Still Rockin' It - Cheryl Lee
Still Rockin' It - Cheryl Lee
What have Vika & Linda been up to lately? OR No Bull !!
Ever wondered what it takes to stay relevant in the music industry for over three decades? Join us for an inspiring conversation with musical icons Vika and Linda Bull, who have been shaping the Australian music scene for 35 years. From their soulful beginnings singing with their Tongan mother in church to their breakthrough with the Black Sorrows, Vika and Linda share their extraordinary journey.
This episode includes their collaborations with legends like Paul Kelly and John Farnham, and their parent's proudest moment, their accolade, the prestigious Medal of the Order of Australia.
Get ready to celebrate the rich musical tapestry of Vika and Linda as they take us through their diverse discography and their latest chart-topping anthology. We explore their stripped-back tour performances, the joy of revisiting old favorites, and the excitement of introducing new songs.
Listen in as we discuss their induction into the Music Victoria Hall of Fame and the possibility of a RockWiz return.
This episode is an engaging portrayal of two sisters who continue to inspire and enchant. Don’t miss this insightful conversation filled with passion, dedication, and a deep love for music.
What have Vika & Linda been up to lately? Let's find out!!
Get out when you can, support local music and I'll see you down the front!!
Visit: ThatRadioChick.com.au
That Radio Chik Cheryl Lee here. Welcome to the Still Rockin' It podcast, where we'll have music news, reviews and interviews with some of our favourite Australian musicians and artists. You have heard these ladies singing on some iconic Australian albums Archie Roach's Charcoal Lane, John Farnham's Chain Reaction, Deborah Conway's String of Pearls, Hunters and Collectors' Ghost Nation, Ross Wilson's Dark Side of the Man, Kasey Chambers' Dragonfly, Paul Kelly's first number one album, Life is Fine. They have also carved their own careers on the theatre stage. They sang for 100,000 people performing the national anthem at AFL Grand Final in 2016. And for the last few years they've been really, really busy. Let's chat to Vika and Linda Bull. To catch up on podcasts from other favourite artists, simply go to thatradiochick. com. au.
Cheryl Lee:You're with Cheryl Lee. I'd like to welcome into the studio today two beautiful women who need no introduction. Vika and Linda, thank you for joining me, both of you, today. Wonderful to be here. Cheryl Lee, hello. Cheryl Lee, hello. So we're going to talk a little bit about what you've got coming up, but if you don't mind, can we take a little bit of a look backwards before we go forwards? Okay, what an amazing career you two have had Over 35 years in the business and still going so strong. You started your singing in church with Mum. Yes, we did.
Vika Bull:She taught us how to sing, and she was a very powerful singer in the Tongan church and we were made to sit down in church every Sunday and listen to Mum sing with the Tongan choir, and that's how we learnt how to sing.
Cheryl Lee:That's beautiful. You performed there and then, way back in 87, formed your first group The Honeymooners.
Linda Bull:We did, surely, and we we're from Melbourne. Vika started out first and when I left university I joined Vika. I sort of left my course and we were lucky to live in the inner city and there were lots of pubs and the scene in Melbourne was really quite, it was thriving. So we would just put a band together and go and play wherever we could, and we got discovered that way because we were singing in the pubs.
Cheryl Lee:What a great groundwork for a wonderful career, and was that where Peter from the Black Sorrows discovered you and asked you to join him for six weeks, and how long did you stay in the end?
Vika Bull:We stayed with the Sorrows about seven years. So Peter Luscombe, the drummer, told Joe about us and Joe Camilleri said well, get him to come to an audition. So he sent us like a bunch of songs. We learnt them, sang backing vocals for him and off we went, Never looked back and such a beloved Australian band and such a very important part of that band's success.
Cheryl Lee:And apart from the three classic albums, with them you guys have released eight studio albums, two live albums, plus your recent chant topping Anthology. You've been busy girls.
Linda Bull:We have been busy. Well, there were 19 years between records, so we were busy, but we weren't recording our own music. And that's why this is such a great jump for us, because when we did that, but we weren't recording our own music and that's why this is such a great jump for us, because when we did that, we couldn't stop and we released three albums during lockdown and it's been wonderful just going out on the road and singing those songs with just a piano, because it makes you look at what the strength of that song or the material that we put out during that time in that time between albums you performed on, the albums of so many people have been blessed to have you record with them Paul Kelly, Kasey Chambers, John Farnham.
Vika Bull:Yeah, we've done a few. It's a very interesting job, you know, singing backing vocals for people, because it's like finding that blend. You know, Linda and I already have a natural blend because we're sisters, but then having a third person, it's like you really got to listen and and hear what they're doing and sort of work with them and and try and you know it's an. It's an interesting job. It can be very tricky, sometimes it doesn't work, Cheryl Lee, you know, and then you got to go okay, this, yeah, this ain't working, see you later. But but usually, I think, because we're such a strong team, um, it's usually it's pretty successful and it's fun, you know, even though it can be pretty. It's pretty hard work because in the studio, because you've got to really listen and sing in tune, but the end result is usually very satisfying yeah, you've certainly been in demand
Cheryl Lee:Vika and Linda's first album with the Black Sorrows, Hold On To Me, featured the classic Chained To the Wheel. I didn't want to put Chained To the Wheel on the album Joe Camilleri later revealed, and it wasn't until I found Vika Bull that I realised it could work. Hold On To Me became the Black Sorrows' first top ten album. Here's that song now Chained to the Wheel. And then back to speak some more to Vika and Linda shortly.
