debut album, "The Brown Album," in 1990.

The first two singles "Masterstroke" and "Scratching The Whole" paved the way for their all-out assault on Canadian radio with the remake of Hot Chocolate's "Everyone's A Winner", and then "Play With Me". Basically overnight sensations, they hired new drummer Marc Villeneuve and hit the road, including a European tour opening for The Cult. Their debut soon went gold.

After a 6-song 'remix' EP called "REBOOT" (1991), the group returned (with new drummer John 'Fatboy' Lalley, aka Johnny Frappe) with "BULL" (1992). But poor promotion kept it one of the sleeper hits of the year, despite it being a favorite among fans.

The band regrouped from the relative disappointment and released "Sleeping Bootie" (1993), an album widely considered among fans as their masterpiece. But again, minimal effort from the marketing department held back what could have been another best-seller.

Disillusioned, Polygram/Vertigo let the band go, allowing them to sign with Mercury Records. Hoping to finally crack the American market, the band started working on their next LP in England. But issues with the new label caused founding member Pere Fume to leave the band. He would later revert to his real name, Perry Johnson, and form the Toronto band Fonzi.

Johnson was initially replaced by Exploited guitarist Fraser Rosetti, and the band's self-titled fourth album, "Bootsauce" (1995), was released to mixed reaction and failed to capture the American interest.

Bootsauce disbanded in 1996, and Mercury shortly followed with "Bootism: The Bootsauce Collection" (1996), a 16-track 'best of' package which also featured some new tracks and remixes.

Line-up: Alan Baculis (bass); Drew Ling (vocals); Pere Fume [aka Perry Johnson] (guitar 198-1994); Sonny Greenwich, Jr. (guitar); Marc Villeneuve (drums 1989-1991); Rob Kazenel (drums 1991); John 'Fatboy' Lalley (drums 1991-1996); Fraser Rosetti (guitar 1994, replaced Pere Fume) Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.