Cheryl Lee:Better watch out, just not on the main line. I just wanted to congratulate you two Well, I think of it before we go on Awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2022 for service to the performing arts. I just wanted to congratulate you on that Fabulous achievement.
Linda Bull:Thank you. Yeah, they were was a proud as moment for our mother and father really, because you know, when your kids join the entertainment industry, it's always a risk. I don't think that a dream was for us to do that, but seeing that we stuck together and were successful in our own way and on our own terms was pleasing for them. I think, because they're in their 90s, for them to be here and celebrate with us was a really special moment for us.
Cheryl Lee:They. I bet that was just the proudest punch. The two of them they were gorgeous.
Vika Bull:I might have said it was the best day of their life. I'm like you've got to be kidding.
Linda Bull:What about our birth?
Cheryl Lee:Oh no, bless them, that's terrific. So 94, you branched out on your own with Double Platinum. Self-titled debut album hit the top ten, nominated for an ARIA. Has it been re-released on red vinyl?
Linda Bull:Yes, it has surely, and we celebrate 30 years of the release of that album this year. Red and green vinyl Red and green.
Cheryl Lee:Well, we do love a little bit of vinyl, especially if it's coloured even better.
Cheryl Lee:That's that now, isn't it? Yeah, yeah, yeah. You've just got off the back of a pretty comprehensive four-month tour. Yes, you didn't get to SA, so the big news is that you are bringing the show An Evening with Vicar and Linda to our little town on Friday, the 30th of August, at our Woodville Town Hall. Have you played Woodville Town Hall?
Vika Bull:before. No, no, but we've only heard really good things about it Thebarton It looks beautiful.
Cheryl Lee:It is. It's a beautiful old building. You've probably played at our Theberton at Thebby before. Yes, it is, it's a beautiful old building. You've probably played at our Febbiton at Febby before. Yes, many times. Yes, febby's getting a makeover, she's getting a bit dolled up. So Woodville is another beautiful old building of a similar age. Actually, I think they were built about the same time. I'm sure you'll love it just as much as you love Febby. Yeah, yeah, we do love Phoebe, but it's also good to give the love to another town you know, another theatre as well and see what it's like.
Linda Bull:That's what we're enjoying about this tour, Cheryl Lee, is we're going to places where we haven't been before, theatres that we haven't known about that perhaps we overlooked in the past. They're all wonderful and they're historic some of them. They've got these great grand pianos and beautiful staff and it's just been great.
Cheryl Lee:So many artists have got wonderful things to say about Vika and Linda. Kasey Chambers says simply hearing Vika and Linda's voices together is still one of my favourite sounds ever. James Reyne says their beauty, talent and virtuosity is irrefutable. Musical life with Vika and Linda is one that's full of soul, harmony and joy. Tim Rogers calls them the most generous performers that I know and remains in awe of their vocal prowess. People often say it's a gift from God to sing like that and it's a thing of wonder.
Cheryl Lee:The girls have been long-term members of Paul Kelly's band, singing on several of his chart topping albums, and he says their voices combined sound salty, sweet and have that elusive twinned quality you only get when siblings sing together. Let's hear the girls' single that was written for them by Mark Seymour from Hunters and Collectors 1994. When Will you Fall For Me? And then we're back to speak to these lovely ladies again shortly. You've got Cameron, musical director and producer, playing the sort of stripped-back versions on the grand piano with you.
Vika Bull:That's right, Cameron's a piano player and he's really quite amazing. I mean the stuff that comes out of his fingertips. It's unreal, and sort of just the two of us singing with the piano player and that stripped back kind of environment. You know, in harmony it's really great fun and we're really enjoying it, just because the songs have taken on, you know, especially the old songs have been given new life. You know, maybe songs we haven't sung for a long time have been brought out and and it's, you know, because we thought, ah, you know it. It's really you forget about songs and when you do a tour like this, it's like what about this one? You try it out and it's like, wow, and it's been a real joy to sing some of the old songs and it's been a real joy to sing some new ones too.
Cheryl Lee:You obviously sing a lot of the songs from your previous albums from the anthology. What else can we expect? Do we hear any of the Black Sorrows or any of the other songs that you've sung with other artists? Is it purely Vika and Linda's Time to Shine?
Linda Bull:That's a really good question, isn't it, Vik? Yeah, well, we do Surprise.
Vika Bull:Well, yeah, we do one song from the Sorrows. We don't do any other artist songs. We only do Vika and Linda songs and songs that we've sung in the Sorrows. We won't do Chained to the Wheel because that was a duet with Joe. Yeah, you know, and sort of. But you know we won't give everything away, but we do look at that and we pay our respects to that period of our life.
Linda Bull:You know there's all sorts of things in there. We do do songs that we've performed that have been written especially for us, songs that Paul Kelly's written for us, songs that we've written with him, songs that Mark Seymour we've written with Mark Seymour, songs that Kasey Chambers wrote for us that appeared on the Wait album. So we talk a lot about the background of the songs, where they came from, who wrote them and why they wrote them. So that's why it's an intimate show, because there's a bit of chit-chat and a bit of a backstory on everything, so that the audience feel included and understand why we've chosen the material that we've chosen. So it isn't like an evening where people are going to go. Well, what's this song? They'll recognise them if they've got our records. It's good.
Cheryl Lee:Sort of almost like a little bit of a history of Vika and Linda.
Linda Bull:Yeah, yeah, it is. This is your life LAUGHTER.
Cheryl Lee:The first album of original material released in 19 years, in 2021, was aptly titled the Wait. The songwriting credits for the Wait read like a who's who of Australian music royalty, songs by Ben Salter, Chris Chaney from the Living End, Bernard Fanning, Mark Seymour's daughter Eva, and this one by one of my all-time favourite Australian songwriters, Cold Chisels' Don Walker. I Miss You in the Night. And then back to speak to these wonderful ladies again very soon
Vika Bull:/ c C
Cheryl Lee:I wanted to congratulate you on your induction into the music Victoria Hall of Fame by Kate Sobrano, a friend of yours. That would have been lovely to be inducted by a friend and colleague.
Vika Bull:Well, it was lovely to be inducted, you know, into the Victorian Music Hall of Fame. You know, that's where we grew up. We were born in Melbourne, we're Victorian girls, so you know to be recognised by the industry, for that was a real honour.
Linda Bull:We asked Kate to do a little spiel, because we knew she wouldn't roast us, so that was good.
Cheryl Lee:Other listeners might remember, you have been on RockW iz quite a few times and that's making a comeback. Are we going to see you, perhaps on RockW iz again?
Linda Bull:Well, that's the thing about RockW iz. They're surprise guests.
Cheryl Lee:So you're not going to give anything away? No, our lips are sealed. You heard it first here may or may not be a thing, and I love the Adelaide connection. You were here at our Adelaide Cabaret Festival telling your story through stories and song with Between Two Shores. Is there any having that reprise perhaps?
Linda Bull:Maybe, maybe. I mean, the show that we're doing now is kind of the next step past it. Even though it's not got a band, it has a similar feel to it, where we are going into our background and telling people what influenced us as children. So, even though we don't, we do do a couple of covers, surprise ones as well. So it is similar to that show, but without a band. It's the next generation of that show which we love so much.
Cheryl Lee:I think you've saved the best till last. Coming to Adelaide, get onto the Google-o-meter and get your tickets. Friday, the 30th of August, at the Woodville Town Hall. Courtesy of SBS. We now have Vika and Linda Ball with friends from the RockW iz Orchestra 2015, the Golden Earring classic Radar Love. Then back to say farewell to Vika and Linda after this
Cheryl Lee:You've sung pretty much every genre known to man. You can sing anything. I think you could sing the phone book and would love it and buy it
Linda Bull:the phone book's pretty big.
Cheryl Lee:When you have the opportunity to listen in your car, in the shower, what's on your playlist? What do you like to listen to when you're listening to your choice of music?
Linda Bull:You want to go first? Lily, I can't get to the playlist because my daughter, who I drive with a lot on driving lessons, she takes over so she listens to a lot of Afro beats, which, I've got to say, I'm very much enjoying hearing music that I would never pick myself but I'm loving. So hers is a very international playlist. Mine tends to repeat on repeat. I like sort of melancholy country artists so I can't pick one, but that's my sort of style of music that I like to listen to in the car.
Vika Bull:So mine is Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, jazz and classical music. That's it Nice.
Cheryl Lee:We so much are looking forward to seeing you at the end of the month. I'll see you down the front, I'll give you a wave and we appreciate you spending some time with us today. How will we know?
Linda Bull:You're going to wave out to us and we'll sing you a song.
Vika Bull:Wear a pink flower then we'll know it's you. Okay, lovely. Okay, Cheryl Lee, it's lovely to speak to you both. Thank you so much.
Cheryl Lee:2020 their career anthology Akilotoa entered the Australian charts at number one, their first chart topping album and the first number one album by an Australian female duo. Three months later, their Gospel Collection Sunday the Gospel, according to ISO debuted at number two and then, in 22, released their first Christmas album. Gee Whiz, It's Christmas. Get on to where you get your music from and track these down, add them to your collection. But I'm going to go out with an oldie but a goodie. One of my all-time favourite Vika and Linda songs from their 2007 album Vika and Linda Sacred Things
Cheryl Lee:Thank you so much for joining me on the Still Rockin' It podcast. Hope to catch you again next time. Get out when you can support Aussie music and I'll see you down the front.